Page 15 - EE Times Europe Magazine – June 2024

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Automated Driving Is Transforming the Sensor and Computing Market

currently being delivered to OEMs including
BYD, Arcfox, BMW and Mercedes.
Eyes-off driving applications are not as
simple as just adding more sensors and com-
puting power to the car. They are also linked
to a new generation of more performant
sensors that can detect smaller objects at a
greater range.
Cameras are improving not just in res-
olution, with 8-MP image sensors being
embedded, but also in terms of dynamic
range, so that low light and intense light are
less of an issue. Twelve-megapixel image sen-
sors have appeared, and discussions are being
held on future design wins. Radar is evolving
from legacy radar, with its range, Doppler and
azimuth capabilities, to 4D radar, which offers
an additional, elevation capability. And imag-
ing radar now offers better angular resolution
and the ability to track more objects.

Eyes-off driving applications
are not as simple as
just adding more sensors
and computing power to
the car.

Finally, LiDAR is emerging quite rapidly,
and its performance is increasing, especially
its range and resolution. The latest LiDAR
technology will be able to generate up to
12 million points per second to enrich the
point cloud.
Despite this new generation of sensors,
eyes-off driving remains exceedingly chal-
lenging for the handful of OEMs engaged
in this direction. As already mentioned,
they will be responsible during automated
driving. Therefore, they are restricting the
operational domain design to ensure safety.
The current use case is highway driving up to
60 km/hour, though it will soon be updated
to 130 km/hour with the oncoming generation of sensors. is expected to grow from ~US$12 billion in 2022 to ~US$27 billion in
On the issue of responsibility, at Yole Group, we clearly see two 2028, at a CAGR of 14%. Regarding computing, the growth is even more
development paths. While global OEMs are targeting the highway use dynamic, with the computing market for ADAS expected to grow from
case, Chinese OEMs are focused on urban applications. This can also ~US$3 billion in 2022 to ~US$8 billion in 2028, at a CAGR of 18%.
explain the difference in the number of sensors embedded in cars. We’re in a whole new automotive era, with software and soft-
Indeed, the Mercedes S-Class, which was the first car with eyes-off ware-defined vehicles leading the charge. These trends aren’t just
capabilities, uses 13 sensors, while Chinese OEMs like XPeng, BYD, hype; they’re paving the way for OEMs to explore fresh applications
Lotus and IM Motors use between 21 and 24 sensors in their cars. and revenue streams. This shift will revolutionize E/E architecture,
The computing needs for eyes-off applications are exploding because with domain controllers set to replace single ECUs. ■
there is a need to fuse data from all the sensors. To do that, the E/E
architecture is changing from a distributed architecture, which could REFERENCE
still exist for hands-off applications, to a more centralized architecture Yole Group, which examines the latest innovations through conversations
in which single ECUs are replaced by domain controllers initially and with leaders in the automotive sector, recently released a market study,
possibly by zone controllers later. These controllers possess the nec- “Semiconductor Sensors for Automotive 2024,” which may be read at
essary computing power to process raw data coming from sensors. The tinyurl.com/5zzehths.
goal is to have a single unit to enable more complex algorithms and
reduce processing latency. Pierrick Boulay is a senior technology and market analyst for automo-
As for market trends, the sensor market for cameras, radar and LiDAR tive semiconductors at Yole Group.

www.eetimes.eu | JUNE 2024