To keep up with the rapid enhancement of advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) and automated driving technologies, Renesas Electronics Corporation has introduced its latest R-Car V3H system-on-chip (SoC) that delivers high computer vision performance and artificial intelligence (AI) processing at industry-leading low power levels. This product aims to target automotive front camera for use in mass-produced Level 3 and Level 4 autonomous vehicles.

The new R-Car V3H system-on-chip (SoC) is optimized for use in stereo front cameras and achieves five times the computer vision performance of its predecessor, the R-Car V3M SoC, which the company announced last year, targeting New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) standard front cameras.

Part of the open, innovative, and trusted Renesas autonomy Platform for ADAS and automated driving, the R-Car V3H enables design flexibility for Tier 1s and OEMs to map their own road from assisted- to highly- automated vehicles.

The R-Car V3H SoC focuses on architecture optimization for computer vision processing, enabling all relevant ADAS functions from conditional to highly automated driving. Leveraging Renesas' concept of heterogeneous computer vision cores based on the IMP-X5+ image recognition engine and dedicated hardware accelerators, the R-Car V3H achieves advanced sensing capabilities with algorithms including Dense Optical Flow, which is used to accurately track movement of objects; Dense Stereo Disparity, which is used to measure distance in 3D using all pixel units of the camera image; and Object Classification, which is used to identify objects. The integrated IP for convolutional neural network (CNN) accelerates deep learning at industry-leading low power levels of only 0.3 watts, achieving more than two times of the deep neural network performance of the R-Car V3M.

Relying on proven IPs already used in the R-Car V3M, the R-Car V3H includes a dual Image Signal Processor (ISP) that converts camera sensor signals for image creation and recognition processing. The re-use ensures scalability from NCAP systems -using R-Car V3M- to Level 3 and 4 smart camera systems -using R-Car V3H-, reducing both development time as well as system costs by avoiding the need for ISPs in each camera.

Tier1s and OEMs have the choice to develop a front camera solution by themselves or work with leading partners from the Renesas autonomy ecosystem, which is supported by leading front camera partners including HELLA Aglaia.

"The R-Car V3H specification and design was done by cooperating closely with front camera market leaders to ensure we addressed the requirements of those leading innovations on autonomous driving systems. As the automotive semiconductor industry leader, Renesas is committed to providing open, innovative, and trusted solutions for assisted and automated driving," said Jean-Francois Chouteau, Vice President, Renesas Electronics Corporation.