New auto EDA tools drive design time reduction.

Wilsonville, OR -- Not long ago, the cycle lead time at Tier 1 automakers was as much as four years for a new vehicle platform. The times they are a-changing.

Typical cycle times have been slashed to 24 months, with further reductions in store. According to data from supplied by Mentor Graphics (mentor.com), the new goal is 12 months by 2010, with some companies targeting as few as eight.

Meanwhile, electronics content of vehicles continues to rise. Boosted by new telematics and safety systems, auto electronics content is forecast to reach 40% of the total new car price by 2010, up from 23% last year, say IC Insights (icinsights.com) and Infineon (infineon.com).

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What this inevitably will add up to is greater design reuse and a need for faster new design development. To cap it off, the designs must be bulletproof, as automakers are looking to slash warranty expenses, which cost the North American industry alone some $12 billion in 2003.

In response, EDA players like Mentor are charging hard into the auto design space. Mentor is building systems that incorporate complex models for design reusability, verification, "correct by construction" rules, and data and change management. The company is automating design and verification for vehicle hardware and software systems, and integrating the sometime disparate systems for mechanical, electrical and electronics (a combination sometimes referred to as mechatronics).

Aided by the acquisition in May of Volcano Communications Technologies, a provider of networking and data communication solutions for vehicle networking systems, Mentor is now providing a topdown solution for auto design, one that integrates system modeling and prototyping, networking, module design and analysis, electrical distribution and PCB design.

One early customer is Magneti Marelli Powertrain, the Europe-based producer of engine and transmission controllers used by Ford, Volkswagen, Audi, DaimlerChrysler, GM-Opel and Toyota, among others.

Magneti Marelli integrated Mentor's newly launched SystemVision mixed-signal modeling and simulation environment into its ASIC development flow, a move that has yielded a reported 30% reduction in design and simulation time.

"Magneti Marelli's Powertrain Division reduced development time for its engine control custom design flow by 30% using SystemVision and ModelSim [another Mentor tool], and achieved a full running component in the first release," said Edoardo Martelli, methodology manager of R&D Hardware Development at Magneti Marelli, in a statement.

Magneti Marelli uses SystemVision to design and simulate the core of a new digital ASIC. Other Mentor tools within the flow are used for ASIC development across multi-site design teams.

With vehicles now sporting more than 20 separate electronics systems, it is easy to wonder whether the primary use of a car is transportation, or entertainment. Companies like Mentor are making sure that, no matter the ultimate use, those systems do not leave passengers in something akin to an electrical flat.

Next-generation vehicles are truly electronics-systems-on-wheels.

Automotive Electronics   (% of Total New
        Content            Car Price)

         1974                   2%
         2004                  23%
         2010                  40%

Source: IC Insights & Infineon, Emerging IC Markets-2005 Edition

Note: Table made from bar graph.

Edited by Mike Buetow