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Auto Industry Redefining the Cockpit is Good News for OLEDs
The automotive industry is going through one of the most significant transformations since the invention of vehicles. Today, vehicle ownership in many cities is increasingly becoming optional rather than mandatory, manufacturers have adjusted their offerings to appeal to a buyer’s lifestyle. For the past decade, the in-cabin experience has been defined by the in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) system, which has evolved from multi-source entertainment, navigation, and personal-device integration systems to a fully connected experience, where buyers can create a level of personalization based on menu-driven selections, speech recognition, text-to-speech, and more. One of the more recent achievements of in-vehicle systems has been creating a seamless experience for users. Case in point: the integration of Apple and Android devices has become an expectation. Consumers are shopping for their new vehicles more like smartphones and tablets, They’re weighing up digital features like personalization, displays, in-vehicle connectivity, and infotainment, rather than horsepower, torque, make, model, and design. To keep pace with these evolving expectations, the display is front and center combining with automotive memory and storage, speed of access, and rich data sharing to power the next generation of connected vehicles.
The attention of automotive engineers to a new cockpit system should be good news for OLED panel makers. As the cockpit displays get larger and more functional, the specifications are starting to include wider viewing angles, fast response time and safer and thinner form factors (e.g., plastic to replace glass). Current systems have fallen short of the new requirements and proven the IVI systems to be inadequate.
A recent example includes integration of the instrument cluster information bridge into the same assembly known as a domain controller systems haven’t been able to keep pace with the level of innovation that consumers expect—which are primarily driven by their smartphone experiences outside of the vehicle. The one key challenge has been the inability to reconfigure and update the system after the vehicle is in the field. Audi instigated a change by announcing a revised IVI system for its 2021 models with a hardware platform that’s 10 times faster than its previous generation and features over-the-air enhancements that can be downloaded throughout the life of the vehicle. The improvements extend to an array of personalized streaming content and unlimited Wi-Fi connectivity over a 1-GB/s LTE advanced modem.
These new cockpits serve identify users, often from a fleet population, onboard and protect their personal preferences, content access, and commercial/financial profiles; determine where they sit in the vehicle; deliver an interactive experience to a person individually in a seated location; deliver multiple experiences simultaneously; isolate that user from other passengers in the vehicle, where possible; and delete or isolate a users’ profile when not in the vehicle. Additional information about the vehicle itself must be stored, maintained, and interact with the centralized mobility service, including data about cybersecurity and vehicle security, remote diagnostics, predictive maintenance, vehicle health check, customer connectivity and patterns, navigation, etc.
Figure 1: Application/Services Infrastructure
The automotive industry is going through one of the most significant transformations since the invention of vehicles. Today, vehicle ownership in many cities is increasingly becoming optional rather than mandatory, manufacturers have adjusted their offerings to appeal to a buyer’s lifestyle. For the past decade, the in-cabin experience has been defined by the in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) system, which has evolved from multi-source entertainment, navigation, and personal-device integration systems to a fully connected experience, where buyers can create a level of personalization based on menu-driven selections, speech recognition, text-to-speech, and more. One of the more recent achievements of in-vehicle systems has been creating a seamless experience for users. Case in point: the integration of Apple and Android devices has become an expectation. Consumers are shopping for their new vehicles more like smartphones and tablets, They’re weighing up digital features like personalization, displays, in-vehicle connectivity, and infotainment, rather than horsepower, torque, make, model, and design. To keep pace with these evolving expectations, the display is front and center combining with automotive memory and storage, speed of access, and rich data sharing to power the next generation of connected vehicles.
The attention of automotive engineers to a new cockpit system should be good news for OLED panel makers. As the cockpit displays get larger and more functional, the specifications are starting to include wider viewing angles, fast response time and safer and thinner form factors (e.g., plastic to replace glass). Current systems have fallen short of the new requirements and proven the IVI systems to be inadequate.
