MSc/BSc Intern position - In-Cabin Sensing for Automotive Applications at Systems Innovation Automotive (SI A)

Introduction

The Systems Innovation Automotive (SI A) of NXP Eindhoven focuses on first-of-a-kind system applications & system prototypes to demonstrate new applications and use cases based on NXP components. SI A is part of the Central Technology Organization (CTO), department System Innovation. The size of the SI A Eindhoven organization is about 40 FTEs.

Current SI A activities are:

• Car radar (>60GHz) applications
• Robotics
• Automotive Concepts & demonstrations: demo car (VW ID.4), event and trade show support
• UltraWideBand (UWB) applications
• Wireless Connectivity
• Standardization
• Electrification
• Student Teams Support

Context & Motivation

In-Cabin sensing is rapidly gaining importance within the automotive industry. As vehicles become more intelligent and user-centric, the ability to monitor and interpret the cabin environment opens up a wide range of applications—from driver monitoring and passenger identification to gesture recognition and safety enhancements.

The complexity of this domain stems from the diverse ecosystem of technologies and use cases involved. Multiple sensing modalities (e.g. UWB, WiFi, environmental sensor… – see detailed description below) can be employed, each with its own strengths and limitations depending on the application and depending on the sensor’s data signal processing.

The assignment aims to explore and evaluate several technologies applicable to in-cabin sensing. The goal is to gain deeper insights into how these technologies can be leveraged, including by creating signal processing to extract some features, to enable robust, efficient, and scalable solutions for different automotive scenarios.

Your profile

• MSc/BSc in Electronics, Embedded Systems, or similar.
• Embedded Software / Hardware Knowledge
• Hands‑on experience with board assembly, electronic design, and related tasks
• Power Electronics (it is nice to have)
• Ability to work independently
• Strong communication skills
• Good Documentation skills
• Collaborative team player
• Proactive and motivated
• Experience in (University) Student Engineering Teams is considered an advantage
• The assignment will be adapted to the level of expertise and school requirements as needed for stage period or graduation project.
• Good level of English is required (attendance to meetings/ presentations with international team, reading and writing of documentation).

Duration

This is a full-time internship (40 hours per week) with a duration of 5 months or longer. The assignment could also be suitable as a thesis/graduation project.

The work is to be done on site, at the HTC 60, Eindhoven.

Scope of the Work

• Get familiar with in-cabin sensing applications and technologies.
• Identify key use cases relevant to NXP’s strategic interests.
• Develop signal processing solutions to extract features and improve performance of selected technologies.
• Validate the developed models using real-world data collected from a vehicle cabin.
• The specific technologies to be investigated will be defined during the initial phase of the project. However, potential candidates include Ultra-Wideband (UWB), WiFi, environmental sensors, and other sensing modalities suitable for in-cabin environments. The selection will be guided by relevance to the identified use cases and feasibility within the scope of the thesis.

Methodology

The student will engage in both theoretical research and practical experimentation. This includes:

• Literature review and benchmarking of current solutions.
• Design and implementation of signal processing algorithms.
• Data collection in a real car cabin environment.
• Evaluation and analysis of the algorithm’s performance.

Expected Outcomes:

• A comparative analysis of sensing technologies for in-cabin applications.
• Validated models demonstrating feasibility and performance.
• Recommendations for future development or integration into NXP’s product roadmap.

Collaboration & Support

The student will work closely with NXP Semiconductors and have access to internal resources, including hardware platforms and test vehicles.

This project will be carried out on-site at NXP Semiconductors on the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, due to the required high-intensity knowledge transfer and supervision, as well as the availability of specific hardware and software tools. Working on this project implies working in a stimulating, multidisciplinary environment at the forefront of technology, with knowledgeable colleagues, and an excellent infrastructure.

More information about NXP in the Netherlands...

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