Smart home and connected cars are the two major IoT applications, and both of them have been given a strong boost as Amazon’s Alexa voice service fuels the development of a wide-range of voice-enabled smart home devices and the US will mandate DSRC (dedicated short-range communication) V2X technology by 2023. In response to the trend, NXP Semiconductors is well positioned to gain a strong foothold in these markets with its comprehensive processor platforms in consumer and automotive applications.
“Driven by Amazon, Google, and other technology leaders, natural language learning has made significant progress over the past years,” Martyn Humphries, VP of Consumer and Industrial i.MX Applications Processors at NXP said. “With the accuracy of automatic speech recognition reaches above 95%, voice control interface has become more pervasive than ever.”
He believes that it’s now just the beginning of the smart home revolution. Starting from only one voice gateway such as Amazon Echo at user’s home, in the future, more home appliances, including lamps, coffee machines, and so on, will also use voice as an interface and to be connected with the cloud and home hub to provide more friendly services.
Therefore, NXP teams with Amazon to create Alexa Reference Platform, NXP’s i.MX processors helping third-party makers to easily integrate Alexa Voice Service (AVS) into their devices. Meanwhile, NXP also supports Google Assistant in its Android Thing solution.
Under this trend, in addition to speakers, we can see various devices with voice control function to be launched in the short term. Moreover, it’s expected that AVS-enabled home appliances will be ready by end of this year. “It’s a great opportunity for many appliance makers in Great China, in a bid to embrace the new era of smart home,” he stressed.
As for the automotive electronic market, according to Jerwern Yi, Automotive MCU Product Marketing Director at NXP, NXP is a strong leader in the market, with complete solutions in V2X, ADAS, connectivity & security, general purpose and integrated solutions, and vehicle dynamics and safety. In fact, NXP’s worldwide market share increased 8% to 34% last year and is expected to grow this year,
Regarding the progress of V2X, NXP’s solution has been selected by Cadillac, which will mass produce vehicles that support DSRC standard in about two years. Also, with strong ecosystem partnerships, NXP initiates multiple V2X test projects in Singapore, Germany, and China to speed up the wide adoption of this technology.
Though the ultimate goal of smart cars is to be fully automated and the autonomous driving is at the top of its hype now, there is still a long way to go. “Currently, the automotive industry is in the Level 2 stage in terms of automation level. To reach the Level 5 of full automation, we need to address a lot of challenges in computational performance, power, safety & security, data bandwidth, and more,” Yi pointed out. “Take the most fundamental issue of security as an example, until now, the industry doesn’t have any standard or specific approach to ensure the automotive security. If we can’t even guarantee the security, how can it be possible to realize the goal of self-driving?”
Therefore, with the in-depth understanding of the stringent requirements for safety, security, and reliability in automotive, NXP takes a more pragmatic strategy. “With our leadership position in the market, we will keep abreast of the latest developments and move steadily to L3/L4 products first. It’s for sure that NXP will definitely play an integral role in the future connected car market,” Yi said.
Martyn Humphries: Vice President , Consumer and Industrial i.MX Applications Processors
Jerwern Yi: Automotive MicroProcessors Marketing Director