Catch up on the technologies MIH working groups have developed in 2022:

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【Autonomy WG】

  Vehicle manufacturers use proprietary designs and technologies for components and products, creating high barriers for autonomous driving (AD) / advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) realization.    The Autonomy Working Group develops standardized vehicle control and multiple APIs to construct open and agnostic interfaces, applying to diverse autonomous softwares and hardwares to simplify development time and reduce cost.    The Autonomy Working Group develops diverse sensor APIs, including Camera API, Smart Camera API, LiDAR API and Radar API. Through these standardized APIs, information can be processed and allow the vehicle to recognize the road condition and surroundings so as to make driving decisions. DbW（Drive-by-Wire）API then can be used to control the vehicle’s accelerator, brake and wheel.    In addition, Map API can help vehicle obtain real-time road condition and map information. Furthermore, GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) API and IMU (Inertial measurement unit) API allow the vehicle to evaluate travel routes based on environment condition. The vehicle battery management system (BMS) included into the whole autonomy architecture can further make efficient travel plans without mileage anxiety.    This year, The Autonomy Working Group completed the development of standardized interfaces of DbW API (Drive-by-Wire) V1.0 which is under technical committee’s review. Open software AutoWare OSS has adopted MIH DbW（Drive-by-Wire）API and officially launched for vehicle application.       

【EEA WG】

EEA can be seen as electric vehicle’s Central Nervous System which constructs and connects CCU, ZCU, computing platforms, power delivery and data exchange. Under the trend of SDV (software-defined vehicle), centralized EEA architecture makes data transmission and network typology more complicated. New applications for different vehicle segments becomes a challenge.    Therefore, EEA Working Group focuses on developing layers design architecture to highlight standardized middleware interfaces and two software projects MIH.SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) & MIH.ZONE (Zonal Architecture). Under this structure, it offers solutions for system complexity under the trend of SDV (software-defined vehicle). Standardized middleware interfaces serves as a runtime and deterministic software system with functional safety guaranteed, connecting service-oriented software and zonal architecture. Standardized middleware interfaces simplify the communication between software and hardware which can be conducted on multiple hardware. This allows open EEA being applied in different software models and vehicles so as to simplify the complex communication system under the trend of SDV.     In 2022, EEA Working Group completed EEA white paper and roadmap.       

【Smart Cabin WG】

User-centric lifestyle has been expected on EV that car manufacturers pursue more customized and individualized vehicle designs. To achieve this goal, to change softwares and hardwares, architecture and vehicle designs enhance development time and cost. Therefore, Smart Cabin Working Group aims to develop 5-senses interface standardization to support mainstream hardware chip and realize service innovation on multiple software systems.     The standardized interfaces on Smart Cabin system are mainly demonstrated on In-Vehicle Infotainment System(IVI) and Driver Monitoring System(DMS). For IVI, users can use navigation, entertainment and voice control applications to realize hearing, sight and touch senses. Through the standardized interfaces of the IVI system, it can integrate applications from multiple car manufacturers and those meet users’ need. Driver Monitoring System(DMS) can remind the drivers when being distracted, plus the support of edge computing, time for vehicle control can be reduced and energy consumption being reduced by 50%.     

【Security & OTA WG】

Currently, the use of a closed security system makes management of the vehicle life cycle separate from vehicle design, developing, manufacturing, using and scrapping for cybersecurity and data privacy. In addition, data disputes between end users and car manufacturers have seen an increase in the market.   To face such a situation, Security & OTA Working Group focuses on developing a seamless Vehicle Security Framework and Open API to enable proactive protection of automotive cybersecurity over the entire security life cycle.   Remote Diagnostic system and MIH DID (Decentralized Identifier) are two focused areas of the development of Security & OTA Working Group this year. The Remote Diagnostic system collects sensor data to detect insecure conditions and further provides solutions through AI technology to solve vehicle issues, thus enhancing the efficiency of customer service.   MIH DID can conduct driver authorization and make vehicle resume transparent in the car trade, maintenance, repair, insurance, and loan history. This data can be synced to the cloud data platform and then exported to the Remote Diagnostic system and vehicle security center, which will be further integrated into the SW/ FW vehicle life management system with OTA update to let the vehicle maintain the best secure condition. Furthermore, the ownership of the vehicle and vehicle resume can be put into NFT through dNFT (Dynamic Non-Fungible Token) technology, which is non-fungible to enhance the protection of data privacy.    

