KD Showcases Multiple Optical Ethernet Architectures as Industry Engagement Grows at E&IP@ATD 2026

2026-10-19 · KD

KD took part in the 2026 IEEE SA Ethernet & IP @ Automotive Technology Day (E&IP@ATD), held on October 14–15 at Gothia Towers in Gothenburg, Sweden, where the company saw strong engagement from OEMs, Tier-1 suppliers and other members of the automotive connectivity ecosystem. Hosted by Volvo Cars, the event brought together a highly specialized audience of vehicle manufacturers, suppliers, semiconductor companies, tool providers and engineers to discuss the latest developments and implementation strategies for Automotive Ethernet. This year’s program addressed areas including network architectures, safety and security, TSN, software-defined networking and physical-layer technologies.

At stands 9 and 10, KD introduced three live 10GBASE-AU demonstrations illustrating different architectures for implementing optical connectivity and managing sensor data inside the vehicle: de-aggregation at the destination on the processor side, sensor replication, and aggregation at the source on the sensor side. The three demonstrators attracted significant attention throughout the event, allowing visitors to explore how POF-based Automotive Ethernet can be adapted to different network architectures rather than approached as a single, fixed connectivity solution.

The demonstrations generated particularly strong interaction with OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers, reflecting the industry's growing focus on how optical links can be integrated into future in-vehicle networks. Discussions went beyond the capabilities of the physical medium itself, addressing practical architectural questions around the transport, distribution and processing of increasingly large volumes of sensor data. KD also received numerous enquiries from companies across the broader ecosystem, highlighting the growing interest in the technologies and components required to support the adoption of 10GBASE-AU.

KD was represented at the event by Carlos Pardo, CEO; Thomas Walsh, Business Development Manager; Luisma Torres, Principal Engineer; Luis Medina, Field Application Engineer; Juan Luis Matus, Customer Success Manager, and Alejandro Pardo, Assistant Project Manager. The company also contributed to the technical program, with Luis Medina presenting ‘Improving Predictive Maintenance in ADAS Sensor Networks through Runtime Optical Link Monitoring,’ examining how real-time optical-link monitoring can provide insight into link health and support predictive maintenance in ADAS sensor networks.

The response at E&IP@ATD reinforced KD’s view that the conversation around optical Automotive Ethernet is increasingly moving from the capabilities of the technology itself towards how it can be implemented within real vehicle architectures. The strong interest in the three new demonstrators, together with the level of engagement from OEMs, Tier-1 suppliers and ecosystem companies, showed the value of presenting optical connectivity through concrete architectural use cases. As automotive networks evolve to accommodate higher-bandwidth sensors, centralized computing and software-defined functions, KD continues to work with the industry to advance POF-based optical Ethernet towards practical deployment in next-generation vehicles.

About KD

KD is a Spanish semiconductor company leading the market for high-speed data transmission through optical fiber in challenging environments. For 15 years, the company has been reinventing the way optical communications are made to make them robust and affordable enough for the automotive, consumer and industrial markets.