Mentor Blogs

  It used to be relatively easy to drive into a large city and find a place to park, but as with so many things, that was then and this is now. It’s much harder now to find a place to park, but on the other hand, help is available now that wasn’t there back in the day. At least three parking software companies – Best Parking, ParkMe, and Parkopedia – were exhibiting at Telematics Detroit earlier … Read More

Audi Connect, Best Parking, Audi, Telematics Detroit, ParkMe, Parkopedia

  Telematics Update has published its Automotive HMI Report 2013, containing an analysis of human-machine interface (HMI) features by vehicle segment and an overview of “best in market” HMI designs, including those from automakers such as BMW, Audi, Ford, and General Motors. The report includes insights from more than 40 HMI experts from firms such as Continental, DENSO, Fiat, Garmin, GM, Harman, … Read More

University of Warwick, Telematics Update, NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), Automotive HMI Report, Nokia, Tata, Telecommunication Systems Inc., Audi, DENSO, GM, Harman, Fiat, Human-Machine Interface (HMI), Jaguar Land Rover, Garmin, Ford, General Motors, Visteon, Volvo

  The big news at Telematics Update Detroit, if it were being held this week, might have been Apple’s aside that nine automakers plan to implement Siri in their vehicles within a year. Instead, since the conference was last week, the big news was Verizon’s acquisition of Hughes Telematics. Little has been said publicly about Apple’s Siri and “eyes free” telematics but we should hear more relatively … Read More

Toyota, TeleNav, Networkfleet, Apple, Audi, OnStar FMV, Siri, Telematics Update Detroit, Airbiquity, eyes free telematics, Land Rover, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, General Motors, Mercedes, Mobileye, Chrysler, Hughes Telematics, Honda, Jaguar, Tunein Radio, UIEvolution, Verizon

Counterfeit automotive electronic components and manipulation of electronic control unit (ECU) coding are potentially serious problems for automakers.  Chipmaker Infineon Technologies suggests that counterfeiting results in billions of dollars in financial loss annually, as well as possible safety risks, and code manipulation presents both safety and liability issues. To help control the problem, … Read More

Volkswagen, Secure Hardware Extension (SHE), AUDO MAX microcontrollers, Audi, Infineon Technologies, Porsche, Daimlre, Hersteller Initiative

A partial solution usually implies a need for ongoing work until the problem at hand is finally solved, but that’s not the case with CAN (Controller Area Network) partial networking. Despite the name, it’s a major step forward in automotive efficiency, and it’s a lot closer than I realized until this week when NXP introduced a CAN transceiver (TJA1145) and an integrated system basis chip (UJA1168) that … Read More

TJA1145 CAN transceiver, Porsche, UJA1168 system basis chip, AUTOSAR R3.2.1, Audi, Volkswagen, ISO 11898-6, NXP Semiconductors, CAN partial networking, Daimler

Speaking at Mentor Graphics IESF Detroit conference earlier this month, Paul Hansen, editor and publisher of The Hansen Report on Automotive Electronics (http://www.hansenreport.com) addressed four topics that strongly influence what electrical distribution systems will look like in the coming years. They are the German initiative to develop a 48-volt bus architecture and 48-volt components, a German … Read More

48-volt bus architecture, Mentor Graphics IESF Detroit, The Hansen Report on Automotive Electronics, higher voltage power supplies, partial networking technology, Paul Hansen, body control modules, Volkswagen, Mentor Graphics Capital suite, Electrical Distribution Systems, stop/start syswtems, Mercedes, CAN transceiver, Porsche, mild hybrid vehicles, Audi, Delphi

For some time now, carmakers have been focused on allowing customers to use smart phones and other connected devices inside vehicles. The idea, for the most part, was to leverage the customer’s data plan, with the manufacturer allowing certain apps on the customer’s cell phone to be controlled from the head unit or steering wheel. Then, earlier this month, two car companies announced agreements with … Read More

Google Local Search, Google Earth, Microsoft value-charging feature, AT&T, Sprint Drive First, AT&T cellular connection, T-Mobile SIM card, T-Mobile USA, Add new tag, wireless mobile, MyFord Mobile app, Audi MMI Navigation Plus, secure mobile Wi-Fi hotspot, Ford Focus Electric, Sirius Traffic, Audi, Sprint, Audi Connect

It’s hard to imagine that anyone enjoys getting stuck in traffic. It’s a colossal waste of time, not to mention a waste of fuel, and millions of people endure it routinely. When companies like INRIX say they provide real-time traffic information, I wondered, does it make a difference? This week INRIX announced that Audi selected INRIX XD Traffic to provide real-time traffic information and traffic-powered … Read More

Clear Channel Radio, INRIX, Audi

Four German automotive firms are embarking on a three-year collaborative research project to see if they can make vehicle diagnostics more like science than art. Audi, Continental, Infineon, and ASIC/ASSP developer ZMD estimate that up to 40 percent of vehicle electronics errors can’t be precisely diagnosed, which isn’t a huge surprise considering that cars these days contain 80-something electronic … Read More

German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits, IKT 2020, ASSP, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Audi, University of Stuttgart, University of the Federal Armed Forces, ASIC, ZMD, Infineon, DIANA research project, Information and Communications Technology 2020 program, end-to-end diagnostics, NPR's "Car Talk", Automotive Electronics, University of Cottbus

Readers of the New York Times were shocked – shocked – by a January 7 article headlined “Despite Risks, Internet Creeps Onto Car Dashboards.” Most of the nearly 500 Times readers who posted comments on the paper’s Web site voiced outrage that the automotive industry, in its greed and stupidity (paraphrasing here), would have the audacity to offer such disastrous wares when so much attention is already … Read More

Distracted Driving, Ford, Audi, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Infotainment, New York Times