NXP Semiconductors has launched a motor control solution that enables a transition to smaller, lighter, and more efficient BLDC/PMSM motors for software-defined vehicles, saving energy and extending the driving range of electric vehicles.

NXP announced on the 21st that it has launched the S32M2 to strengthen its S32 vehicle computing platform.

The S32M2 is a purpose-built motor control solution optimized to improve efficiency across automotive applications, including pumps, fans, sunroofs, seat positions, seatbelt pretensioners, and trunk openers.

Building on the success of the S12 MagniV® portfolio, it combines NXP's motor control heritage with the software development advantages of the S32 platform.

The highly integrated System-in-Package (SiP) solution adds power and analog functionality, along with extensive software libraries required for motor control, to the NXP S32K microcontroller.

Reflecting the needs of the rapidly growing software-defined electric vehicle market, it helps automakers fully optimize product development and maximize software reuse across the S32 platform build.

Among the various types of electric motors, the Brushless Direct Current (BLDC) motor and the Permanent Magnet Synchronous MotorPMSM (or, PMSM) motors are known for their durability and robustness, small size, light weight, and high efficiency, helping electric vehicles save energy and extend their driving range. The S32M2 supports simple and powerful motor control, enabling efficient operation while maintaining performance headroom. This allows for cost optimization while integrating more features and performance.

Automakers can perform motor diagnostic tests, transmit data to the area controller, optimize for better performance to improve efficiency, and improve passenger comfort by reducing noise in the final application.

Using the S32M2 shortens time to market and reduces printed circuit board footprint, design risk, and bill of materials (BOM) costs compared to using individual motor control approaches.

Our custom-built motor control solutions are optimized to improve efficiency across vehicle applications, including pumps, fans, sunroofs, seat positions, seatbelt pretensioners, and trunk openers.

The addition of the S32M2 allows the NXP S32 vehicle compute platform to maintain overall consistency while simultaneously benefiting from the extensive Arm® software ecosystem. NXP's close, long-standing partnership and existing joint development experience with Arm allows it to fully leverage the power-efficiency and safety capabilities of the Arm Cortex™-M processor, combined with the new motor control solution.

“With the NXP Model-Based Design Toolkit, automakers can start Simulink simulations early in the development cycle and map models to the S32M2 hardware,” said Manuel Alves, senior vice president and general manager of General Purpose and Integrated Solutions (GPIS) for Automotive Processing at NXP. “This is a thoroughly software-defined approach that optimizes software reuse across the S32 vehicle computing platform while benefiting from feature and performance improvements that build on the success of the S12 MagniV® portfolio,” he said.