Comm/video bridge IC merges standard consumer, automotive interfaces
Socionext, the joint venture formed by combining the LSI/SoC businesses of Fujitsu and Panasonic, designs, develops and delivers system-on-chip products focused on imaging, networking and other dynamic technologies. In one of its first announcements since starting its activities as a new venture, Socionext is addressing car makers who, it says, are increasingly turning their attention to powerful application processors made by major chip manufacturers from the consumer electronics sector.
However, because these processors were not originally designed for automotive use, they are seldom equipped with the interfaces needed for this application. The Socionext MB86R91 APIX Companion Chip communication and video bridge is designed to offer vehicle manufacturers an automotive version to interconnect the growing number of in-car displays with consumer grade chips – while at the same time reducing costs.
The MB86R91 APIX Companion Chip enables the connection of modern high-performance application processors via various standard interfaces, such as single or dual OpenLDI Flat Panel Display Links and DRGB888. The fully integrated High Speed APIX2 transmitters, with a downlink data rate of 3 Gbps and an uplink rate of 187.5 Mbps, allow up to three high-resolution remote displays to be connected in parallel.
Typical automotive resolutions of up to 1920×720 pixels with 24-bit colour depth per connection are supported, as is the transmission of touch information. The connections offer complete flexibility, allowing a system architecture to use different resolutions. The integrated APIX2 receiver enables the connection of a video source whose input can be forwarded for processing to the application processor.
A typical application in a vehicle would be a driver information system with a freely programmable cluster display, a Head up Display and a central information display, all of which can be addressed simultaneously. Different combinations of passenger displays, control panels and central information systems, with touchscreen if required, are easy to implement.
The savings that can be made with the Companion Chip on the transmitter side are also possible on the display side, thanks to Socionext’s ‘Indigo’ family of graphics controllers. As the number of remote display units in vehicles continues to increase, car makers are giving priority to reducing their cost per screen. Because the Indigo family provides "remote control" of the display, the MCU on the display side is no longer required. It also allows the display’s CAN and TCON connections to be eliminated.
Evaluation boards and the Remote Software Framework are available, allowing different suppliers to carry out their development independently of each other.
MB86R91 ‘ApCo’ communication and video bridge infortmation page
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