Sensor technology is a prerequisite for modern cars

Automotive sensor is one of the key parts to promote automotive gentrification, electronics, and automation. All countries in the world attach great importance to the research and development of automotive sensors. Now, the idea that there is no modern car without sensor technology has been recognized by people in the industry worldwide.

The rapid expansion of the sensor market According to authoritative forecasts, from 2004 to 2009, the global automotive sensor will show a growth rate of about 9%. In 2008, the market demand is estimated to reach 1.487 billion. The Chinese market is a hotbed for the development of automotive sensors. CCW Research's latest survey data show that in 2006, China’s automotive sensor market sales were 390 million US dollars, a year-on-year growth rate of 42.8%. China’s autos from 2007 to 2010 The compound annual growth rate of sensor market sales will exceed 35%. Among them, the market sales in 2007 will reach 540 million US dollars, a year-on-year growth rate of 36.3%; in 2009 its market sales will be close to 1.05 billion US dollars, an increase of 40.5%; 2010 market sales will exceed 1.32 billion US dollars, year-on-year growth 35.2%.

Professor Yuan Dahong of the Automotive Research Institute of Tsinghua University told the reporter: “The technical difficulty of ordinary car sensors is not very difficult. At present, there are also many applications in cars, such as temperature sensors, ABS wheel speed sensors, etc.”

The rapid development of the Chinese sensor market has benefited from the rapid development of the auto market. At present, there are approximately tens to hundreds of sensors installed on an ordinary family car, and the number of sensors on luxury cars can reach as many as 200. In 2006, China’s auto market exceeded 7.2 million vehicles, of which passenger vehicles exceeded 5 million. In 2007, the domestic automobile sales will exceed 8 million, and the sales volume of vehicle sensors will also increase.

Environmental protection, safety and intelligence are the direction of sensor development At present, the upgrading of automotive technologies has brought higher quality requirements to sensor products, mainly manifested in lower costs, stronger functions and higher reliability; automotive electronics The more advanced, the more automated, the more dependent on the sensor. Therefore, domestic and foreign automotive sensor technologies are listed as high-tech focused development. The application of automotive sensors will not only be limited to engine management systems, but will increasingly be linked to environmental protection, safety and intelligence.

The United States TRW Automotive Group has successfully developed integrated technologies between active safety, passive safety and environmental sensors in many frontier areas.

The TRW adaptive cruise control (ACC) system combines long-range radar with short-range radar and vision sensors to provide drivers with comprehensive data on road conditions and vehicle control status. The TRW short-range radar system also provides pre-crash information and supports lane change assist functions. Visual sensors rely on detecting the appearance of road signs and objects to understand the changing conditions of the road environment. According to TRW engineers, the expansion of sensor functionality has made the safety of vehicles even higher. Radar sensors provide ground speed information that not only helps improve the performance of existing safety systems such as ABS, active retractors (ACR) and airbag controllers, but also benefits new safety functions such as direct tire pressure Monitoring (TPM), lane change support, brake assist activation function, etc. ”

The stability of local sensors needs to be improved. The demand for sensor OEMs for cars in North America continues to grow at an annual rate of 10%, and will reach a scale of US$4.5 billion by the end of 2007. Among them, the use of automotive rollover sensors will increase, and it is expected that the compound annual growth rate of rollover sensor modules will reach 32.3% from 2003 to 2008.

With the continuous expansion of the size of automotive sensors in China, local companies must achieve breakthroughs in accuracy and reliability in order to achieve great development.

He Yujun, secretary-general of the Automotive Engineering Society of the China Automotive Engineering Society, told reporters: “The automotive sensor is the basis for many auto parts giants. At present, many domestic companies have improved their materials, design, and processes to produce a lot of basic materials. The sensor, but in terms of accuracy and reliability, there is still a big gap with foreign companies, many advanced technologies, especially the new design principles and core module technology of sensors, are still controlled by foreign companies. It is mainly followed by foreign countries, which clearly shows that companies have insufficient investment in research and development."