Texas Instruments has introduced new semiconductor products designed to make cars safer and smarter

Texas Instruments has introduced new semiconductor products designed to make cars safer and smarter. The AWR2544 77GHz millimeter wave radar sensor chip is designed with a satellite radar architecture to enable a higher level of autonomy by enhancing sensor fusion and decision making capabilities in Advanced Driver assistance systems (ADAS). Texas Instruments' new driver chips, the DRV3946-Q1 Integrated Contactor Driver and the DRV3901-Q1 Integrated Hot Fuse Burst Driver, support software programming, provide built-in diagnostics and support functional safety for battery management systems and powertrain systems.

Fern Yoon, Director of Automotive systems at Texas Instruments, said: "Semiconductor innovations like the ones we demonstrated at CES this year are driving the evolution of automotive systems to help deliver a safer driving experience. From more advanced driver assistance systems to smarter powertrain systems for electric vehicles, TI is working with automakers to envision how reliable and smart technologies can make vehicles safer."

Improve radar performance for smarter ADAS decisions

Many automakers are adding more sensors around their cars, aiming to improve vehicle safety and autonomy. The Texas Instruments AWR2544 single-chip radar sensor is a sensor designed specifically for satellite architectures. In the satellite architecture, the radar sensor uses sensor fusion algorithms to output partially processed data to the central processor for ADAS decision-making, and utilizes 360-degree sensor coverage to achieve a higher level of vehicle safety.

The AWR2544 single-chip radar sensor also uses waveguide interface Package (LOP) technology. The LOP technology supports the installation of a 3D waveguide antenna on the other side of the printed circuit board, helping to reduce the size of the sensor by up to 30%. The LOP technology also enables sensor range to be extended to more than 200m via a single chip. In satellite architectures, these features can help automakers improve ADAS intelligence to increase vehicle autonomy and, in turn, to make more informed decisions over longer distances. The AWR2544 is new to Texas Instruments' radar sensor portfolio and supports a variety of ADAS applications and architectures, including sensors for Angle radar, front radar, imaging radar, side radar and rear radar systems.

With integrated features and safety, electric powertrain systems are smarter

As the trend towards software-defined vehicles grows, designers are challenged to develop smarter and more advanced battery management systems (BMS). Texas Instruments has introduced two new highly integrated, software-programmed driver chips for safer and more efficient control of high-voltage disconnect circuits in BMS and other powertrain systems. Both drives comply with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 26262 functional safety standard and offer built-in diagnostic and protection features that reduce development time for automotive engineers.

For BMS and other powertrain systems, the DRV3946-Q1 is a fully integrated contactor driver. This device includes a peak and hold current controller that helps automakers improve system energy efficiency. The device is also capable of monitoring the status of the contactor using safety diagnostic technology.

The Texas Instruments DRV3901-Q1 fully integrated Burst driver enables intelligent hot fuse disconnection systems by using built-in circuitry to monitor the hot fuse and provide diagnostic information to the system microcontroller. This gives hybrid vehicle (HEV) and electric vehicle (EV) BMS designers the flexibility to use hot fuses instead of traditional blown fuse systems, while minimizing design complexity.