Autonomous driving, personalized infotainment and connected vehicle capabilities are essential to delivering the next generation of mobility experiences. Vehicles are becoming equipped with an increasing number of sensors, including LiDAR, radar and cameras. In addition, electronic control units (ECUs) need to be more powerful, requiring greater numbers of high-speed data as well as signal and power connections in increasingly smaller printed circuit boards (PCBs). What’s more, the next generation of high-powered ECUs can require dozens of differential and coaxial ports in addition to multiple connections for signal and power.
To meet this challenge, TE Connectivity (TE), a world leader in connectivity and sensors, has developed its NET-AX+ modular hybrid connector system. The NET-AX+ modular hybrid connector system supports high-speed differential and coaxial data transmission as well as signal and power connections within a single connector assembly.
“At TE, we collaborate with virtually every OEM as they navigate the fast-paced advancements in vehicle architectures,” said Konstantin Scheid, global product manager at TE.“The NET-AX+ modular hybrid connector system was showcased at CES this year in a real-use capacity in HARMAN’s advanced cockpit domain controller ‘Ready Upgrade’ and was praised by OEMs for its groundbreaking data transfer efficiency and manufacturing-friendly design.”
Featuring a chiclet-based building-block design, customizable and modular header design, the NET-AX+ modular hybrid connector system offers up to 40 % reduced PCB footprint, 80 % fewer mating assemblies and optimized installation space for the harness connector. Enabling speed grades up to 56 Gbps, NET-AX+ modular hybrid connector system is designed for both the current and next generation of electrical/electronic architectures to support the ethernet and SerDes applications of next generation vehicles.