UK, Cardiff – AB Automotive Electronics Limited (ABAE), a subsidiary of global electronics manufacturing company TT electronics plc, has won a contract with Silicon Sensing (a BAE/Sumitomo Precision Products joint venture company) to produce sensors for Electronic Stability Control using BAE’s revolutionary MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical System) gyroscope technology. These next generation braking systems are being introduced increasingly in automotive and HGV industries.

The Yaw Rate sensor which ABAE is manufacturing for Silicon Sensing is a solid state single axis angular rate sensor (gyroscope), which incorporates closed loop control electronics with Silicon Sensing’s unique sensing element – manufactured from crystalline silicon using state-of-the art MEMS processing. It provides an analogue output voltage which is proportional to the angular rate about its sensing axis.

These systems are available on a wide range of passenger cars. However, the system developed by Silicon Sensing which incorporates BAE’s pioneering gyroscope technology, is becoming increasingly attractive for the truck market, particularly for additional safety in transporting specialised payload, (such as fuel or gas) or for passenger coaches. The potential for market penetration of this system is significant and it is already offered as an option by several HGV and coach manufacturers.

Silicon Sensing (SS) is a joint venture between BAE Systems and Sumitomo Precision Products of Japan. The company was established in 1999 to take BAE Systems' silicon motion sensing technology to a new market in global commercial applications. ABAE’s relationship with BAE has evolved from their original collaboration incorporating gyroscope technology into automotive sensors in June 2003. Silicon Sensing, traditionally focussed in the defence and aerospace arenas, was looking for an automotive manufacturing partner to provide high-volume manufacturing capabilities and a channel-to-market for automotive products and approached ABAE to provide this link.

ABAE, which was heavily involved in the design for manufacture (DFM) stage with Silicon Sensing, populates the PCBs at its Cardiff, UK factory including the placement of the BAE gyroscope. Populated boards are then one hundred per cent inspected and end of line testing is performed prior to returning to Silicon Sensing for the gyroscope to be calibrated.

David Oates, Managing Director of AB Automotive Electronics says:

“With Electronic Stability Control systems becoming more common in Europe and the US, this has been a great opportunity to become involved with such rapidly developing technology. BAE’s innovative gyroscope technology has huge potential in this application and there has already been a large amount of interest shown from several vehicle manufacturers.”

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For further information please contact :-

Ruth Phillips AB Automotive Electronics +44 (0) 29 2030 0000
Sara Schmid/Natalie Booker Broadgate +44 (0) 20 7726 6111