103 four Lidars and six radars, with nVidia GPUs for high-performance sensor data-processing and fusion. The proprietary SensorPods (which resemble traditional wing mirrors, but house the sensors critical to real-time 360° perception) have been upgraded with two automotive-grade Lidars with higher resolutions than those we have previously featured, as well as two additional sideradar sensors for improved long-range object detection. The SensorPods also integrate extra-bright hazard lights atop, for compliance with the autonomous trucking industry’s application for an exemption to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Regulation 392.22. This standard requires traditional truck drivers to place warning devices on a roadway after a breakdown, but as driverless trucks cannot do this, the hazard lights will instead alert other drivers to the truck’s presence on the roadside (pending federal approval). Lastly, the 6th-gen truck integrates microphones for detecting and identifying emergency vehicles or suspicious sounds that could represent a hazard, as well as redundant longterm evolution (LTE) links for robust communications with Kodiak’s redundant command centres in Lancaster, Texas and Mountain View, California. Kodiak plans to integrate a nextgeneration Ambarella CV3-AD AI domain system and organisation controller (SoC) into the truck later this year, to improve its sensor and machine-learning capabilities. This will also enable Kodiak to transition to a high-volume SoC solution suited to high-end AI efficiency and performance. Texas Instruments (TI) debuted a new range of semiconductors, aimed at automotive safety and intelligence. The first is the AWR2544, a 76-81 GHz millimetre-wave radar-sensor chip, designed for satellite radar architectures. This means that radar sensors are arranged for 360° perception around a vehicle and output semi-processed data to an onboard central processor, making the radars ‘satellites’ in a centralised AI system, which then handles decision-making outputs following sensor-data fusion. The AWR2544 also integrates TI’s launch-on-package (LoP) technology, which involves integrating a 3D waveguide antenna on the opposite side of the PCB from the sensor chip, reducing the overall size of the sensor by up to 30% and enabling extension of the sensor range beyond 200 m. A 300 MHz Arm Cortex-R5F is used as the AWR2544’s CPU, with Ethernet, I2C and SPI interfaces available in the system, along with a radar hardware accelerator, and four receivers and transmitters. The other two new semiconductors are the DRV3946-Q1 integrated contactor driver and the DRV3901-Q1 integrated squib driver (a detonator for applications such as igniting the explosive charges that inflate vehicle airbags) for pyro fuses, which are programmable driver chips with built-in diagnostics, and are also designed to support functional safety for battery management and powertrain systems. The DRV3946-Q1 measures 9.7 mm x 4.4 mm, features 28 pins, and is designed as a closed-loop, dual-channel solenoid driver, with up to 20 kHz PWM communications. The DRV3901-Q1 measures 7.3 mm x 4.9 mm, has a similar pin configuration and, in addition to being a squib driver, it can be used for battery disconnect units and junction boxes. Like the DRV3946-Q1, it comes with documentation to aid system design for compliance with ISO26262, up to Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL) C. CJC Motor exhibited a range of its Brushless DC electric motor designs for high-voltage power output in low-speed, high-torque applications. Key design points include rotors designed for magnetic-field optimisation that minimise cogging torque to operate smoothly without jitter, regardless of speed. Accurate motion is further aided through the integration of high-resolution encoders and precise control algorithms for translatíng control commands into exact motor movements. The company’s recommended systems for UAV propulsion include its BL2206, which is designed with a 12N14P slot/ pole configuration and has a continuous power output of slightly more than 120 W, and its BL2806, which has a similar magnet and winding configuration, is compatible with 12 in (30.48 cm) propellers and produces just over 150 W continuously. Both systems have a MTBF of at least 500 hours and are built with IP45-rated housings. CES 2024 | Show report Uncrewed Systems Technology | February/March 2024 Texas Instruments’ new range of semiconductors are aimed at next-generation automotive intelligence
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