The File - Jan 16, 2009 - (Page 1)

India’s fortnightly focus on electronics design January 16-31, 2009 Electronics drive green vehicles By Ravi Kishore Ivaturi Senior Technical Sales Engineer Automotive Infineon Technologies India Pvt Ltd troller-based energy management systems (EMS), IGBT and microcontroller-based hybrid systems. Energy challenges Petroleum can no longer be counted upon as the primary energy source due to economic and environmental factors. We have to facilitate its conservation on one hand, and prepare for its eventual replacement on the other. The challenge is not only energy availability, but also reduction of emissions such as CO, NOx, HC, PM, as well as CO2 in order to control global warming. Regulatory agencies such as Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) are working in this direction. Comprehensive efforts are required, including improving engine efficiency, improving transmission, using hybrid solutions, saving energy during braking, and introducing high-performance Introduction of new low-end vehicles into the Indian automotive market will put more than 4 crore (40 million) vehicles on-road by 2012. Air quality has become a major concern to the government and the importance of fuel-efficient engine management systems is under hot debate between environmental and regulatory agencies, OEMs and tier-one suppliers. The challenge of vehicle design that incorporates efficient energy management, electronically enabled engine management and hybridisation requires powerful semiconductor solutions like high performance microcon- Ivaturi: Electronics‘ role in the fuel efficiency race is paramount. Almost every improvement that is now being designed or considered involves electronics. battery management. The ultimate step will be to migrate to the hydrogen economy. The electronics required for this powertrain revolution will need a tremendous amount of innovation. As per the fundamentals of engine efficiency, internal combustion engines do not convert all chemically available energy into mechanical work and there is some energy loss, i.e. an engine’s efficiency is less than 100 per cent (see figure). Technically, only 13 per cent of the energy generated in the engine is used for driving, whereas 10 per cent goes towards frictional losses, 10 per cent for pumping losses and 7 per cent for nonstochiometric ratio of air and fuel mixture, i.e. lambda 15 per cent for the thermal losses in the cylinder, continued on page Creating efficient GUIs for in-car computing By Andy Gryc Automotive Product Marketing Manager QNX Software Systems Inside Trends 2 Cool cars boast hot systems The Human Machine Interface (HMI) has become a key market differentiator for a wide array of electronic products. For proof, look no further than the Apple iPhone, which has gained significant market share as a result of its innovative user interface. The popularity of graphically rich devices like the iPhone has raised consumer expectations for HMI design, creating a demand for automotive head units that offer dynamic, intuitive, and even personalisable graphical user interfaces (GUIs). At the same time, head units must provide access to a growing number of functions, including navigation, media playback, satellite radio, and HVAC control. As a result, head-unit GUIs are becoming highly sophisti- cated, often combining multiple 2D or 3D applications on the same display. The GUI also plays a key role in the latest dashboard component to move from the analogue to the digital world: the instrument cluster. LCD-based digital instrument clusters are poised to transform the driving experience by integrating speedometers, tachometers, and other traditional cluster information with navigation displays, backup cameras, lane-departure warnings, cell phones, MP3 players, and other digital content. Properly designed, a digital cluster continued on page In Focus 7 Managing cold cranking in automotives Events 9 IMTEX/Tooltech 2009, ISA Vision Summit 2009, COMPONEX NEPCON 2009, Convergence India 2009 Sponsors 3 5 Agilent Technologies National Semiconductor www.eetindia.com http://www.powerdesignindia.co.in/SEARCH/SUMMARY/technical-articles/IGBT.HTM?ClickFromNewsletter_090116 http://www.eetindia.co.in/SEARCH/SUMMARY/technical-articles/LCD.HTM?ClickFromNewsletter_090116 http://www.eetindia.co.in/SEARCH/SUMMARY/technical-articles/automotive.HTM?ClickFromNewsletter_090116 http://www.eetindia.co.in/SEARCH/SUMMARY/technical-articles/GUI.HTM?ClickFromNewsletter_090116 http://www.eetindia.com/STATIC/REDIRECT/Newsletter_090116_GS01.htm http://www.eetindia.com/STATIC/REDIRECT/Newsletter_090116_EETI02.htm

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The File - Jan 16, 2009

The File - Jan 16, 2009