Ford Motor Company Joins FlexRay Consortium

MUNICH, Germany, June 17 -- The FlexRay Consortium today announced that Ford Motor Company has joined the growing list of automotive electronics, semiconductor and automobile manufacturing heavyweights who support the FlexRay initiative.

Formed in September 2000 to develop a standard for high-speed bus systems for distributed control applications in automobiles, the FlexRay Consortium is now accepting new classes of members. Ford joins as the first premium associate member, which gives the company the right to interact with the FlexRay Consortium working groups, propose ideas, participate in review meetings and access specifications, among other benefits.

"We view membership and active participation in the FlexRay consortium to be critical to the development and deployment of new technologies such as drive-by-wire systems," said Cary Wilson, Director, Electrical/Electronic Systems Engineering, Research & Vehicle Technology, Ford Motor Company. "The FlexRay protocol meets an important industry need by providing a truly flexible, open automotive control standard."

Ford will lend its vast automotive expertise and product portfolio to help speed the development and implementation of the industry's emerging de facto standard for advanced automotive high-speed communications systems. "Ford's decision to join FlexRay is further validation of the technical and business approach that FlexRay has taken to solve automotive engineering challenges for in-vehicle communications systems," said Professor Dr. Harald Heinecke, BMW AG and official FlexRay Consortium spokesperson. "The entire industry can benefit from our scalable, flexible protocol that will be available to all members license and royalty free. With the expansion of our membership model, the FlexRay Consortium is well-positioned to work with member companies of varied expertise."

The new membership model includes premium associate members and associate members and is designed to meet the needs of member companies of various sizes. All members of the FlexRay Consortium can use FlexRay technology royalty free.

The FlexRay protocol is designed for use in chassis control, body and powertrain applications that require high levels of communication bandwidth and deterministic fault tolerant data transmission. The introduction of advanced control systems, such as steer-by-wire, brake-by-wire and central vehicle control which combine multiple sensors, actuators and electronic control units are placing greater demands on today's communication protocols. The "drive-by-wire" automotive subsystems (including braking, steering, suspension/reaction control and throttle control) are expected to gradually replace nearly every hydraulic line and mechanical cable with wire-based networks, sensors and motors, as is currently used in modern aircraft. Analysts* predict the global market for these subsystems to grow from $490 million in 2001 to a $22 billion market in 2010.

Standardization on the FlexRay protocol will enable automobile manufacturers to lower development and production costs, as well as to simplify the introduction of new electronic control systems into vehicles. In addition, it will complement the major in-vehicle networking standards CAN, LIN and MOST by adding a high-speed protocol for the most demanding systems.

FlexRay Development

BMW, DaimlerChrysler, GM and Bosch are jointly defining the requirements for the FlexRay protocol, now with inputs from its first premium associate member, Ford. The FlexRay communications system is expected to be used in advanced application series-production within the next few years. Bosch brings its strength in engine and brake electronics as well as extensive experience gained as the key driver in the development of CAN and TTCAN.

Motorola and Philips, two of the automotive industry's leading semiconductor suppliers, contribute their specific expertise to the FlexRay initiative. Motorola will provide the data link layer, originally offering a stand-alone communication controller, with future FlexRay protocol integration planned for 16- and 32-bit microcontrollers in its extensive portfolio. Philips Semiconductors is developing the physical layer and will offer automotive qualified FlexRay transceiver chips.

About the FlexRay Consortium

The FlexRay Consortium is an organization formed to drive the adoption of an open Standard for high-speed bus systems for distributed control applications in automobiles, such as x-by-wire. Since forming in September 2000, the Consortium has grown to include the automotive industry's largest and most influential players. FlexRay development is being driven by the core member companies, BMW, DaimlerChrysler, General Motors, Motorola, Philips and Robert Bosch GmbH. Various membership levels provide the ability to interact with the FlexRay Consortium working groups, propose ideas, participate in review meetings, and have early access to the specifications, as well as the opportunity to actively participate in the adoption of this global standard. A complete list of member companies and other information is available at the Consortium Web site, www.flexray.com .

For more information including how to apply for membership: http://www.flexray.com. Information on FlexRay Consortium members can be found on their respective Web sites.