🚧 Embedded Sensing Architecture in Industrial Vehicles: Safety and Automation 🚀

[Mucitler Elektrik]

Next-Generation Safety with ACTIA and Renesas Collaboration​

ACTIA and Renesas Electronics have joined forces to develop real-time embedded sensing and advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) for industrial vehicles. Through this collaboration, the Renesas R-Car V4H processor has been integrated into ACTIA's High-Performance Computer (HPC). The goal is to revolutionize critical safety applications in agricultural machinery, mining equipment, construction platforms, and airport ground support vehicles.

Robust Hardware, Centralized Architecture​

Machine vision applications in heavy-duty vehicles require low latency and high processing power, without compromising mechanical robustness. Harsh conditions such as dust, vibration, and extreme temperatures make active fan cooling impossible. The ACTIA HPC solves this problem by combining the processing, video processing, and AI acceleration capabilities of the Renesas R-Car V4H with ACTIA's robust electronic package.

This integration supports the transition from distributed electronic control units (ECUs) to centralized vehicle architectures. A single passively cooled unit consolidates four key workloads: digital instrument clusters, infotainment systems, ADAS functions, and embedded artificial intelligence.

Sensor Fusion and Real-Time Protection​

The processing platform can interface with up to eight camera inputs, four independent displays, and numerous Ethernet, USB, and CAN communication buses. A four-camera surround configuration captures video streams that undergo hardware-level distortion correction and spatial synchronization.

The Renesas R-Car V4H runs deep learning models directly on the edge hardware to identify, track, and classify surrounding personnel and machinery. Relative coordinates and velocity vectors are continuously evaluated against predefined geometric thresholds. Output states are categorized into two risk parameters:

• Non-Critical State: Personnel detected outside predefined hazard zones continue to be monitored without driver alerts.
  
• Critical State: Personnel entering close proximity to hazardous operations trigger automatic visual warnings on the in-cabin ACTIVISION display and send control signals via the vehicle CAN bus for automatic braking or motion inhibition.
  

Field Tests with a Zero-Accident Goal​

The system is being evaluated under the PROTECH development initiative, supported by Bpifrance as part of the France 2030 investment plan. This initiative aims to achieve zero-accident operations in off-road industrial sites. Field tests focus on vision-based risk classification under varying ambient lighting, dirt obstruction, and high vibration levels.

Kevin Guillemet, Vice President of Sales EMEA at Renesas, stated that the R-Car V4H offers high-performance computing and AI processing capabilities for advanced sensing applications. This integration demonstrates how Renesas technology and ACTIA's embedded systems expertise can address new operator assistance use cases in industrial and off-road vehicles.

This technological architecture was showcased at the Electronica trade fair in Munich. It was thus confirmed that centralized sensor fusion hardware can provide decisive operator protection while reducing overall vehicle wiring complexity.