The Motor Control Unit’s modular, scalable design facilitates integration across various EV applications, reducing time to market by 40%, lowering design and development costs by 30%, and enhancing configurability and performance.
Two years after Tata Elxsi, a leader in design and technology services, and Renesas Electronics Corporation, a leading provider of advanced semiconductor solutions, launched their joint venture to establish a cutting-edge design centre in Bangalore for developing specialized solutions for electric vehicles (EVs), they have achieved significant progress in creating a Motor Control Unit (MCU).
For the swiftly growing EV sector, the development of an efficient Motor Controller ECU (Electronic Control Unit) is crucial for ensuring improved safety, reliability, and performance. Their collaborative work through the Next Generation EV Innovation Center (NEVIC), inaugurated in Bengaluru in January 2022, has led to the creation of a multifunctional MCU for EVs that can handle various types of motors and position sensors.
Vehicle manufacturers are facing increasing pressures to meet the rising demand for EVs, which necessitates speeding up their product development and launch processes. The complexity involved in integrating sophisticated motor control algorithms, enhancing performance, and ensuring compatibility with a wide range of position sensors, throttle, and brake modules poses significant challenges.
Moreover, the complexity is heightened by the demanding and intricate processes of motor testing, which include checking the position sensor and phase-wire sequence, angle offset, and calibration for different throttle and brake modules.
The Tata Elxsi-Renesas jointly developed MCU, based on the RH850C1M controller platform, encompasses all necessary features for motor control, safety, and performance. The solution incorporates a motor control strategy with various driving modes, torque and speed control, cruise control, flux weakening, thermal derating, and extensive fault detection and handling capabilities to meet safety and performance standards.
According to the companies, the system offers great flexibility with customizable pulse width modulations, automated throttle, brake, and angle offset calibration, and a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for system setup.
Its modular and scalable design has facilitated easy integration into a wide range of EV applications, from two- and three-wheelers to four-wheelers and larger vehicles. This all-encompassing solution serves as a comprehensive source for motor control unit (MCU) needs in embedded hardware, software, testing, and validation, ensuring efficient development and integration and reducing time to market.
Supporting various motors and sensors, it provides versatility and adaptability for different EV applications. Additionally, its diagnostic and protective features boost the overall reliability and safety of any traction application, establishing new standards for performance and dependability.
By optimizing battery voltage use, reducing motor harmonics and torque ripple, and enabling the motor to operate above its rated speed, EV OEMs can greatly increase the vehicle’s driving range, enhancing its effectiveness and efficiency on the road.
To date, substantial advancements have been made in the development, testing, and validation of all critical features of the MCU, which have been successfully implemented in the first version of the Motor Control Unit hardware for EVs. The microcontroller is designed to be functional safety capable, facilitating the achievement of required ASIL levels for different EV application needs.
The system also allows for easy configuration for any motor type and position sensors, while its scalable architecture ensures adaptability across various vehicle segments.
