Gideon Kedem has traveled around the world, and in many countries – India, for example – he said heavy-duty commercial trucks are manned by two drivers: one who can jump out of the cab to guide the other driver as they back into those tight spots. In the U.S. however, manpower is an issue. With the driver shortage, it’s hard enough to fill a cab with one driver, much less two. That leaves the sole driver to climb out of his truck and walk the 53 feet to check for clearance. With an aging driver population and supply chain issues placing pressures on efficiency, this extra step also poses injury risks and time loss.
That’s where the backup camera comes in. While standard on every newly manufactured car in the U.S. since 2018, they are only a luxury in the heavy-duty space. That’s because of the magnitude of challenges that come with installing one on such a large vehicle, said Kedem, senior vice president and head of automotive business at Valens Semiconductor, a provider of semiconductor products for the transmission of uncompressed ultra-high-definition multimedia data.
Valens recently released its VA600R chipset designed to overcome those rear-view visibility challenges in the tractor trailer.
“There are, in the market, wireless solutions. If you use wireless, you can solve this challenge of crossing from the trailer to the tractor, but wireless is not very reliable – much more exposed for electromagnetic interference,” Kedem said. “You cannot afford that while the truck is backing in, suddenly there's a glitch, no picture, at exactly the same time where a small kid is running behind the truck. So reliability is an issue.”
Kedem is referring to the EMI environment where electromagnetic disturbance can interfere with the connection, whether that’s wireless or via a connected jumper cable. To overcome this, the Valens VA600R chip transmits data at a low frequency, helping keep the signal strong across the link, and also incorporates unique Digital Signal Processing (DSP) that enables resilient signal distribution.
