With more autonomous vehicles being deployed it is likely that regulations will also be developed that will require self-driving vehicles to be able to detect and respond to emergency vehicles and meet safety requirements – and this is expected to require a combination of audible and visual warning signals.
Infineon is working with Cerence to build a solution that combines automotive qualified XENSIV MEMS microphones (IM67D130A) from Infineon with Cerence’s Emergency Vehicle Detection (EVD) software, that will enable vehicles to actively detect approaching emergency vehicles, especially when they are not in sight.
“As autonomous vehicles quickly become a reality, emergency vehicle detection will be critical to provide drivers with the information they need in emergency situations,” said Christophe Couvreur, SVP & GM, Core Products at Cerence. “By partnering with Infineon, a global leader in MEMS microphone technology with a strong presence in automotive, we provide OEMs an integrated hardware- and software-based emergency vehicle detection solution that will enhance road safety around the globe.”
The emergency siren detection system provides a complementary detection modality for autonomous vehicles and enhances their perception capabilities. The system combines an array of XENSIV MEMS microphones, strategically placed on the outside of the vehicle, with Cerence EVD.
The XENSIV MEMS microphone is qualified according to AEC-Q103-003 and features an extended operating temperature profile from -40°C to +105°C, enabling various use cases in harsh automotive environments.
With a total harmonic distortion (THD) of less than 0.5 percent at a sound pressure level (SPL) of 94 dB and a high acoustic overload point (AOP) of 130 dBSPL, the microphone can capture distortion-free audio signals in noisy environments, allowing signals to be reliably classified even when background noise obstructs the siren tone.
Cerence EVD can be integrated into the automotive assistant or on separate controllers, it uses the microphones to accurately detect the sound of sirens. In addition, it can estimate the sound source location from emergency sirens of police cars, ambulances and fire trucks.
Once a siren is identified, the driver – or, in autonomous vehicles, the automated driving assistant – is informed to react accordingly. Human drivers can be notified in a multi-modal way e.g. volume of the radio or other media is reduced, a visual warning may appear on the screen of the head unit, and acoustic warning is given via the vehicle assistant.
Infineon is also offering a development kit to help developers evaluate MEMS microphones. The kit enables component-level performance evaluation and can also be used to connect multiple microphones and test different placement configurations on the vehicle.
