It’s no secret that the application processor designed for smartphones has been adopted by many digital TVs. As smartphone application processors become more common and powerful, technologies originating from smartphones are inevitable. Involved in other different market segments, including machine-to-machine communication (M2M), medical and even automotive.
As the world began to describe the connected car as a "four-wheel smart phone" touted (in fact, it is a data machine chip and application processor for the car infotainment system), the car field is also a chip supplier. Bringing unique challenges. We know that as more and more automakers begin to focus on consumer electronics technology, they are also vying for chip makers to upgrade their plans to consumer electronics.
As the world's largest supplier of smart phone chips, Qualcomm should be the best person to answer what I call the "rules of the car". Why is it a "difficult problem"? Because it is a big challenge to port the technology originally designed for smartphones to automotive applications, especially for companies that don't have experience in car chip design, including Qualcomm. The smartphone chip maker wants to enter the automotive industry and needs to overcome three challenges: 1. Ensure the reliability of its own chips (in line with automotive applications); 2. Adopt advanced (and to some degree of maturity) technology; 3. Find the most economical solution for the auto industry.
Qualcomm's "Two-pronged" Strategy
Nakul Duggal, Qualcomm's vice president of product management, said in an interview earlier that the company is adopting a "two-pronged" strategy for the automotive application market, while designing a Snapdragon application processor with third-party partners. Teamed up to create a telematics system (telemaTIc) module with Qualcomm consumer data chip.
Qualcomm is committed to upgrading its position from a third-line automotive component supplier to a second line for chips that enter the automotive center console (also known as automotive infotainment systems). At the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January, Qualcomm announced that it will launch the company's first Snapdragon application processor at the end of this year, and will enter the new car that will be launched in 2016.
Duggal said that these days, the application processor on the market has integrated a large number of technologies on a single chip with an area of ​​only 10x10mm. In order to become a second-line automotive application processor supplier, Qualcomm's mission is to control each one. The technology of the single chip ensures that each functional block is reliable and conforms to the car rules.
Application processor designers have adopted advanced process nodes, so the chip's power consumption is lower; in addition, these companies are looking for advanced memory technology to support higher bandwidth, higher speed and higher component performance. But Duggal pointed out: "With LPDDR4 as an example, this state-of-the-art mobile memory technology has only just begun to be applied on smartphones." So can LPDDR4 be used in today's car code application processor? His answer is "not yet feasible."
The life cycle of smartphone application processors is much shorter than that of cars and thrives on the basis of very advanced technology; to port them to cars, Qualcomm needs to measure reliability. The automotive industry wants to keep up with the pace of advanced technology evolution in smartphones, but chip makers, including Qualcomm, want to confirm whether the most advanced and powerful technology used in smartphones is on yield reliability. "Mature enough" to be a car gauge solution.
As for the data chip for automotive infotainment applications, Duggal pointed out that the modular solution is a viable path; he admits: "We have discussed this issue extensively internally." That is, Qualcomm should not design it. The car LTE chip, rather than relying on third-party partners to Qualcomm's chip application package module, and then get the car rules.
Car LTE chip verification problem
To build a car LTE chip (not a module), there are two problems: First, the data chip must support the complex brand and the continuous changes of the cellular network to meet the needs of global telecom operators; Duggal said "Six or seven years ago, only CDMA and GSM networks, we only need to support two or three different frequency bands; when the world enters the 3G era, we need to deal with 6 to 10 frequency bands." LTE (and need to consider backward compatibility) network: "We are talking about support for 51 frequency bands."
Another problem is "network verification". In addition to passing the vehicle certification, the data processor chip also needs to accept the stringent verification procedures set by various telecom operators. So if you already have a car data chip, how do you ensure that the vehicle with the car chip built in has passed the network verification test of a telecom operator? Is the entire car delivered to the operator? Obviously this is a more difficult logistical support capability than the operator's requirements for verifying the phone.
It's logical to build a modem module that includes all the components of the baseband chip, power management chip, RF chip, memory, antenna, etc. - then let the module get the car gauge and be verified by the telecom operator; However, Qualcomm is still a third-line auto component supplier, and must rely on module suppliers such as LG, Sierra Wireless and Gemalto to accept heavy cellular verification and vehicle certification. Duggal said that the best way to get a modem module and carrier network "advance with the times" is still to rely on the module industry ecosystem to ensure long-term reliability.
In order to become a second-line car chip supplier, Qualcomm has been working hard to select the right process technology for the car chip; Duggal pointed out: "This is a very rigorous action." But Qualcomm is not dealing with the same Snapdragon application. The device is designed in two ways, one for smartphones and the other for cars; "because our consumer electronics grade Snapdragon series of application processor products are many types, far beyond what automakers need."
Duggal further stated: "Our mission is to identify the needs of the automotive industry, focus on the technical performance of the car rules, and make appropriate choices for the automotive market solutions." But the most difficult part is still strong in advanced technology. A balance is struck between demand and the stringent reliability specifications of the automotive market.
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