Car HMI: Anticipating User Graf on 48 Volts Intent from Multiple Inputs

Vol. 29, No. 3 � hansenreport.com � April 2016 Infineon’s Alfons Car HMI: Anticipating User Graf on 48 Volts Intent from Multiple Inputs Apple revolutionized personal comput- carmaker as well as with the University of 12-V Micro-Hybrids Offer Low-Cost ing and later, the smartphone, with graph- Washington. Alternative to 48-V Mild Hybrids ical user interfaces that made those devices In an email to the Hansen Report, exceptionally easy to use for almost Nuance’s Arnd Weil wrote that Nuance’s Alfons Graf, director and automotive everyone. Carmakers would love to offer “automatic speech recognition and natural system architect at the auto industry’s cars with a driver interface so seamless and language understanding systems are opti- power semiconductor leader, Infineon intuitive that functions and features can be mized in tandem with machine learning Technologies, has been closely watching easily and safely accessed almost without techniques applied to actual usage data. the auto industry’s glacially slow adoption thinking. The car would anticipate what Further, the systems leverage contextual of higher-voltage power supplies for the driver aims to do. information from three sources: the car, decades. As I talk to people about what is next the user and the domain (for example As we wrote in 2012, “After two prior for the car’s HMI, the term multimodal whether a parking lot has space or accepts attempts by the auto industry to increase almost always comes up. No single inter- credit cards). … Future Nuance systems will battery voltage—once in the early 1990s and face will get it done—not voice, not touch be able to determine when speech is again nearly a decade later—48-volt systems screens, not gesture recognition, not multi- directed at the system, rather than the are definitely headed for production.” function knobs. A combination of inputs is vehicle occupants, alleviating the need to That statement has held true. In 2016, what is required. push-to-talk or wake the system with an Audi is bringing two 48-volt applications to In a paper proposing a multimodal explicit key word. Finally, voice biometrics market in a high-end vehicle that utilizes a interface-based HMI published last year in can enhance system performance by dual 12/48-volt architecture. Both applica- the ETRI Journal, authors Jinwoo Kim, Jae discerning one speaker from another.” tions, an active suspension and electric tur- Hong Ryu and Tae Man Han outline some Today, car HMIs are just scratching the bocharger, provide sporty features for examples where multiple user interface surface of what is possible. What if all the which customers will presumably pay extra, modalities are being integrated: inputs from which the driver’s intent could and that will subsidize the added cost of “[BMW] proposed a new in-vehicle be anticipated were processed, not just a the 48-volt bus system. Other German car- augmented reality (AR) concept connecting few, as is the case today? And what if these makers will follow with limited 48-volt an adaptive cruise control, advanced driver inputs were analyzed in the context of time applications. According to Ricky Hudi, assistance systems, and a navigation system of day, the weather, and the driver’s Audi’s chief executive engineer for electri- through a head-up-display. Audi has calendar and preferences? cal and electronics, 48-volt mild hybrids created the Multi Media Interface for info- As is done with ADAS sensors—radar, will be launched by different OEMs in tainment content using gesture and voice camera and eventually lidar and ultra- China. (See below for more on Audi’s recognition. Benz has demonstrated an sonic—the various HMI inputs could be world’s first 48-volt implementation, in the in-vehicle AR [system] using speech and Turn to HMI, page 6 SQ7 diesel SUV.) pointing gestures. GM has researched Some industry insiders thought these driver gaze tracking while driving to HMI Inputs early 48-volt applications would be precur- provide AR information to drivers.” sors to high-volume mild-hybrid applica- Cars should have “contextual empathy,” Driver interfaces, sensors and data from Turn to 48 Volts, page 2 said Tim Smith, who has been setting up which user intent could be anticipated: an automotive HMI practice at ustwo, a Speech recognition Touch screens and panels 48-Volt-Equipped Vehicles digital design studio with offices around Smartphone (calendar, navigation) Produced Worldwide the world. “It is all about the data and the machine learning algorithm. The more GPS location Air gesture recognition (units) data you can feed into the algorithm the Driver monitor (head and eye tracking) 2021 <1 million to 4 million more personal and contextually aware it Mechanical switches, buttons, knobs and 2025 5 million to 12 million is.” Ustwo is