【Energy Management WG】

 

Battery Management System (BMS) plays a key role in driving range. Current BMS in the market has been limited in battery information monitoring, lacking data from vehicle control management system and data from assistance driving system. Thus,  BMS Working Group has devoted in structuring an open BMS system to increase vehicle mileage and optimize overall EV power efficiency in order to achieve the best driving range. 

 

BMS Working Group proposes three architectures to face the market need. Firstly, open BMS system offers modularization designs through AI model and open APIs, exchanging information with multiple systems to maximize the power efficiency of the overall vehicle. Secondly, Power-Level Battery HIL (Hardware-In-the-Loop) sees a collaboration with NI(National Instrument) to develop battery recording system to monitor real-time battery condition. This system allows real road conditions such as uphill/downhill and curvature to be integrated into the AI model, simulating battery efficiency under different road conditions through digital twin technology. This data then can be fed into BMS to achieve the best power performance.  

 

Last but not least, Battery Swap System can help the driver find the nearest power exchange station when the vehicle is low on battery so that more mileage can be added timely. This system can eliminate range anxiety in urban transportation and logistics. 

   

【Thermal Management WG】  

 The Thermal Management Working Group has focused on the development of a heat pump system for electric vehicles. In these vehicles, which do not have internal combustion engines, battery power is used to create heat, which can reduce the driving range. In cold winter, low temperatures can further decrease charging range and efficiency. The heat pump system harnesses thermal energy in the air to produce heat that powers the electric vehicle, allowing for a longer driving range.    The group is working to standardize and modularize the components of the system that refrigerant passes through the standard parts and battery ends to allow the resulting cool/ hot liquid being used to the battery.  This allows the battery to be charged faster and with up to 60% less energy consumption than traditional PTC systems.     

【Powertrain WG】  

The closed system design in the vehicle market leads to longer time-to-market without commonality for different vehicle segments. Thus, Powertrain Working Group develops standardized three-in-one EDU interfaces to create reference designs. At the same time, the group standardizes and modularizes sub-systems and components and exposing interfaces and signals to enable features and power to enhance the diversity of product portfolios.    The Powertrain Working Group has made progress in the development of  motor and gearbox. For the motor, there are two major trends in the motor field from the mainstream market: miniaturization&high speed and further integration of the EDU system. For the power requirements, we will fix the motor's outer diameter and flexible stack lengths as a vehicle platform drive scheme.    For the gearbox, the group has adopted 2 Speed Gear Box technology with a standardized assembly surface, which takes into account the acceleration ability, maximum speed of passenger vehicle, and the loading of the commercial vehicle at the same time. More importantly, it can reduce the specification requirements and weight of the motor and battery which further resolves the issue of high-cost in manufacturing and energy consumption in user range anxiety.     

【Body Structure WG】  

The age of electric vehicles has made vehicle structure technology a challenge for OEMs launching new EV. Lightweight body construction design of the vehicle meets the need of low to medium production volumes, however, the usage of aluminum alloy, high tensile steel plate and carbon fiber results in higher cost in vehicle production to achieve this.     Thus, a mixed construction approach has become the major development direction in EV production. While the mixture of materials lead to challenge in combination, the Body Structure Working Group identifies the best materials for different components to develop lightweight body structure, allowing multiple materials being applied to the vehicle designs to realize flexible and configurable structural vehicle body.