Toyota to bring self-driving cars to the market by 2020

Renesas Electronics, a supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, announced that its automotive technologies will drive Toyota Motor's autonomous vehicles, which are presently under development and scheduled for commercial launch in 2020.

Selected by Toyota and Denso, Renesas' autonomous driving vehicle solution for Toyota's autonomous vehicles combines the R-Car system-on-chip (SoC), which serves as an electronic brain for in-vehicle infotainment and advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), and the RH850 microcontroller (MCU) for automotive control.

This combination delivers a comprehensive semiconductor solution that covers peripheral recognition, driving judgements, and body control.

As a global supplier of automotive processors (MCUs and SoCs), Renesas offers advanced technologies for use in increasingly critical areas for autonomous driving, such as security technology to protect against cyber attacks and functional safety technology to predict system failures.

Production-ready autonomous-driving vehicles will require these capabilities as well as the expertise to match these technologies to actual use cases.

Renesas has been committed to providing the perfect balance between advanced technologies and traditional automotive requirements.

This includes performance and power consumption, optimal installation of electronic systems and implementing measures to protect against heat and environmental conditions.

Recognising the automotive development technology and expertise that Renesas has demonstrated over the years, Toyota selected Renesas as the key semiconductor supplier for its "Highway Teammate", an autonomous-driving prototype car designed to merge, pass, change lanes, and perform other actions during highway driving, under supervision.

The R-Car SoC has been selected for Denso's engine control unit (ECU), which will be used for Toyota's upcoming autonomous-driving vehicles.

The R-Car SoC will function as the electronic brain for the autonomous-driving system, providing highly accurate intelligence on the vehicle's position within its environment and making real-time decisions on vehicle control and active safety manoeuvres based on sensor data.

The RH850 was also selected to control driving, steering, and braking functions based on the judgements made by the R-Car SoC.  The combination provides an excellent balance between performance and power consumption and serves as a comprehensive autonomous-driving solution with high reliability, which had a decisive influence on the adoption by Toyota and Denso.

Ken Koibuchi, Toyota executive general manager says, "To achieve a society where mobility means safety, efficiency and freedom, Toyota is constantly seeking out the latest technology and selecting systems incorporating the very best devices and materials.

"We are partnering with Denso and Renesas, who bring superior technology and expertise to this project, with the aim to accelerate the development of autonomous-driving vehicles and encourage early adoption.

Renesas says that it is committed to strengthening its autonomy solutions for autonomous-driving vehicles and continues to advance technological developments that enable a safe and reliable driving experience.

Renesas plans to contribute to making ADAS and autonomous-driving systems available for all types of vehicles, ranging from entry to high-level models.