Inspired automotive engineering to be showcased at CAR ELE

Through a series of interactive demos, this year’s attendees will have the opportunity to access the latest innovations from Melexis - in relation to in-vehicle networking, 3D imaging and temperature sensing.

The LIN RGB demo illustrates the major advances Melexis is making in the personalisation of vehicles’ interior lighting, based on the MLX81115 dual-channel driver IC. With built-in 16-bit microcontroller and 32kBytes of Flash memory, this IC enables the control of multiple LEDs through the LIN bus, with colour mixing and colour calibration functions being taken care of. It can also compensate for temperature changes and alteration to LED output characteristics over their lifetime.

The optical Time of-Flight (ToF) 3D imaging demo showcases Melexis’ next-gen of ToF semiconductor technology. This provides a streamlined ToF sensing solution that is being fully optimised for automotive implementation, thanks to its sunlight robustness and its ability to operate at elevated temperature levels. Visitors to the Melexis’ stand will be able to witness the capturing of detailed QVGA resolution ToF imaging data in real time for use by a vehicle’s ADAS.

Highly suited to occupancy detection, as well as in-cabin monitoring for climate control, the recently released MLX90640 is a 32x24 pixel resolution infrared (IR) sensor array that can deliver noise performance, high temperature accuracy and rapid responsiveness. The demo into which this is incorporated affirms its operational effectiveness in an automotive context, providing a more compact and financially attractive alternative to high-end thermal cameras, via use of signal-enhanced thermopile technology.