Demo showing robustness of Automotive Gigabit Ethernet over POF
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Demo showing robustness of automotive gigabit over POF

At the recent Automotive Ethernet Congress in Munich, Germany, KDPOF presented the innovative Automotive Gigabit Ethernet Plastic Optical Fiber (GEPOF). “We are delighted by the great interested we received for our POF technology that secures new 48-volt electrical architectures via the inherent galvanic isolation,” stated Carlos Pardo, CEO and Co-founder of KDPOF. Optical connections with POF provide the optimal network to achieve galvanic isolation, providing 100 Mbps and 1 Gbps Ethernet compatible solutions with enough margin to withstand the harsh automotive environment. Applications such as Battery Management Systems (BMS) and Integrated Smart Antenna (ISA) modules profit from the inherent Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) of POF.

Future-ready: KDPOF automotive Gigabit Ethernet provides electromagnetic compatibility, robustness, and smooth integration

KDPOF – leading supplier for gigabit transceivers over POF (Plastic Optical Fiber) – will present automotive Gigabit Ethernet POF (GEPOF) for future wire harness architectures at stand 18 at the 7th International Conference Automotive Wire Harness on March 26 and 27, 2019 in Ludwigsburg, Germany. “With its inherent galvanic isolation and robustness, the optical Ethernet technology ideally suits current and future in-vehicle network infrastructure,” stated Carlos Pardo, CEO and Co-founder of KDPOF. “POF lives up to the challenges of electromagnetic compatibility and safety requirements created by the new 48-volt electrical architecture.” A well-supplied and competitive market worldwide ensures seamless integration into the wire harness of the vehicle. The inherent Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) makes POF perfectly suitable for applications such as Battery Management Systems (BMS) and Integrated Smart Antenna (ISA) modules. Autonomous driving relies on POF for a redundant system in addition to copper cabling in order to increase safety and avoid the autonomous car locking up if one of the systems is disturbed in some way.

KDPOF Automotive Gigabit Ethernet Provides Electromagnetic Compatibility, Robustness, and Smooth Integration

POF cables are very reliable: they can withstand harsh environments, vibrations, and misalignments. In addition, POF allows fast dynamic bending, tight bending, and dark liquid immersion in addition to delivering low noise and robustness regarding in-coupling of electromagnetic fields. As a plastic, wide diameter fiber, POF is cheap to manufacture and install: installation is just easy plug and play; winding and clamping is similar to copper cables. With the first automotive Gigabit Ethernet POF transceiver KD1053, KDPOF provides high connectivity with a flexible digital host interface, low latency, low jitter, and low linking time. The transceiver complies with the standard amendment IEEE Std 802.3bv™ and thus fully meets the requirements of carmakers.

KDPOF's optical data network enhances safety for autonomous driving

KDPOF provide their optical network technology in order to enhance safety for autonomous driving. “For safety-related functions such as the data network backbone, autonomous driving requires redundant systems in order to increase safety and avoid the autonomous car locking up if one of the systems is disabled in some way,” explained Rubén Pérez de Aranda, CTO and Co-founder of KDPOF. Reliability analysis shows that a technology redundancy like optical and copper cabling provides the highest reliability. Consequently, more and more OEMs are now considering Plastic Optical Fiber.

EMC Lessons Learned on Gigabit Ethernet Implementation for ADAS & AV

The lessons learned in the iterative design process give KDPOF the knowledge to bring into the market a mass-produced automotive Gigabit Ethernet PHY integrated in an ECU and meeting the most stringent EMC specifications. “This grows more important as in-car network speeds increase to accommodate the demands of driverless systems,” he added. “Higher speeds are achieved by wider use of the electromagnetic spectrum.”

Rubén Pérez de Aranda is CTO and Co-Founder of KDPOF
Rubén Pérez de Aranda is CTO and Co-Founder of KDPOF

This situation makes the underlying communication system implementation less immune to radiated and conducted noise. It also forces OEMs to impose more and more stringent emissions limits on the electronic components, limits that are often already tighter than the demands imposed by international standards. POF is ideal for the new architectures since it provides natural galvanic isolation between communicating modules and a radiation-free harness.

With the first automotive Gigabit Ethernet POF (GEPOF) transceiver KD1053, KDPOF provides high connectivity with a flexible digital host interface, low latency, low jitter, and low linking time. The transceiver complies with the standard amendment IEEE Std 802.3bv™ and thus fully meets the requirements of carmakers.