currently working on automo- rotaries tive projects with Ford, Jaguar and another Biometric sensors Data: Infineon The Hansen Report on Automotive Electronics, www.hansenreport.com Page 1, April 2016 48 Volts… Continued from page 1 tions to reduce CO2 emissions, as ment—to cost no more than 500 euros, as a turbocharger and an electromechanical economies of scale kicked in to make 48- target. About one-third of the cost will be active roll stabilization system—will be volt supply systems more affordable. By devoted to semiconductors: up to 70 MOS- introduced on the SQ7, the performance 2021, European carmakers are required to FETs, 12 MOSFET drivers, several high version of the Q7 sport utility vehicle. bring fleet average CO2 emissions down to performance microcontrollers, plus other The stabilization system keeps the car 95 grams per kilometer. But Dr. Graf has devices such as transceivers and voltage reg- level in sharp turns. Compared with come to the personal opinion that much ulators (for the total system setup). hydraulically switched stabilizers, the 48- CO2 reduction can be accomplished at 12 “Infineon is well positioned as a semi- volt-based system develops more power and volts. “My impression is that 48 volts will conductor system supplier to offer com- works faster. The system is actuated by two not be a high-volume application in the plete and optimized chip sets for the electric motors, one on the front axle and near term,” he said. different applications,” Dr. Graf added. the other on the rear. Each motor develops “What you need for 48 volts is a dual 1.5 kilowatts (kW) of peak output. battery system: a 12-volt battery for cold Second-Generation 12-Volt Start/Stop In addition to the dual turbocharging of starts and to power the electrical and elec- The next generation of start/stop will the engine by means of exhaust gases, Audi tronics systems, and a 48-volt battery for not only turn the engine off when the vehi- offers a 48-volt-powered electric turbo- the hybrid functions—recuperation, boost- cle is stopped, but it will also enable “sail- charger, which it calls an electric powered ing and sailing. Sailing means rolling down ing,” meaning the engine can be turned off compressor. The electric turbocharger the road with the engine off. For this you while driving with the clutch open. “At relies on a compact electric motor to drive need two batteries.” that point if you press the brake pedal a compressed air into the engine, indepen- Dr. Graf believes you can take the same little bit, the generator engages to slow you dent from engine speed, eliminating turbo two-battery approach with 12 volts. “One is down and thus produces energy. If you lag and available from engine idle onwards. a lead-acid battery; the other is a lithium- brake harder, then the friction brake The 48-volt subsystem includes a 48-volt ion battery, where the regenerator and engages. This can’t be done in a car today lithium-ion battery with nominal content booster are working. A battery disconnect because you only have one battery,” Dr. of 470 watt-hours and peak output of up to switch between the two batteries that can Graf noted. The sailing feature can be 13 kW. A DC/DC converter brings the handle between 300 and 500 amps is also implemented using two 12-volt batteries, 12-volt level up to 48 volts. The energy is needed. Given its low cost, the micro- the provided by a 12-volt highly efficient MOS- hybrid solution will likely be favored for micro-hybrid approach mentioned above, FET generator (instead of diode rectifier), high-volume B- and C-class vehicles. For or using a 12- and a 48-volt battery, the which reduces losses and provides an out- some of the higher class C vehicles and the mild hybrid. put of up to 3 kW with an efficiency of D-class, carmakers will take the 48-volt A 12- or 48-volt starter generator will 80%. � option,” he suggested. also be required. In place of the six diodes Much depends on how close carmakers used in today’s generators, the starter gen- are to the 95-gram fleet requirement. If erator is typically fitted with 24 MOSFETs they are very close Dr. Graf thinks they will (used as rectifiers and motor drives), two or © 2016 Paul Hansen Associates, 150 favor cost-efficient approaches based on 12 three MOSFET drivers and a powerful Pinehurst Road, Portsmouth, NH 03801 volts, rather than the significantly more microcontroller. USA. Telephone: 603-431-5859; fax: 603- expensive 48-volt mild hybrids. 431-5791; email: [email protected]. By 2020 carmakers want the 48-volt sub- Audi’s 48-Volt Firsts All rights reserved. bus—including 48-volt starter generator, According to an Audi press release, Materials may not be reproduced in DC/DC converter and battery manage- Audi’s two 48-volt applications—an electric any form without written permission.

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