Low power Bluetooth LE technology, with its mature ecosystem, ultra-low power consumption characteristics, and widespread popularity in mobile phones, has become the preferred wireless protocol for new connection cases in automotive applications. This article explores the driving factors behind the continuous growth of wireless connectivity applications in automobiles, and reviews some current and future potential use cases of low-power Bluetooth technology.

The driving factors for vehicles using wireless communication technology

The automotive industry is undergoing an unprecedented transformation, with trends such as electrification, autonomous driving, and connected vehicles (V2X) emerging almost simultaneously. Cars are shifting from providing basic transportation services to providing passengers with a pleasant travel experience. Car users will increasingly use smartphones to access vehicles and customize this experience. In addition, as the number of sensors, safety systems, and entertainment systems in cars continues to increase, the demand for connecting them to onboard computers is also growing. The use of cables not only increases the weight and volume of the car, but also poses challenges to manufacturability, cost, and complexity.

Low power Bluetooth has the advantages of low power consumption, high cost efficiency, and can be used to replace the traditional controller area network (CAN) and vehicle local area network (LIN). Automobile manufacturers (OEMs) hope to use low-power Bluetooth to replace these technologies in certain use cases. Compared to other wireless technologies, low-power Bluetooth has multiple advantages, making it the preferred solution for automotive applications. These advantages include:

Verified communication with smartphones eliminates concerns about interoperability

Standardized specifications and certifications

Robust performance in high and harsh electrical noise environments

Components applicable to vehicle specification AEC-Q100

Low power consumption is a key requirement for electric vehicles

Low cost System on Chip (SoC) components and antennas

Application cases of low-power Bluetooth in automobiles

In automobiles, Bluetooth technology was initially used for vehicle access systems, achieving functions such as keyless entry and keyless start of smartphone keys. In the future, the development of low-power Bluetooth in such applications will be based on personal digital keys and preference configurations to customize user experience. For example, the vehicle can automatically recognize personal profiles stored on the driver or passenger's phone, and then seamlessly adjust the rearview mirror, seat, and steering wheel angles to meet personalized needs. In addition, it will also be able to create shared keys for other car users, ultimately making smart phone keys a practical solution to the emerging trend of sharing autonomous vehicle. However, this also requires personal profiles to be subject to the highest level of security protection to prevent them from being copied by unauthorized third parties, which may steal or alter the operation of the vehicle.

Low power consumption is crucial for information and entertainment systems such as vehicle networking communication boxes and host displays. These systems typically include high power connection devices, such as cellular telecommunications modems Wi Fi and other connection protocols. These systems must adhere to their strict power budget to avoid depleting the onboard battery when the vehicle is not in use.

To meet these requirements, system developers are looking for low-power wireless microcontrollers (MCUs) that can turn off high power components in the vehicle when needed and also wake them up when needed. Low power Bluetooth is an ideal choice to achieve this goal, for example, it allows the car networking communication box or host display to be awakened when needed for software updates or other diagnostic functions through over the air download technology (OTA).

In addition to vehicle applications, another emerging trend is to utilize the wireless function of Bluetooth technology in battery management systems to regularly send temperature and voltage information of the battery pack to the main computer. Low power Bluetooth can also help car manufacturers (OEMs) reduce costs, for example, by using wireless tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) to allow drivers to use their phones to check tire pressure, and even receive notifications when a tire leaks. In addition, low-power Bluetooth can also simplify the design of control parts for electric seats, rearview mirrors, locks, and sunroofs.

When choosing a low-power Bluetooth MCU for car use, in addition to ultra-low power consumption, a compact appearance and ensuring safe data transmission inside and outside the vehicle are also key requirements.

Ultra low power MCU suitable for automotive wireless applications

The Onsemi NCV-RSL15 microcontroller (MCU) integrates Bluetooth 5.2 wireless connectivity and features embedded security protection and ultra-low power consumption, making it suitable for automotive applications. This microcontroller has been certified by the SPEC Embedded Group, formerly known as the Embedded Microprocessor Benchmark Alliance (EEMBC), and has become the lowest power consumption, safe and reliable wireless microcontroller. This microcontroller adopts a proprietary intelligent power detection mode, aiming to minimize power consumption as much as possible. For example, under a 3V power supply, the peak receiving current for broadcasting events (according to the low-power Bluetooth 5.2 specification) on three channels is only 2.7 mA, and the peak transmitting current is only 4.3 mA.

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Figure 3: Ansemy NCV-RSL 15 Bluetooth 5.2 Wireless MCU

The NCV-RSL15 is equipped with the Arm Cortex-M33 processor core and the TrustZone Armv8-M security extension, forming the foundation of its security platform. This microcontroller provides the latest embedded security solution with Arm CryptoCell? Featuring hardware based trust root security boot, multiple user accessible hardware accelerated encryption algorithms, and firmware over the air upgrade (FOTA) capability to support future firmware updates and deployment of security patches.

NCV-RSL15 offers four low-power modes, including sleep, standby, intelligent detection, and idle modes, aimed at reducing energy consumption while maintaining system response speed. Among them, the intelligent detection mode fully utilizes the low-power characteristics of sleep mode, while allowing some digital and analog peripherals to remain active with minimal intervention from the processor.

This MCU is very suitable for wireless applications in automobiles, such as vehicle access control, tire pressure monitoring systems, etc. It relies on only one button battery for power supply and can run for up to 10 years. The NCV-RSL15 adopts a micro package form - QFNW40 6x6 package, which is compact and extremely suitable for portable remote access devices and other space limited in tire or in car environments.

In order to facilitate developers to quickly develop applications, Ansemy also provides a comprehensive and user-friendly software toolkit for this MCU, which includes a rich example code library.

Emerging Application Cases of Wireless Connection

Replacing traditional outdated in car communication protocols with low-power Bluetooth wireless technology can help vehicle manufacturers reduce vehicle wiring, free up more space for the massive power system in electric vehicles, and also reduce the standby current consumption of in car systems. In addition, vehicle manufacturers will continue to explore ways to develop battery management systems that are lighter, more scalable, and easier to manufacture using low-power Bluetooth technology.

This is reported by Top Components, a leading supplier of electronic components in the semiconductor industry

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Name: John Chen

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