EINDHOVEN, Netherlands, Feb. 12, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NXP Semiconductors N.V. (Nasdaq: NXPI ), a leader in the secure connected car, is pleased to announce that Stella, the world's first solar-powered family car project, took home the prestigious "Best Technology Achievement" award at the 8th annual Crunchies Awards, hosted by TechCrunch. The cutting edge project boasts a variety of advanced NXP technologies including microcontrollers and secure V2X (Vehicle-to-Vehicle/Infrastructure) communications.
The event, held in San Francisco, is regarded as one of the definitive events in technology innovation and Stella joins an illustrious line of past winners including; Bitcoin, Mars Curiosity and Siri. Stella faced some very tough competition, beating Rosetta Mission's Comet Landing to be named as the top technology achievement of the last 12 months. Other finalists in the category included The Blockchain, Apple Pay and SpaceX Lateral Booster.
Stella is the world's first solar-powered family car and was built by students from the Eindhoven University of Technology. The unique vehicle contains NXP microcontrollers and some of the company's most innovative secure connected car V2X technology.
Tom Selten, team captain of the Solar Team Eindhoven 2015, was thrilled to be nominated and even more so when Stella was announced as the winner. "It's fantastic that we have won," said Selten. "Receiving the award means that we are recognized among giants and that there is a great potential for our family car of the future.
"At the moment we are working on designing a brand new solar family car with an incredible range of 1500 kilometers. The new four-seated family car is entirely designed from scratch and will be equipped – like Stella – with a Vehicle-2-Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle-2-Infrastructure (V2I) transmitter, developed by NXP. This will enable our car to be connected with the environment ensuring that the user is safe at all times. The car will be able to drive further than any family car ever built on a single charge."
V2X technology is set to become central to the solar car and automotive industry generally. It lets cars communicate with traffic infrastructure, such as intelligent traffic lights, to determine the speed limit as well as their phasing and timing. The significant improvements to traffic flow in cities will help to ensure that solar car drivers are able to optimise the life of their battery charge. It also gives drivers real-time warning of upcoming hazards beyond the driver's line of sight and over distances of more than one mile in order to prevent accidents.
Lars Reger, vice president, automotive R&D and new business said, "This is a fantastic achievement, the team should be immensely proud of themselves. Powered by our own NXP technology Stella pushes the boundaries of innovation. We are very pleased to be able to support this ground-breaking project and help shape the future of transport.
"As well as the Stella project it was also pleasing to see NXP technology included in many of the other innovations nominated at this year's Crunchies. It's our ambition to remain a true leader in technology innovation and continue to support connectivity and security as we move into a smarter world."
About NXP Semiconductors
NXP Semiconductors N.V. (Nasdaq: NXPI ) creates solutions that enable Secure Connections for a Smarter World. Building on its expertise in High Performance Mixed Signal electronics, NXP is driving innovation in the application areas Connected Car, Security, Portable & Wearable and Internet of Things. NXP has operations in more than 25 countries, and posted revenue of $5.65 billion in 2014. Find out more at nxp.com.
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