ting Now - Automotive Electronics

12 INFOTAINMENTMost 150 meets the requirements not only for the traditional areasof entertainment and information, but also for the new domains ofmobile connectivity, connected services and driver assistanceto Ethernet and vice versa in atransparent way by meeting bothprotocol definitions. Due to thealready existing capabilities of thisECU, it addresses both streamingamong different physical layers andinterworking between Most and IPbased technologies.Ethernet channelAs more and more portable consumerdevices also support wireless services,the latest generation of Most –Most 150 – supports a fully featureembedded Ethernet channel, whichoffers up to 150Mbit/s bandwidth.This channel carries legacy Ethernetpackets (according to IEEE 802.3) sostandard TCP/IP stacks can be usedwithout change.Thus, the new generation of Mostprovides the automotive-readyphysical layer for Ethernet in the carsupporting a broad variety of IP basedapplications. This embedded TCP/IPprotocol support makes it obsolete toadd a specific Ethernet network ontop of the existing vehicle multimedianetwork. The combination of Ethernetand Most allows vehicle makers touse the best functionality that eachtechnology has to offer.USB connectionUSB has become the interface ofchoice for many consumer electronicsdevices. Mobile phones, media players,GPS receivers and other devices areadopting it, even if they don’t need tocommunicate data, because it providesa common way to charge the batteriesin these devices.However, standard consumer USBcables may introduce significantelectromagnetic emissions to thevehicle. Instead of using cables to acentral location, USB ports can belocated where consumers will connecttheir devices while sending contentfrom those devices over the Mostnetwork backbone.Most enhances the single hostmultipledevice architecture of USBby providing the distributed controlarchitecture (multiple controllers andslaves) and simple mechanisms forallocating the entertainment contentthat is stored in various consumerproducts.WirelessWireless technologies, such asBluetooth and Wifi, are also used toconnect nomadic devices to Most.They cannot completely replace wiredproducts due to the need to charge thebatteries of these portable components,but they are complementary to thesystems in the car.These technologies allow forseamless transfer of informationwithout having to be physicallyconnected to the car. Other upcomingapplications may include broadbandcommunications channels toother vehicles (car-to-car) or tohotspots in the environment (carto-infrastructure).However, fortransmission inside the vehicle,wireless is not really optimised.Given the more or less unpredictableQoS in a moving vehicle, a wire- (orfibre-) bound data transmission ishighly desirable. In some cases, forexample if some emergency datacoming into the car by potentiallyeven multiple wireless servicesneed to be transported inside thecar to generate driver warnings oreven emergency actions, a reliablebackbone is a must. At the same time,no additional cost must be introducedinto the vehicle. So the existing Mostbackbone is suitable even for thesekinds of services.SummaryThe Most specifications today satisfyfuture requirements of automotiveinfotainment systems to moveinformation and interconnectcomponents such as multi-channelDVD players, satellite receivers, digitalAV players, digital storage devices,telematics systems and rear-seatentertainment systems. An Ethernetchannel carries legacy Ethernetpackets so standard TCP/IP stacks canbe used without change.Through this embedded transportcapability, a seamless connectivitybetween Most and legacy extensionssuch as Ethernet, USB or wlan ispossible with almost zero overhead.Multiple high-definition video streamsand multi-channel surround soundwith premium quality of service canbe transmitted, while simultaneouslymoving high loads of packet dataaround. The system provides allprerequisites for digital contentprotection.Most is the technology chosen byall car makers that have implementeda high speed multimedia network intheir production vehicles. It is thede-facto industry standard for thisapplication. Car makers are buildingconnections to this backbone toprovide the link to the consumerworld. So Most is the perfectinfrastructure to pave the way for theseamless consumer devices into thevehicle.The automotive industry is comingtogether with the consumer industryto extend seamlessly the consumer’sdigital lifestyle to wherever theconsumer is located – at home, in thecar and everywhere else. lHarald Schöpp is a member of theMost Cooperation steering committeeand vice president of marketingat SMSC Automotive InformationSystems and Henry Muyshondtis technical liaison for the MostCooperation and senior director ofbusiness development at SMSCETAS GroupWe supply a comprehensiveportfolio of standardiseddevelopment and diagnostictools that cover the entire lifecycle of electronic controlunits, from development tooperational use and service.ETAS has a strong presencein the UK with a sales andtechnical support officebased in Derby, and a softwaredevelopment centrefocussing on AUTOSARembedded software componentsbased in York.N.B. Keep 30th September free for Driving Innovation 2010.Join us at Donington Park where ETAS and partner organisations will beexhibiting the latest in automotive development tools and services anddiscussing the development of low emission vehicle systems.ETAS Ltd.Unit 2AMeteor Business ParkMeteor CentreMansfield RoadDerby DE21 4SUUKPhone +44 1332 253770Fax +44 1332 253779sales.uk@etas.comautomotive electronics | june/july 2010www.automotive-electronics.co.uk