The HiPer project, carried out in 2023, aimed to deliver fully functional hardware demonstrators for autonomous vehicle communication and thermal management. Glück Industrie‑Elektronik (GIE) was the primary contractor responsible for designing, fabricating, and characterising all required modules, including the Communication Demonstrator (D(C)), the Thermal Demonstrator (D(TR)), a media converter, and an Acquisition Unit (AQU). Bosch acted as a close partner, providing initial design concepts and collaborating on the AQU architecture. The project was funded under the German HiPer initiative, a national programme supporting high‑performance automotive electronics.

Technically, the media converter was conceived as a compact interface between vehicle‑level buses and external networks. Its schematic incorporated a dual‑port Ethernet PHY, a CAN‑FD transceiver, and a power‑management block delivering ±15 V, ±5 V, and 3.3 V rails. The PCB layout used a 10‑layer stack with dedicated GND planes on layers 2, 4, 7, and 9, and power planes on layers 5 and 6. A large copper pour on the top layer provided a three‑dimensional ground shield for the most EMV‑critical signals. The board was fabricated to 1.6 mm thickness with PCL370HR dielectric, matching the impedance requirements of high‑speed serial links.

The Communication Demonstrator (D(C)) was designed around an ESP32‑DevKitC‑V4 microcontroller, two 32‑bit shift registers for multiplexer control, and a high‑current driver for heating elements. The schematic also included a dedicated ADC for sensor signals and a constant‑current source for temperature sensors. The PCB layout followed the same 10‑layer stack as the media converter, with careful placement of high‑speed traces and a ground plane to minimise EMI. Production involved 57 boards soldered with SAC (solder alloy composition) and 20 boards with LMS (lead‑free solder), all delivered to Bosch for integration testing.

The Thermal Demonstrator (D(TR)) focused on measuring resistance changes in ball‑bump and bump‑wire structures under thermal cycling. Its design incorporated a pulsed current source for resistance measurements, a low‑side driver for heating elements, and a multiplexer‑based signal acquisition chain. The board layout again used a 10‑layer stack, with a dedicated ground plane and a copper pour on the top layer for EMV shielding. The production run included a test routing prototype, a final layout, and a production version, with iterative redesigns to improve signal integrity and thermal performance.

The Acquisition Unit (AQU) served as the interface between D(TR) and the vehicle’s data bus. It provided ±15 V, ±5 V, ±2.5 V, and 3.3 V supplies, an ESP32‑based control module, two 32‑bit shift registers for multiplexer control, and a pulsed current source for ball/bump resistance tests. The AQU schematic was largely derived from a Bosch prototype, with modifications to the power supply and current source to reduce cost and improve reliability. The PCB layout incorporated a large ground plane and a copper pour on the top layer, ensuring robust EMI performance.

Throughout the project, GIE iterated on design prototypes, performed basic characterisation, and provided integration support. Bosch supplied initial design concepts, reviewed schematics, and integrated the final boards into a vehicle‑level test rig. The project timeline culminated in a final report dated 5 July 2023, summarising the design, fabrication, and preliminary performance of all demonstrators. While full environmental, EMV, and endurance qualification tests were not performed, the design adhered to partner‑defined guidelines, ensuring that the demonstrators could be housed in EMV‑compliant enclosures for future validation.