FEATURE AUTOMOTIVE ELECTRONICS
Automotive infotainment takes the front seat
Naima Rivas at Mouser Electronicsexplores our fascination with infotainment
nfotainment media that conveys informative and entertaining content to consumers has been changed by tablets and smart phones which deliver massive amounts of increasingly personalised data. For the automotive industry, in-vehicle infotainment means today’s cars offer connected bring-your-own-device compatible customisable wireless high- definition state-of-the-art voice activated touchscreen enabled integrated dash mounted media systems…but can you find the button that turns it on? 20th century automotive infotainment
I
meant an AM/FM radio, possibly, a tape deck and a CD player. Today, while the car’s performance is still important, there is the question of how the car enhances personal productivity and the overall driving experience? For a comprehensive solution to automotive infotainment, Freescale has developed its
i.MX 6 Series of processors. By combining the power efficient processing capabilities of the ARM Cortex-A9 architecture with leading edge 2D and 3D graphics, as well as high- definition video, this series of single, dual, and quad core processors provide a new level of multimedia performance. The company has also partnered with QNX, to deliver a complete hardware and software solution to the infotainment market. Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are unique in that they allow engineers to future proof their system with post production upgrades. Altera’s Cyclone V FPGAs address the technical challenges of increased integration and performance, lower power, and faster time-to-market while meeting cost requirements. For infotainment, the Cyclone V supports
multiple camera inputs and display interfaces, includes an integrated radio DSP, and has a hard-processor system centred on the dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore processor. With a rich set of peripheral blocks, Cyclone V FPGAs reduce system power, cost, and board size. An infotainment system requires
peripheral technologies to support its life in-vehicle, including thermal power and
20 JUNE 2015 | ELECTRONICS
vibration management, Media Oriented Systems Transport (MOST) bus, and electrostatic discharge protection. Bourns’ CGA-MLC series ESD protectors, for example, are designed specifically for use in automotive circuits requiring electrostatic discharge protection. The consumer electronics industry’s fast development cycle, means consumers expect newer, better, faster, feature-loaded products frequently.
Figure 1:
Modern in-car infotainment system
industry alliance committed to driving the broad adoption of specified, open source, In- Vehicle Infortainment (IVI) software. Many major manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers to the automotive industry are members. Other developments in the infotainment
OEMs have been working quickly to
implement connected features into new vehicles. Some such as Ford and Mercedes Benz have come under fire for their implementation of infotainment. Mercedes Benz was criticised for integrating Facebook and Twitter into their infotainment system. Ford caught flack for software bugs and a confusing user-interface. Different partnerships between OEMs and software providers as well as non-standard user interfaces (different icons and gestures for touch screen) stand in contrast to the de-facto standard that iOS and Android have created in the smartphone and tablet industry. The GENIVI Alliance is a non-profit
Figure 2:
Driving Innovative Automotive Solutions. (2013). 1st ed. [ebook] Altera, p.1
battle include Apple’s lCarPlay, an operating system (OS) that allows compatibility between the car and the iPhone and puts iPhone functions on the car’s built-in display. Microsoft has Windows Embedded Automotive, a platform that enables car makers and suppliers to create differentiated, market-driven vehicles. It includes speech recognition, touch interface and hands-free-technologies. (1) Google’s Open Automotive Alliance is a group of automotive and technology companies dedicated to bringing an IVI system based on Android into vehicles “in a safe and seamless way”. . This bodes well for Google and the future of automotive engineering, as major trends in the auto industry revolve around efficiency, connectivity, and safety. Along with standardisation of hardware and software, consumers are also a major driver of the scope of infotainment and their attitude to a car’s infotainment system can influence how they view the brand itself. Concerns such as driver distraction have been partially addressed with driver-assist systems, but solutions to more complex issues such as privacy, security, and digital storage will continue to develop as infotainment matures. With the wealth of features that automotive infotainment offers, OEMs and governments must take a serious look at productive features vs. superfluous ones. Delineation is needed. Telematics is driver- centric, entertainment (Twitter/YouTube) is passenger-centric—as a matter of safety, the two must not cross over. Electronic systems are in every aspect of
(1) Source:
www.microsoft.com/
windowsembedded/en- gb/
auto.aspx
(2)(1) (2) Source: www.openautoalliance. net/#faqs
Mouser Electronics
uk.mouser.com 01494-467490
a car, and now automotive infotainment is becoming another major driver of competition. Technologies and applications will evolve as cars become more connected and highly integrated smart devices. Not only will future cars be safer, connected, personalised, and cleaner for the environment, they'll also become "smart phones on wheels".
Enter 206 / ELECTRONICS
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