Telematics: Prototype shown in London show

STMicroelectronics demonstrated several prototype solutions for in-vehicle entertainment, information, and safety applications at the 13th World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems, helt in London from 9 to 12 October.

Navigation systems shown at ITS 2006 include a working prototype using ST's NaviFlex platform - announced at ITS 2005 in San Francisco - and based on a Nomadik Application Processor, with ST's GPS chipset, software platform, and reference design. NaviFlex is a complete Nomadik-based platform for in-car infotainment that targets two main markets: Car Navigation and Infotainment (NaviFlex-PRO), and Portable Navigation Devices (Naviflex-PNE platform).

A display shows GPS System-on-Chip solutions, including the STA2051 and ST's new high-performance embedded-Flash single-chip baseband devices, and the STA2056 genuine one-chip system with on-board RF. ST has been selected by the Galileo Joint Undertaking - overseeing Europe's global navigation satellite system - as a Prime Contractor and chipset provider for the GR-POSTER (Galileo-Ready POSitioning TERminal) program for mass market Galileo terminal development. All ST GPS chipsets will be upgraded to be Galileo-Ready.

The recently announced ADR (Advanced Digital Radio) chipset, created in collaboration with Blaupunkt, can tune in to all the current analog radio services worldwide, as well as to the new digital radio services. Combining two of ST's TDA7528 RF front-end ICs with an STA3005 back-end chip, the solution delivers excellent sound processing and equalization performance, even in difficult signal conditions, while reducing the workload on the radio's main microprocessor.

In-car mobile TV will be demonstrated using a working prototype, also in cooperation with Blaupunkt, that uses the T-DMB (Terrestrial Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) system, which is based on the DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) standard and infrastructure already operating in many European countries, including the UK. The solution is based on ST's powerful but power- efficient Nomadik mobile multimedia application processor.

Satellite digital radios from leading manufacturers that use ST's market- leading receiver and tuner ICs will be on display. For terrestrial digital radio, a prototype of a DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale) receiver created by ST in cooperation with Kenwood and Fraunhofer IIS (Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits) will demonstrate ST's broad capability in this field. The receiver design is expected to lead on to the development of a low-power ASIC for DRM applications in radios and PDAs.

A working automotive Media Center demonstration - with disk drive (HDD), DVD player and USB interfaces - is based on the STi710x family, which includes the world's first single-chip H.264/AVC and VC-1 decoder; it includes wired and wireless links for PCs and smart phones.

Safety and security systems are supported by a live demonstration of 3-axis accelerometers using ST's MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) technology, with sensors detecting movement as inclination or acceleration. Applications shown include anti-theft systems for wheeled vehicles and anti-tamper systems for containers, and inputs for adaptive lighting.

The VS6x24 family of color digital cameras combines small physical size with low power consumption. They integrate a high-sensitivity pixel array, fully-featured digital image processing and camera control functions into a single die. With multiple resolutions and standard output formats (YUV, RGB or Bayer), this Imager-on-Chip (IoC) solution allows the rapid design-in of a high-quality digital camera to any system. It is shown with the x24 Camera Integration Kit (CIK) in a working demonstration of its easy evaluation and use.

A practical application of imaging technology in a vehicle environment is shown in a demonstration of a System-on-Chip (SoC) processor, the result of a joint development program between ST and Mobileye, which monitors pedestrians and lane discipline in real-time using a video stream from a single CMOS camera.

Related news: Foursprung, P4MR, telematics, GPS

Source: Telematics Journal

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