A recent example includes integration of the instrument cluster information bridge into the same assembly known as a domain controller systems haven’t been able to keep pace with the level of innovation that consumers expect—which are primarily driven by their smartphone experiences outside of the vehicle. The one key challenge has been the inability to reconfigure and update the system after the vehicle is in the field. Audi instigated a change by announcing a revised IVI system for its 2021 models with a hardware platform that’s 10 times faster than its previous generation and features over-the-air enhancements that can be downloaded throughout the life of the vehicle. The improvements extend to an array of personalized streaming content and unlimited Wi-Fi connectivity over a 1-GB/s LTE advanced modem.
These new cockpits serve identify users, often from a fleet population, onboard and protect their personal preferences, content access, and commercial/financial profiles; determine where they sit in the vehicle; deliver an interactive experience to a person individually in a seated location; deliver multiple experiences simultaneously; isolate that user from other passengers in the vehicle, where possible; and delete or isolate a users’ profile when not in the vehicle. Additional information about the vehicle itself must be stored, maintained, and interact with the centralized mobility service, including data about cybersecurity and vehicle security, remote diagnostics, predictive maintenance, vehicle health check, customer connectivity and patterns, navigation, etc.
Figure 1: Application/Services Infrastructure
To keep the vehicle updated and secure, a number of attributes about the vehicle will likely be stored on the vehicle to enable secure update strategies. Among them are mobility microservices, open APIs, digital assistant profiles, AI/ML engine interface, telematics IP configuration, and more.
Figure 2: OTA Update Strategies
Figure 2: OTA Update Strategies
Vehicle manufacturers are currently developing cockpit domain platforms that
will utilize multimodal user identification, such as speech recognition, facial recognition, biometrics, spatial telemetry for occupant location, multiple instantiations of interactive services like entertainment, IoT interaction, and more. Profiles for users, vehicle identity/status, local content storage, etc. are creating the need for overall storage approaching 1 TB. The controller will consist of several subsystems, including vision systems; multi-source connected entertainment; audio capture systems; an AI accelerator; a connectivity gateway; security infrastructure. Although there’s a high volume of data exchange within the system, a user expects the system to behave with minimal latency.
A cockpit domain controller is comprised of several subsystems that will require data to be shared between all of them to create a well-integrated solution.
Figure 3: Cockpit Domain Subsystems
will utilize multimodal user identification, such as speech recognition, facial recognition, biometrics, spatial telemetry for occupant location, multiple instantiations of interactive services like entertainment, IoT interaction, and more. Profiles for users, vehicle identity/status, local content storage, etc. are creating the need for overall storage approaching 1 TB. The controller will consist of several subsystems, including vision systems; multi-source connected entertainment; audio capture systems; an AI accelerator; a connectivity gateway; security infrastructure. Although there’s a high volume of data exchange within the system, a user expects the system to behave with minimal latency.
A cockpit domain controller is comprised of several subsystems that will require data to be shared between all of them to create a well-integrated solution.
Figure 3: Cockpit Domain Subsystems
From a data infrastructure standpoint, key system requirements include four elements:
These attributes, at a minimum, point to a centralized NVMe/PCIe storage solution as an advantageous design direction for this architecture. The performance of a UFS-based storage solution compared to a PCIe-based storage solution is shown in the next figure. Storage solutions based on the Universal Flash Storage (UFS) interface have been popular for automotive IVI applications as the auto industry typically adopts SoCs originally designed for mobile phones in automobiles. The charts compare performance between a UFS-based storage solution and a PCIe-based storage solution.
Figure 4: Performance (MB/sec.)
- Data-transfer speed
- Data Sharing between multiple subsystems on one SoC or multiple dissimilar SoCs
- Processes isolation to ensure design safety and security goals
- Encryption of sensitive data Ability to securely update or remotely exchange vehicle profiles and stored data
These attributes, at a minimum, point to a centralized NVMe/PCIe storage solution as an advantageous design direction for this architecture. The performance of a UFS-based storage solution compared to a PCIe-based storage solution is shown in the next figure. Storage solutions based on the Universal Flash Storage (UFS) interface have been popular for automotive IVI applications as the auto industry typically adopts SoCs originally designed for mobile phones in automobiles. The charts compare performance between a UFS-based storage solution and a PCIe-based storage solution.
