September 08, 2025
Embedded computing has become more of an underlying force driving automotive technology than even gasoline in the last few years. The proof can be found in every auto show, and how much they are dominated by software vendors and embedded computing solutions. Not to mention the degree to which technology shows like CES and embedded world have been filled with automotive-targeted technology and solutions.
This impressive expansion of embedded automotive technology is no surprise for folks who’ve been paying attention. The rise in demand for electric and hybrid vehicles pushed the need for embedded design in basic operations, and those technological improvements incited embedded innovation within the internal combustion and other auto sectors. It started in non-critical areas like infotainment and user interface design, but now embedded tech is present in every part of every car.
Reams have been written about embedded in infotainment, lighting, and HMI tools, and the cutting-edge ADAS and autonomous systems get frequent coverage, so let’s look at a mission-critical system within every car that only recently started getting heavily managed by embedded computing: the drivetrain.
Application Use Case
There are distinct differences in Electric Vehicle (EV) and Internal Combustion (IC) drivetrains, of course, so the requirements for embedded systems are also different. For that reason, we’ll examine each individually.
EV Drivetrain
The electrified powertrain is the heart of the EV, and OEMs face challenges from physics, mechanics, regulations, and customer demand. To meet all these demands, power semiconductor solutions and smart control integrated circuits can be designed to enable multi-target optimization for system cost reduction, increased power density, higher application efficiency, and modular systems. With these embedded tools, OEMs can support any preferred topology and, with the aid of dedicated software, leverage intelligent solutions for EVs to achieve maximized efficiency and safety.
There are several key embedded elements in a successful EV drivetrain. These, when all are present, can mean the difference between a successful vehicle platform and one that languishes in the doldrums of endless iteration and pitfall. The most important features are:
Scalable and flexible application designs
Powerful, space-optimized, and efficient solutions
Enabling 400 V and 800 V systems
Automotive-qualified semiconductor products
FuSa and data security enablement
Semiconductor partner with deep system competency
The needs of IC vehicles are not so different, as we’re about to see.
IC Drivetrain
The watchword for IC drivetrain innovation is, like with EVs, efficiency. Reducing fuel consumption and emissions is a key force behind developments in the industry, thanks to both regulatory compliance requirements and consumer demand. It’s become clear to most of the leading OEMs that at least partial electrification of the vehicle’s powertrain system is a requirement to hit the desired benchmarks. Enter the need for embedded systems, hardware and software.
In this process, adherence to legal requirements and managing the risk of ballooning costs are critical expertise to seek out in a partner.
Infineon Drivetrain Tech
Infineon creates the underlying embedded technologies powering the drivetrain in both EV and IC automotive sectors, and has the operational, regulatory compliance and technological expertise to make efficiency goals achievable.
For EVs, the company has a wide variety of products and high-performance solutions for sustainable and powerful design. These include:
AURIX microcontrollers
OPTIREG PMICs
ISOFACE digital isolators
XENSIV current sensors
EiceDRIVER™gate drivers
Si, SiC, and GaN Power Switches
CoolMOS, CoolSiC, TRENCHSTOP 5, & OptiMOS
For IC solutions, Infineon offers a broad range of product solutions for layering embedded technology into powertrain systems. The products include AURIX TC3xx microcontrollers and sensors.
The AURIX TC3xx microcontroller family is designed to be optimal for drivetrain optimization with its hexa-core high-performance architecture and its advanced features for connectivity, security, and functional safety. When paired with Infineon’s microcontrollers and sensors, the system can become a major tool for monitoring and controlling various aspects of the powertrain.
Some examples include the company’s automatic transmission hydraulic control system that ensures smooth shifting and efficient power transfer, and the diesel direct injection solutions that can optimize fuel efficiency and reduce emissions in diesel engines. In gasoline engines, direct injection technology delivers precise fuel metering for enhanced power and fuel economy. Elsewhere in the drivetrain, Infineon also has comprehensive applications like double-clutch transmission control and transfer case management.
The automotive industry is chock full of demand and opportunity for innovation via embedded systems and solutions, and it’s important to be thinking beyond the dashboard and, like Infineon, bringing the horsepower of embedded design to bear on the whole vehicle.
Additional Resources:
Ken Briodagh is a writer and editor with two decades of experience under his belt. He is in love with technology and if he had his druthers, he would beta test everything from shoe phones to flying cars. In previous lives, he’s been a short order cook, telemarketer, medical supply technician, mover of the bodies at a funeral home, pirate, poet, partial alliterist, parent, partner and pretender to various thrones. Most of his exploits are either exaggerated or blatantly false.