Auto world set for MPU revolution, Denso says

By Colleen Taylor, Contributing Editor -- Electronic News, 5/23/2007

In his Tuesday afternoon keynote at the Microprocessor Forum, Hideaki Ishihara, senior manager at Japan-based automotive components manufacturer Denso Corp.,  painted an idyllic picture of a future world filled with microprocessor-packed automobiles.

"In the future a human-machine interface, between the human and the vehicle, will be improved by use of voice, image, and biological systems," Ishihara said in discussing Denso's vision for a traffic system enabled by high technology. "Also, highways will be equipped with devices to support the new automobile society, called the 'advanced cruise-assist highway system.'"

Overall, he said, "there will be a reduction in traffic jams, which will enhance the safety, eco-friendliness and comfort [of driving], which is Denso's mission."

To enable this safer and smoother world of auto transportation, Ishihara detailed a bevy of future uses for microprocessors and microcomputers for advancements in vehicle stability, navigation, airbag deployment, and even crash-prediction.

This rosy future is not without roadblocks, Ishihara said. He noted that multi-core chip technology is not necessarily a good bet for automotive applications -- although he said that while it would be useful for navigation applications that require higher power and performance, more basic applications like sensors and actuators used in cars, engine control and airbags would not benefit from multi-core processors.

But despite quibbles over core architecture and software adaptability, Ishihara said the microprocessor revolution in automobiles is on its way: and only the best-suited technologies will succeed.

"The number of automotive embedded systems will increase rapidly for future automated-drive societies," Ishihara concluded. "Only microprocessors which meet specific needs will lead the market."