Figure 4: Performance (MB/sec.)
In smartphones, UFS has established a dominance as the successor to storage based on eMMC. However, as shown in figure, PCIe-based solutions significantly outperform UFS-based storage solutions in both sequential and random read and write performance and, as such, are now seeing strong adoption in next-generation automotive IVI platforms.
System responsiveness is paramount and a PCIe backbone offers data bandwidth of 2 GB/s per lane (8 GB/s for four lanes). For data storage and access, the PCIe interface offers the highest data-transfer speed amongst storage solutions. Automotive-grade solid-state drives (SSDs) based on NVMe architecture are well-suited to this need, offering data-transfer speeds of 3 to 4 GB/s. The PCIe interface protocol also is far more efficient than other interfaces, offering additional low-latency benefits when compared to UFS. An automotive-grade SSD based on NVMe standards utilizes multiple namespace configurations. Namespaces are unique data storage areas that may be privately (namespaces A and C in the next figure) or publicly (namespace B) accessible. Data that’s intended to be shared between processes or subsystems can be defined as a public namespace for that purpose.
Figure 5: Private and Public Namespaces
System responsiveness is paramount and a PCIe backbone offers data bandwidth of 2 GB/s per lane (8 GB/s for four lanes). For data storage and access, the PCIe interface offers the highest data-transfer speed amongst storage solutions. Automotive-grade solid-state drives (SSDs) based on NVMe architecture are well-suited to this need, offering data-transfer speeds of 3 to 4 GB/s. The PCIe interface protocol also is far more efficient than other interfaces, offering additional low-latency benefits when compared to UFS. An automotive-grade SSD based on NVMe standards utilizes multiple namespace configurations. Namespaces are unique data storage areas that may be privately (namespaces A and C in the next figure) or publicly (namespace B) accessible. Data that’s intended to be shared between processes or subsystems can be defined as a public namespace for that purpose.
Figure 5: Private and Public Namespaces
Figure 6: Single-root I/O Virtualization.
SR-IOV offers an additional benefit of establishing direct connection between stored data and the active process in runtime. This eliminates the need for a system scheduler, such as a hypervisor, which leads to improved system speed and reduced latency. Again, this is a benefit to the user experience and system efficiency.
Furthermore, the technology offers the ability to encrypt sensitive data stored on the drive, such as vehicle firmware, personal identity information, whitelist/blacklist security profiles as shown below. Encryption is protected by symmetric private keys.
Figure 7: Encryption
Furthermore, the technology offers the ability to encrypt sensitive data stored on the drive, such as vehicle firmware, personal identity information, whitelist/blacklist security profiles as shown below. Encryption is protected by symmetric private keys.
Figure 7: Encryption
Centralized storage is necessary to enable data sharing between functional systems. It’s also fundamental in creating the interactive and personalized user experience that consumers want in their vehicles. An automotive-grade SSD offers a rich set of features including high speed, functional data isolation, cryptographic data protection, secure remote re-provisioning, and much more at a price-per-density like more isolated storage devices (e.g., UFS). Aside from eliminating design redundancy, SSDs require little PCB area since they’re available in small-form-factor ball-grid-array (BGA) packages.
The solution benefits of centralized storage and automotive-grade SSDs discussed here are being applied to next-generation architectures for 2023 and beyond. And not only for IVI, but also for automated driving and central computer architectures at key automotive OEMs and partners.
The solution benefits of centralized storage and automotive-grade SSDs discussed here are being applied to next-generation architectures for 2023 and beyond. And not only for IVI, but also for automated driving and central computer architectures at key automotive OEMs and partners.