AutoTronics Taipei 2009 Sees Higher Turnout and Technical Progress

The 4th Taipei International Automobile Electronics Show (AutoTronics Taipei 2009), held simultaneously with the 2009 Taipei Int'l Auto Parts & Accessories Show (Taipei AMPA 2009) April 14-17 at the Taipei World Trade Center (TWTC) Nankang Exhibition Hall, achieved success on two fronts.

Despite the global recession, the show organizer Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) says in its press release a total of 5,200 international visitors had registered during the four-day event, a remarkable growth of 22% from the last double-format show.

TAITRA also says that increasingly more heavy-weight buyers from emerging markets, such as Ukraine, Kenya, Russia, are coming to the AutoTronics Taipei 2009 to source aftermarket (AM) and original equipment (OE) parts.

Another aspect of the success is the technical progress made in the exhibits. Visitors this year saw clear differences and advancements in terms of product system integration, functional versatility, innovation, and trendsetting products. With a few years of joint efforts by government and private sectors to tap the island's solid infrastructure in electronics, information and communication technology (ICT), semiconductor, and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) etc., AutoTronics Taipei 2009 is able to unveil ever more eye-catching achievements, credit for which partly goes to the different government-sponsored research organizations on the island, such as the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), Automotive Research & Testing Center (ARTC), Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), Metal Industries Research & Development Centre (MIRDC).

AutoTronics Taipei 2009 unveiled obviously more integrated, upgraded, and affordable products and technologies.

Cost Efficiency

Taiwanese auto-electronics makers' core advantage is cost efficiency: they use simpler designs and fewer components to achieve the same or more functions on existing auto-electronic sub-systems on luxury cars, or more advanced integrated systems combining different functions.

Real-world examples of such capability were shown this year. One such item is the multimedia rearview mirror with multi-functionality, including GPS navigation display, wireless tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS), reverse imaging, electronic compass, side imaging, incoming call numbers etc. Another item is the integrated reverse-imaging control unit that simultaneously pivots the side-view mirror towards the ground and camera to view the rear.

Another focus at Autotronics Taipei was the Taiwan Automotive Research Consortium (TARC) Pavilion, which displayed a series of products featuring green energy, intelligent automobile safety, chassis control, and many success stories of technical transfers that realized commercialization by local private makers.

TARC, the government-backed consortium that integrates available R&D resources in Taiwan to help local auto-parts and assembled-vehicle industries build more value-added products, has four founding members: the Mechanical and System Research Laboratories (MSL) of ITRI, ARTC, CSIST, and MIRDC, as well as about 120 private suppliers and manufacturers.

Award Winner

Giantlight Traffic Supplies Instrument Co., Ltd., a maker of auto headlights, fog lamps, rear lamps, and related accessories as well as high-intensity discharge (HID) conversion kits, won one of the six first prizes at the 2009 Taipei AMPA Innovation Award with its innovative, energy-saving GL-1316-HW 7-inch headlamp with white LED daytime running light (DRL).

Featuring an ideal design integrating the conventional 7-inch round headlamp and two rows of white-LED DRLs, the award-winner is just one of the company's items. Dany Chen, the company's president, said that after years of upgrading, Giantlight has grown into an OE auto-lamp supplier to international automakers such as Chrysler and Nissan.

"Innovative design and highest quality of products are our key appeal to customers worldwide," Chen claims, adding that the company's R&D works focus not only on current markets but also those in the future.

Compared with similar items, Chen says that Giantlight's lamps may be 10-folds higher priced but the unmatched quality, durability, stability and approved safety make them worth it. "We use only Osram automotive LEDs," Chen says.

Patented Auto Rain Sensor

Shihlin Electric & Engineering Corp., a major electrical parts supplier to most automakers in Taiwan, proved its world-class prowess by showcasing its self-developed auto rain sensor (utilizing patented soft prism) at the show, making it the world's fifth supplier of such part, following TRW, Valeo, Borsch, and Denso.

Improving on the existing, Shihlin has built the auto rain sensor featuring smaller size (only one-third of major counterparts) and lower cost, achieved by using the patented prism. Howard Chiu, manager of export sales, says that the company's R&D team had worked on the rain sensor for three to four years, and has sent product samples to European and Japanese automakers.

Another new product from Shihlin is the inverter-type radiator-fan controller, which rotates at speeds to achieve maximum energy-saving.

Minimizing Displays

Tung Thih Electronic Co., Ltd. (TTE), an aggressive developer of automotive-electronics in Taiwan, showcased many new, innovative products targeting both OE and AM markets.

TTE supplies first-tier auto-electronic parts to most automakers in Taiwan as well as Ford of the U.S. and Nissan of Japan, and has been developing products for both the AM and OE markets. Fenny Huang, the manager of export sales, points out that many of TTE's high-quality, innovative auto-electronic systems are popular in industrially advanced nations but cannot directly tap into their automakers' closed supply chains. However, they are popular with many automakers in developing nations, especially in South Asia (India, Iran, Pakistan etc.) and the Middle East, after being slightly modified or upgraded.

"This year TTE's product development focuses on information-integration in image displays," Huang says. "The rising number of displays is a nuisance for drivers, so more customers want lesser information displays inside cabins, preferring integration in a single unit."

Huang says that TTE has been winning increasing orders from automakers for auto-electronic parts and systems adopted in the pre-delivery inspection (PDI) and original equipment service (OES) markets, because such parts enable existing cars to offer more options and upgrades to sharpen competitiveness amid sluggish demand.

