Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1541670
54 SMT007 MAGAZINE I DECEMBER 2025 ROA D TO R E L I A B I L IT Y S ER I ES by S t a n t o n R a k , S F R a k C o m p a ny Control at the Core: Intelligent Power Management As electric vehicles (EVs) become the norm, their internal architectures are evolving in parallel, growing smarter, more integrated, and vastly more complex. At the center of this transfor- mation is the control system, the "central nervous system." From managing energy flow to ensur- ing safety-critical operations, a trio of electronic brains—the vehicle control unit (VCU), the motor control unit (MCU), and the power distribution unit (PDU)—work in concert to orchestrate seamless propulsion, intelligent energy usage, and adaptive safety responses. These units not only control but also enable the very functionality that defines the EV experience. They are mission critical and failure in any one can degrade performance, compromise safety, or result in vehicle downtime. They lie at the intersec- tion of power electronics, thermal management, software/hardware integration, and system safety (ISO 26262, ASIL). Reliability of these controls is As EV powertrains converge toward higher voltages, e.g., 800V architectures, more tightly integrated modules, and software- defined vehicle architectures, the complexity and risk of control systems increases significantly.