ZF and SiliconAuto take Embedded Award 2026 for I/O chip design

ZF Friedrichshafen and SiliconAuto have won the Embedded Award 2026 in the SoC/IP/IC Design category for a jointly developed input/output interface chip integrated with SiliconAuto’s XMotiv M3 microcontroller, demonstrated live at Embedded World 2026 in Nuremberg. The solution marks the first live, real-time demonstration of sensor data acquisition and pre-processing performed directly on silicon.

The ZF I/O interface chip consolidates ADAS sensor-interface hardware, including on-chip processing for camera and radar data, while the XMotiv M3 serves as the companion controller. By offloading sensor data handling to the I/O chip, the architecture frees central compute resources for perception and driving tasks, providing a scalable alternative to traditional monolithic system-on-chip designs. Standardised high-speed interfaces including PCIe and Ethernet preserve flexibility for OEM integration.

The architecture is designed to support automated driving systems from entry-level configurations up to SAE Level 4. The collaboration between ZF and SiliconAuto was supported by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education on a non-commercial basis.

Source: ZF