Two Winners of the 'DARPA Challenge' for Driverless Vehicles Relied on austriamicrosystems Technology

UNTERPREMSTAETTEN, Austria--Nov. 8, 2005--austriamicrosystems' AS8202NF TTP controller for time-triggered bus systems played an essential role in two of the five victorious robotic vehicles at the international "DARPA Grand Challenge" car race. The competition was staged for the second time by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the U.S. Department of Defense.

A race through the desert is nothing special anymore, except, however, when the vehicles are driverless. This was the case at the "DARPA Grand Challenge", an international race in the Nevada desert, which offered an award of USD 2 million for the winner. This challenge is targeted at testing possible areas of application for unmanned vehicles and promoting their further development. In several qualification rounds, 23 finalists were determined from 195 initial entrants to participate in this year's race. Within 10 hours, the vehicles had to cover a distance of approximately 230 km in desert-like terrain including natural and artificial obstacles.

Among the competitors were two teams from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, whose converted AM General Hummer was supported by well-known sponsors such as Boeing, Intel and Caterpillar, as well as TTControl, a 100% subsidiary of Vienna-based TTTech. Together with TTTech, TTControl supplied the vehicle's on-board network, which is based on time-triggered technology, and includes as a core element austriamicrosystems' AS8202NF TTP controller. The system consists of four high-performance logic and control units, which operate the drive system (gear unit and gas pedal) as well as the brake system.

Based on this array of sophisticated and robust components, the Carnegie Mellon University teams won second and third places, both outstanding achievements in their own right. Remarkably, only five of the 23 starters actually crossed the finish line. This success once again proves the mass production capability of both the time-triggered communication protocol TTP and austriamicrosystems' AS8202NF TTP controller, which is already being employed in latest generation passenger aircraft.

austriamicrosystems and TTTech are considered global pioneers in time-triggered technology. The majority of all prototype vehicles equipped with x-by-wire components use the AS8202NF TTP controller as core system element, while the technology has already been successfully employed in special-purpose vehicles such as snow cats. An important reason for using the AS8202NF is its high safety standard. In special-purpose vehicles, Safety Integrity Level (SIL) 4 in compliance with IEC 61508 can be attained while comparable safety standards are met in aerospace applications.

austriamicrosystems demonstrated how the company is able to utilize its experience in the field of time-triggered technology for the automotive mass market. At present, austriamicrosystems is one in only two manufacturers worldwide offering a specification-compliant transceiver for the FlexRay protocol, which will be used in vehicles in the near future. This AS8221 transceiver, which is usable for FlexRay and TTP, is already attracting strong market interest and offers significant future sales potential.

About austriamicrosystems

austriamicrosystems AG is a leading designer and manufacturer of highly integrated analog intensive ICs, combining more than 20 years of design capabilities and system know-how with its own cutting edge manufacturing and test facilities. austriamicrosystems leverages its expertise in low power and high accuracy to provide industry-leading customized and standard analog products. Operating worldwide with more than 800 employees, austriamicrosystems serves four strategic markets: Communications, Industry & Medical, Automotive and Full-Service Foundry. austriamicrosystems AG is listed on the SWX Swiss Exchange in Zurich (ticker symbol: AMS).