June 27, 2013, Seoul, Korea – Freescale Semiconductor (NYSL:FSL) has begun supplying the industry's best comprehensive system solutions for automotive radar-based advanced driver assistance systems. The newly released Qorivva MPC577xK microcontroller (MCU) and the 77GHz radar transceiver chipset called MRD2001 provide embedded technology that enables ADAS applications in mass-market vehicles by implementing radar-based ADAS solutions with a small number of components.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently proposed several amendments to its five-star safety program. These amendments suggest that automakers must provide not only features to protect occupants during a crash but also capabilities to prevent crashes altogether. Several automakers are conducting research to meet these new standards by 2016 and are verifying solutions that can provide customer-desired convenience features while ensuring the highest level of safety. According to performance data released by the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), safety systems such as Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) can reduce the probability of accidents by up to 27% and significantly decrease the risk of occupant injury. Euro NCAP plans to introduce AEB evaluation into its 5-point safety system for vehicles sold in Europe starting in 2014.

By adopting Freescale’s Qorivva MPC577xK MCU and MRD2001 77GHz radar transceiver chipset, automotive manufacturers can implement medium-to-long range front radar for adaptive cruise control and automatic emergency braking systems, as well as manage blind spot and side impact detection, through a scalable single multi-channel solution.

"The system solution for automotive radar systems introduced by Freescale will provide automotive manufacturers with a high level of integration, reduced board component count, eased software complexity, and cost savings," said Bob Conrad, Senior Vice President and Executive Director of Freescale's Automotive MCU Business Unit. "Furthermore, the significantly reduced cost of implementing features enables popular safety systems to be applied to a wider range of vehicle models."

Developers can combine radar transceiver chipsets with Qorivva MCUs to implement integrated system solutions applicable to low-cost and high-end radar modules. Automotive manufacturers can reduce time and material costs by resolving the problem of purchasing and reconfiguring different solutions for each vehicle model through a single, scalable solution.

"ADAS solutions are rapidly spreading and are no longer the exclusive property of luxury vehicles," said Ian Riches, Director of the International Automotive Business Unit at market research firm Strategy Analytics. "Many automakers are currently planning to equip their entire lineups with these advanced safety features, and this requires a more integrated and cost-effective solution," he said. "Freescale's radar solution includes everything manufacturers need to implement scalable ADAS applications, allowing them to complete the system without additional semiconductors or components. This makes it possible to supply customers with safer and more reliable vehicles, even outside the luxury car market."

Qorivva MPC577xK MCU – Single-chip Automotive Radar Solution
Based on Power Architecture® technology, the Qorivva MPC577xK MCU achieves the highest level of digital and analog integration in a single-chip solution for radar applications, eliminating up to four major Printed Circuit Board (PCB) components, saving system-level cost and PCB space, and mitigating software complexity. The MCU also utilizes a core integrated digital accelerator to provide high performance for computationally intensive tasks and features a state-of-the-art signal processing toolbox containing all hardware modules for processing sampled signals in short-, medium-, and long-range radar applications. Leveraging these characteristics of the Qorivva MPC577xK MCU will enable the widespread adoption of radar-based ADAS in more mainstream vehicles.

MRD2001 - 77GHz Radar Transceiver Chipset
By utilizing the MRD2001 77GHz radar transceiver chipset, it is possible to implement a comprehensive high-performance radar transceiver capable of low power consumption and VCO phase noise, as well as precise object identification.
This chipset provides excellent spatial verification and detection precision through high-speed modulation via simultaneous active channels. The MRD2001 is supplied in an advanced package with extremely low insertion loss and parasitic capacitance at frequencies up to 100 GHz. Using the packaged chipset eliminates the need to add chips to bare dies or apply wiring assembly techniques, significantly simplifying the assembly of radar modules. Additionally, the chipset can be expanded to up to 4 TX channels and 12 RX channels, making it possible to implement a single radar platform that supports electronic beam steering across a wide field of view for long-range, medium-range, and short-range radar applications within the total budget range of high-end luxury vehicles.

Additional application areas
Freescale’s Qorivva MPC577xK MCU and MRD2001 77GHz radar transceiver chipset solution can be utilized in a wide range of industrial applications and emerging consumer applications, such as gesture detection, safety curtains, security systems, and location tracking, in addition to ADAS.

Safety Leadership
Based on over 15 years of leadership in automotive safety, Freescale produces products that meet stringent standards for maximum safety. The new Qorivva MPC577xK MCU is a SafeAssure functional safety solution designed and developed from the ground up to the ISO 26262 standard. The architecture and design process of the MPC577xK reduce design time and complexity when developing ISO 26262-compliant automotive safety applications. The MPC577xK was developed with the goal of being applied to ASIL-D level safety applications that include safety-first processes and rigorous testing regulations in accordance with all ISO 26262 safety integrity levels.

Supply situation and prices
The Freescale Qorivva MPC577xK MCU and MRD2001 77GHz radar transceiver chipset are currently available in sample quantities. For more information, please contact Freescale Korea (02-3440-7200) or an official distributor.