Samsung has unveiled its first Ultra-Wideband chip for cars, the Exynos Auto UA100. It has a lot of notable features like direction/ distance information and advanced security. The chipset has been optimized for better connectivity and facilitates remote unlocking of cars using smartphones.
Samsung Exynos Auto UA100: UWB chip for car connectivity
The Exynos Auto UA100 features a dual-core Cortex-M33 processor and enables UWB connectivity in cars. In practice, car keys fitted with this chip can accurately measure your distance from the vehicle and your movement direction down to the centimeter. It also protects against hacking with scrambled timestamp sequences (STS) and security features like crypto keys.
The chip is remarkably innovative as it packs a lot of important components like RF (Radio Frequency) circuits, baseband processing, non-volatile memory, and the PMU (Power Management Unit) into a single chip. This functionality can be implemented cost-effectively, improving power efficiency with its low-power design. Its 28nm processing node and advanced packaging (FCFBGA) make it an optimal one-chip solution from product design to manufacturing.
The chip also meets industry standards of security. It carries IEEE 802.15.4/15.4z UWB specifications, FiRa PHY and MAC protocols, and Car Connectivity Consortiumโs (CCC) Digital Key Release 3.0. The Exynos Auto UA100 is currently in the sampling phase, with leading clients evaluating its capabilities. If successful, Samsung will move this to mass production in the next few months, aiming for widespread adoption.
Exynos Auto UA100 specifications
- Standard: IEEE 802.15.4/15.4z UWB, FiRaโข PHY and MAC specifications, CCC Digital Key (Release 3.0)
- Operating Voltage: 2 ~ 5 V
- IO Voltage: 1.8 V (All pins), 3.3 V (Some pins)
- Channel: CH5, CH9
- MCU: Cortex-M33 x2
- NVM: eFlash 512KB
- SRAM: 256KB
- Range: < ยฑ10 cm @ 1 m
- AEC-Q100: Grade 2
- CAN FD Interface: SPI Interface
- ESD: HBM 2K, CDM 500 V
- Radar: Support (Optional)
- No. of Tx: 1
- No. of Rx: 2
