FujitsuMicroelectronics Asia Pte Ltd (FMAL) today announced the launch of a newgraphics controller System-on-Chip (SoC) for automotive infotainment systems, suchas next-generation car navigation and digital dashboards. The new controller,the MB86298, offers the highest-class graphics capability for embedded systems,as well as an industry first of providing output to up to 4 displays, and up to4 video inputs.
Featuring superior input and outputfunctionality, the MB86298 can process 4 inputted video streams whileoutputting video to 4 displays. The inputted videos can be modified, synthesizedtogether, and put on 3-D graphics surfaces within a single screen.Subsequently, with 4 cameras mounted on all sides of the automobile (front,back, left, and right), it is possible to freely choose the desired viewpointand form for display. In addition, the controller’s industry-leadingcapabilities enable display of 8 layers and inter-layer blends (*1), where eachinformation stream is processed separately so that users can selectively changethe information screen to be displayed, as well as being able to synthesize theinformation streams together smoothly and display them.
Figure 1: Example of the MB86298 controller at thenexus of an in-vehicle infotainment system
Figure 2. Graphics Controller SoC (Unit:cm)
Inrecent years, the amount of electronics in automobiles has continued to rise,providing information and entertainment to the driver and passengers, bringingabout increased safety, more comfort and reduced environmental impact to thedriving experience: for example, carnavigation systems that change with real-time traffic information, video fromblind-spot cameras, streaming TV and DVD video to passenger seat displays, andso-called “eco-drive” functions which support low fuel consumption bydisplaying information of the car’s running condition.
Thereare increasing needs to simultaneously show several video and image streams toseveral displays within the automobile, such as showing different images to thedriver’s seat and front passenger seat (dual-view LCD displays), and viewing TVand DVDs on the rear seat displays. At the same time, automotive infotainmentsystems that capture and display information of the vehicle’s periphery fromseveral cameras mounted on the vehicle have emerged. Subsequently, suchautomotive systems demand high-performance graphics SoCs that can process inreal-time several different images and video streams, and process such largevolumes of imaging data at high-speed.
Ona single chip, this new MB86298 controller contains the necessary functionsdemanded for next- generation automotive infotainment systems, providinghigh-speed video and graphics processing to handle an industry first of 4 videoinputs, and output to 4 displays. This controller can not only realize systemswhich show navigation images to the driver - while showing TV and videos to thepassenger displays - as previously possible, but can also process and displaythe dashboard instrument cluster in 3-D graphics, including meter needles. InAddition, the controller can handle the inputs from 4 cameras (front, back,left, right) mounted on the vehicle and process them and synthesize themtogether in real-time. Also, for car navigation 3-D mapping, this controllercan output to high-resolution 1600 x 600 pixel displays to bring out rich image detail, not just of the roads, butof surrounding buildings and scenery.
KeyFeatures
1.Allows 4 video capture inputs and output to 4 displays
Toeach of 2 display ports, it is possible to output 2 screen images - for eachscreen image, 8 levels and inter-layer blends can be displayed. Therefore, ontop of a map of the surroundings, explanation notes can be overlaid, as well asan overlay of images of the surroundings from the vehicle cameras. In suchcases, the outline of cars is extracted and overlaid, so it is like theoverlaid image blends into the background image of the surroundings. Dither (*2) and gamma (*3) correctionfunctions are included, offering high-quality imaging on displays of varyingresolutions and color characteristics. Furthermore, the 4 video inputs enablevarious video inputs to undergo simultaneous processing. Inputs up toresolutions of 1280 x 720 pixels can be handled, and functions are included forenlargement/reduction, and conversion of interlace format - suitable for motion- to progressive format (*4) which has less noise.
2.Industry-leading high-speed, high-resolution rendering
Itfeatures top-class rendering performance in its industry with 400 millionpixels per second, providing real-life maps with minute detail and smoothrendering. As graphics memory, 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM is used - with a maximum datarate of 6.4 gigabytes per second (6.4Gbps), it is possible to display severallayers of display data on top of each other at high resolutions. The controlleralso contains a unified programmable shader (*5) that is capable of operationsat 17G FLOPS, which can render highly textured and detailed surfaces, such asthe metallic surfaces of a car body, in life-like detail. With such highrendering performance, this controller can output in real-time tohigh-resolution 1600 x 600 pixel displays, to bring out rich image detail.
3.OpenGL® ES2.0 graphics acceleration
TheMB86298 graphics controller contains an acceleration function for OpenGL® ES2.0(*6), making it simpler to construct an in-vehicle entertainment environment.Also, Fujitsu Microelectronics plans to provide OpenVGTM1.0 support for smoothenlargement/reduction of characters and straight or curved lines.
Glossaryand Notes
1. Inter-layer blends: A function that allows severalscreen images to be mixed together to form one screen image.
2. Dither function: A function that can produceintermediate colors on displays that have few colors.
3. Gamma function: A function that corrects color datato match the display characteristics.
4. Conversion of interlace format - suitable formotion - to progressive format: A function that improves picture quality whenconverting from interface format to progressive format.
5. Programmable shader: A function used in 3-Dgraphics that can render objects to be real-life looking by allowing the userto freely program to match the image they are trying to create, rather than thefixed shading processing previously used.
6. OpenGL ES: A subset of OpenGL for embedded devices.OpenGL is a standard program and library to handle graphics on computers.
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About Fujitsu MicroelectronicsAsia Pte Ltd (FMAL)FujitsuMicroelectronics Asia Pte Ltd was established as the Asia Pacific Headquartersof Fujitsu Limited Electronic Devices Group in 1986. It provides support, salesand marketing of semiconductors and electronic devices to the Asia Pacificregion, including India and Oceania. Fujitsu Microelectronics Asia offers awide and varied product range like ASIC, ASSPs, Microcontrollers /Microprocessors (FR-V), System Memory (FRAM / FCRAM) and System LSIs (DVD MPEGSource Decoders / MPEG –2 Encoders).
About Fujitsu MicroelectronicsLimited
FujitsuMicroelectronics Limited (FML) is a large-scale integrated circuit (LSI)manufacturer that provides highly reliable, optimal solutions to meet thevarying needs of its customers, through LSI offerings including ASIC/COT, ASSPand power management ICs, and flash microcontrollers. Along with building onits wide-range expertise focusing on imaging, wireless, and security LSIapplications, FML also pursues initiatives for power efficiency and undertakesenvironmentally-conscious countermeasures. Headquartered in Tokyo, FML wasestablished as a subsidiary of Fujitsu Limited on March 21, 2008. Through itsglobal sales and development network with sites in Japan and other regions inAsia, Europe, and the U.S., FML offers LSI solutions to the global marketplace.
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