Samsung Enters Auto Industry To Make Electronics For Autonomous Cars (computerworld.com)

Lucas123 writes: Samsung has become the latest electronics company to create a division specifically for manufacturing parts for the automotive industry. South Korea's largest smartphone maker said it will begin manufacturing electronics with a specific focus on autonomous vehicles and infotainment systems. In October, General Motors announced a strategic partnership with South Korea's LG Electronics for it to produce a majority of the key components for GM's upcoming electric vehicle (EV), the Chevrolet Bolt. Having formerly balked at the automotive electronics market as too small, consumer computer chipmakers are now entering the space with fervor.

Dutch semiconductor maker NXP is closing an $11.8 billion deal to buy Austin-based Freescale, which makes automotive microprocessors. The combined companies would displace Japan's Renesas as the world's largest vehicle chipmaker. German semiconductor maker Infineon Technology has reportedly begun talks to buy a stake in Renesas. Thilo Koslowski, a vice president at Gartner, said the industry is entering the age of "software-defined vehicles." There are easily 80 to 100 processors in a vehicle depending on their sophistication," Koslowski said. "Automotive software and hardware capabilities will become one of most sophisticated device platforms out there."

Comments

Dupe

[bigdavex]

http://tech.slashdot.org/story...

Number of computer

[bobstreo]

I want in my car?

0, not including the media device.

I hate having a car computer, always watching, always judging, always waiting to be used as evidence against me in a court of law.

Re:Number of computer

[drinkypoo]

Number of computers you have in your car? Like 20. I'm willing to bet you owe your life to several of them already.

I have two German luxo-barges. The old one has about two computers in it (not counting the aftermarket stereo) and can continue to operate even if you remove the electrical system completely from the car, until you shut it off; the key is backed by a vacuum switch which controls the motor run function. In theory you can then go on to pull-start it (no bump starting, it has 22:1 compression and an automatic) and drive it some more. The new one is a rolling fleet of computers and all of them are stupid. The sunroof is prone to going full-open and staying there. If there is a problem with the connector to the gauge cluster (common) then the vehicle will die if running, or not start if stopped. The ABS controller module is inside of the cab, and the guts are under the hood, but the controller actually would not scan until I cleaned the under-hood connector, through which the diagnostic line does not travel. It was just so befuddled by whatever it saw on its connector due to corrosion bridging and/or breaking connections that it lost its mind. When the ABS doesn't work, the traction control doesn't work, and the brake bias shifts rearward because the car was built basically without a proportioning valve... because the ABS also runs the EBD, which is where you use ABS to simulate having a limited-slip differential by clamping the spinning wheel in a loss of traction situation. That increases the chances of a spin if you should lock up the wheels... and we're talking about an ABS problem here.

The old car doesn't have traction control, it doesn't have ABS, it doesn't have EBD. What it has is reliability. Even when things are leaking or flopping around, it will keep going down the road. Even when the alternator fails and the electrical system shuts down, you can still drive it to where you're going — or to someplace you can get a new alternator and battery. The new car has everything down to an electrically operated rear sun shade, but if battery voltage is poor it throws a code to let you know that it might shit itself.

There are clear benefits to each approach. Let's not pretend otherwise, on either side.

Re:Number of computer

[drinkypoo]

If things are leaking or flopping I would prefer my car not to keep going down the road.

Oh, so if you get into a collision, you would like it to explode immediately, spreading you across several counties? I, personally, would like something which still continues to function so that I can at least get it off of the road. Or if I'm 300 miles from anywhere, I want to be able to limp to a service station.

Most cars even if the ECU fails completely will give you a limp mode

Well no, your ignorance is staggering. If the ECU fails completely, the car is dead. It's not doing a goddamned thing. It won't even fire the spark. That's the obvious advantage of cars that don't have them, which they stopped making in 1992. The only vehicles which persisted even that long which fit the description in the US market were the Chevy and Ford 3/4 and 1-ton trucks with the diesel engine and manual transmission, and the Mercedes-Benz 300SDL and 350SDL. But the pickups used [the same shitty] Stanadyne DB-2 injection pump with fuel shutoff solenoid, so if the electrical system goes tits up the truck dies and won't run without supplying 12V to that solenoid... which is quite power-hungry. If you're lucky enough to have a complete electrical failure which leaves you at least one battery, and you have some wire, you might be able to rig up the solenoid to run. And if you have the automatic transmission, it absolutely requires power. It will only limp in 1st and 3rd. The Mercedes will limp home without apparent issue, albeit without signals or climate control. The transmission is controlled by load and by a cable which connects to the accelerator linkages. And the Mercedes OM617.951 engine is considered to be one of the most reliable ever made, even taking as a package the Bosch Jetronic injection pump attached to it. It's probably more reliable than any modern engine in a production car today, in spite of or perhaps in part because of its mechanical regulation.

They already make cars!

[iONiUM]

This story is misleading, Samsung has been making cars for years for Korea only. Anybody who's been to Korea has seen them they're everywhere. They aren't entering the market.

Re:They already make cars!

[Anonymous Coward]

That's Renault Samsung Motors, a company owned mostly (80%) by Renault.

Re:easily 80 to 100 processors

[Sique]

On the other hand, the 35 year old Ford probably sucks at any crash, while the Chevy gives you decent survival rates. Most of the increased weight and thus the increased energy consumption for anything else than cruising along a straight highway is mostly caused by the enforced body structure to withstand diverse impact scenarios, and another cause is the increased glas surface compared to a car from the late 1970ies/early 1980ies. The electronics got introduced when emission standards forced the introduction of engine characteristic maps to control the ignition, and the widespread adoption of anti locking brakes.