With only a week to go before AutoSens 2017, we thought it was about time we chatted to key sponsor and exhibitor NXP. Philip Pesses is the company’s technical marketing manager for ADAS products in the Automotive Microcontroller Product group.
Your R&D platform, the NXP BlueBox, was first presented at AutoSens in 2016. One year on, how has the industry responded?
We are seeing the industry react to our BlueBox autonomous driving platform in a very positive way. The BlueBox was designed to be an open platform, a central hub that can receive various inputs from different sensors such as radar, lidar, vision sensing, as well as V2X systems. The BlueBox takes these data inputs and creates a model of the world around you.
This platform is enabling automakers and their suppliers to design the future autonomous vehicle. To build a complete self-driving vehicle of the future, we believe the approach is through a domain-based architecture. For the autonomous car to be a reality, it needs a combination of applications, that will not only perceive the world around it, but analyze it and react. Simplistically, we call this sense, think and act functions.
This architecture needs to be adaptable and scalable.
What are the benefits of an open architecture over a proprietary system?
There are many benefits of an open platform. An open platform allows automakers and developers to differentiate the product they are offering, and it aggregates value to their solution. It also allows fast porting of algorithms from one platform to the next.
We have heard the benefits machine learning technology brings to the automotive world. What is NXP’s approach to that?
Machine learning, such as object classification, is very useful in the automotive market. A vehicle that can see and identify an object and then adapt based on the calculated safety threat can enable higher levels of safety through automated tasks like braking, acceleration or steering the car away from a potential collision.
NXP offers multiple options to leverage machine learning for automotive, including radar, vision and sensor fusion solutions such as S32R27 radar and S32V234 vision processors. These automotive-grade solutions can also be used in industrial, commercial trucking or anywhere safety features are needed to save a life or protect from harm.
What products are you most excited about when talking to ADAS folks?
We currently offer processors and safety solutions at each ADAS node. As I mentioned earlier, through NXP’s autonomous driving development platform, the BlueBox, we are helping the automotive industry develop next-generation self-driving vehicles. The BlueBox offers network level performance up to 90,000 DMIPS using LS2085A and also features the S32V234 vision processor for implementing surround view and object detection algorithms. Other areas we are excited about are our leading radar and V2X solutions.
NXP offers the full radar system for the autonomous car with analog RF transceivers in the front-end to the radar processor that detects signals and converts this to meaningful data such as distance, direction and speed. V2X communications can connect cars and infrastructure, improving road safety by alerting drivers of critical traffic information, road closures and nearby vehicles.
Why has NXP chosen to support the inaugural AutoSens Awards?
We are an innovative company leading in ADAS and we want to support start-ups focused on autonomous cars of the future as this is a key area where industry disruptors and new players will be entering the market. A strong ecosystem that can support this industry is needed and these start-ups will be a big contributor.
What are your top three favourite meals?
Texas Brisket is a favorite for locals and visitors, Chicago deep-dish pizza and Korean BBQ.
What is the NXP team most looking forward to at AutoSens?
We look forward to meeting partners that are interested on providing solutions for our automotive and industrial customers. We also want to see what our customers have been able to develop using our technology. It will also be fun to see the classic car museum.
What’s the best thing about working at NXP?
Being part of the company with a strong automotive heritage is great. If you think about it, we are defining which technologies and applications are going to be deployed in the autonomous car of the future. It is fun to be a part of building ADAS solutions for an industry (like autonomous cars) that is 2-3 years away from being deployed.
NXP is a leader in embedded processing solutions for the automotive, consumer, industrial and networking markets. NXP’s broad portfolio of automotive microcontrollers support customer success in fast-growing markets such as Advanced Driver Assistance Systems – fostering the creation of smarter, safer vehicles.
Join NXP at Booth 40 on the blue boulevard at AutoWorld during AutoSens 2017.
