Wire Harness Congress 2022: The Future Vehicle is Optical

César Esteban from KDPOF, in his technical workshop at the Wire Harness Congress on September 20, 2022 at 15:30 in Landshut, Germany, will display the benefits of optical communications for the in-vehicle network.

As the challenges of multi-gigabit increase, costs should not increase at the same scale. Optical provides a low-cost, robust, and reliable solution for the in-vehicle wiring system. Optical’s EMC superior performance prevents the need for heavy, bulky, expensive cables with rigid and age-prone shielding. The inherent galvanic isolation of optical fiber solves the ground loop issues and the return currents through cable shielding.

Optical performance allows 50 Gb/s over 40 meters with enough margin for in-line connectors, which enable long-link applications, such as for buses and trucks. Optical transceivers will support asymmetric links as well, for camera, radar, and sensor applications with MIPI+return channel interface.

The optical harness will be the same for all the multi-gigabit rates: 2.5/5/10/25/50 Mb/s, which makes optical a scalable solution. Finally, optical connectivity allows multi-port and waterproof connectors, and optical cables can be installed in the same assembly process as the rest of the copper cables.

Workshop: Automotive Connectivity Goes Optical

In the workshop, attendees will see an optical link running traffic and will be familiarized with the automotive-grade optical connectors and cables. César Esteban will provide clarifications and answer questions from the public related with optical communications. The traditional concerns about optical in automotive will be addressed as well: cost, cable bending radius, vibrations, temperature, dirty environment, and port dimensions (PCB area and area of the optical header on the ECU front panel).

Finally, César Esteban will summarize the main differences between the current generation of KDPOF optical transceivers, at 1 Gb/s, and the next generation, which is being standardized and currently under development to reach multi-gigabit rates (up to 50 Gb/s).

 

Meet us in Landshut and learn about optical connectivity! We are happy to pass on a 15 percent discount. Please enter the code REF15BOR in the registration form. Early bird tickets are available by August 9, 2022.