The export manager says that the role of rearview mirrors as an information display is becoming more important, because monitors in dashboard or central console are often out of line-of-sight. In addition, CCD cameras, thanks to function and resolution advancement, are increasingly more popular, gradually taking over market share of CMOS counterparts, which are 30% to 50% more expensive.

"Integration is a necessary trend, and the rearview mirror is the terminal platform," Huang says. TTE, for example, exhibited one such item with a built-in LCD display indicating TPMS, camera (front and rear images), and parking assist system (PAS)/auto parking system information, all of which can be seen in a head-up display (HUD).

CAN-BUS Based Digital Instrument

Lyssen Enterprise Co, Ltd., one of the most specialized and leading automotive gauge makers in Taiwan, claims that it is the first and only one on the island capable of developing and manufacturing controller area network (CAN)-Bus meters and tachometers. Lyssen has successfully built two core architectures in meter design: master-slave meter and multi-channel meter.

According to the company, the master-slave system consists of one master and 16 slaves connected in series. Meter signals come from sensors of vehicles and the CAN-Bus data in the vehicle communication system.

The multi-channel meter adopts a single microprocessor to manage the system. Its advantages include low energy consumption, low price, customized installation, and easy assembly etc.

Anti-fog Camera

H.P.B. Optoelectronics Co., Ltd., a major maker of CCD and CMOS vehicle camera systems, unveiled a new technology to weatherproof its cameras, rendering them anti-fog and virtually distortion-free.

According to Wanli Huang, the sales manager, a camera lens is coated with super-hydrophilic film. When the film is exposed to ultraviolet (UV), it is energized to become self-cleaning. Moreover, the moisture on the lens thins considerably to actually enhance the quality of image without distortion.

Wideband AFR Gauge

Performance car buffs want to monitor precisely the air-fuel ratio, a critical mixture for maximum combustion efficiency, as they pursue better acceleration, Auto Gauge (Taiwan) Co., Ltd. answers such call with its wideband (0V-5V) AFR gauge.

One of the largest performance-gauge makers in Taiwan, Auto Gauge's wideband (0V-5V) AFR gauge works on both gasoline and diesel engines, compared with typical narrowband (1V) counterparts that is only gasoline-engine compatible.

According to Auto Gauge, its wideband AFR gauge adopts the latest Bosch LSU 4.9 oxygen sensor and is compatible with the company's analog or digital meters to display the most precise and real-time gasoline/diesel AFR ranging from 10 to 20. The installation is quite easy according to the manual, calling for installing the oxygen sensor to the engine exhaust and the gauge on the dashboard. The gauge enables drivers to monitor the AFR on performance engines to achieve optimal combustion efficiency and reduce CO2 emission.

100% Transparent HUD

Teco Nanotech Co., Ltd., a high-tech firm of the Taiwan-based Teco Group, demonstrated the transparent carbon nanotube (CNT) field-emission HUD.

Compared with conventional reflective HUDs, the transparent HUD seems more specialized and safer, without hampering forward view, and is a new application for the CNT field-emission indictor, a new type of display technology utilizing cathode-ray tube (CRT) principles.

This innovative HUD features several advantages such as color, high transparency, self-emitting light, lower power consumption, wide view angle (>170-degree), uniform light source, durability, reliability, longer life, modularized design, flexible custom design, high-performance pattern design, digital drive interface, ultra-slim structure, and non-reflective film.

Weight Reduction

The TARC pavilion showcased various developments achieved jointly with its private sector members, mainly weight-reduction technologies that are in tune to the current global agenda calling for energy conservation. In essence, cutting vehicular mass results in lesser fuel burnt.

One of TARC's exhibits is the electronic steering system (steering by wire) that is lighter than conventional, mechanical systems, by doing away with the heavy rack-and-pinion or worm and roller. Steering by wire uses electronic controls, with the central processing unit transmitting steering inputs to the steering rack, without needing the heavy steering column.

Other weight-reduced chassis parts were shown, including the three-piece aluminum-composite brake disk, which is 30% lighter compared with traditional cast-iron counterparts, according to Allen Huang, director of the metal-processing R&D department at TARC. Made with special and patented manufacturing method, the aluminum disk also has better heat dissipation. The lightweight aluminum knuckle shown also is 20% lighter, with the thin-walled heat-resistant exhaust manifold being over 10% lighter, and the magnesium wheel lighter by more than 10%.

The ITRI exhibited the blind-spot radar system that features high cost/performance (C/P) value, and the millimeter wave-based obstacle detection can offset the affects of weather conditions and driving speed. Based on the relative distance and speed of detected objects derived by the 24GHz FMCW and the tracing algorithms, this blind-spot radar performs accurately and reliably.

Another green product developed by the ITRI is the pure electric buggy prototype. This high-performance four-wheel buggy has traction motor drive and controller, 10.8kw performance motor, metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) driver, air cooling, low-speed torque control, performance brake regeneration etc. In addition, the DC to DC high-voltage (200V to 250V) power converter designed for electric and hybrid vehicle applications provides 13.8V, 100A (1.38kw) power to the 12V auxiliary battery.

Technical Transfers

AutoTronics Taipei 2009 also saw many successful technical-transfers to local private makers. One such item is the occupant-classification system, which uses cameras (CCD or CMOS) to view, classify seated passengers using the identification technology. The technology will be adapted to activate airbags in cars more effectively.

Another item is the blind-spot detector for heavy trucks. The computerized camera-based system detects vehicles and objects in blind-spots to avoid collision, with LED light and buzzer activated upon detection.

Living up to its mission, the ARTC has also successfully developed the advanced lane departure warning system (LDWS) and parking assist system (PAS or auto parking system) for technical transfer to private companies.