Driver assistance systems - real time processing solutions

The new challenges facing automotive designers today can be likened more to that of those facing consumer electronics designers. Not only do they need to consider safety, space constraints and tough temperature ranges but are also faced with ever changing standards and protocols, time to market pressures and the need to implement advanced real time processing safety systems. This paper will first discuss the emergence of new safety systems such as Driver Assistance Systems and Automotive Cruise Control (ACC). It will then explore the real time processing techniques being investigated in the next generation driver assistance systems. It will compare and contrast conventional digital signal processing methodologies versus the emerging use of parallel processing engines such as Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) to implement true real time systems. Obsolescence is a concern of most design engineers and none more so than with automotive telematics equipment designers. Even though automotive electronics equipment design and development time scales have shrunk recently from 5 to 2 years the products themselves will still need to be produced for many years and be active in the field for even longer. The biggest obsolescence concern is that of out of date microprocessors and microcontrollers. This paper will also explore the possibility of utilizing FPGA fabric combined with soft embedded processors to eradicate obsolescence with the added benefit of field upgrades. It will detail both the use of FPGAs and soft core microprocessor architectures and the development tool flow. FPGAs can thus offer the flexibility to get to market quicker and can also extend product time in market.