Texas Instruments Introduces Industry's First Complete Multimedia IDB-1394 And Bluetooth(TM) Technologies for Automotive Market
DALLAS, Feb. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Targeting the automotive telematics market, Texas Instruments Incorporated (NYSE: TXN - news; TI) unveils the industry's first automotive 1394b bus solution to support in-car infotainment applications such as rear seat entertainment and other complete audio and video solutions. In addition, TI recently demonstrated automotive Bluetooth chipsets enabling wireless connectivity solutions for the vehicle. (See www.ti.com/sc/mil7673u )
Automotive 1394: High Speeds, Media Flexibility
TI's new automotive IDB-1394 technology supports the 1394b protocol at 100 megabits per second (Mbps) over 10 meters of plastic optical fiber (POF) or unshielded twisted pair, category 5 (UTP5) cable. Developers thus have a choice of media between POF, which minimizes electromagnetic interference (EMI) for greater overall signal fidelity, and UTP5 (pending automotive EMI qualification), which significantly reduces overall node cost. TI offers a complete IDB-1394 solution, including various link layers such as the CELynx which supports MPEG2 video streaming with 5C copy protection and the physical layer interface (PHY) for POF or UTP5.
Emerging end-user automotive applications include digital audio and video (MPEG2 DVD, MP3 players, cameras, etc.), navigation units, and gateways to the other automotive buses that are increasingly used in vehicles for communications, control and diagnostics. Avionic and industrial systems are also poised to benefit from the high speeds, long distance and robust performance offered by this technology.
``By providing the industry's first IDB-1394 silicon, TI is demonstrating our commitment to enabling 1394 high-speed communications in the automotive market,'' said Brad Little, manager of TI's worldwide automotive advanced bus products. ``TI's solution will help bridge the gap between the automobile and consumer electronics, allowing people to enjoy mobile multimedia entertainment and information.''
TI Leadership in 1394
The IDB-1394 specification is an automotive supplement to the existing IEEE 1394 standards, which are already well established in the consumer electronics industry. Through the use of this standard, consumer multimedia applications can be leveraged for in-vehicle networking. In addition, existing 1394 portable devices can be plugged directly into the new automotive multimedia bus through the use of an IDB-1394 defined customer convenience port.
TI is the industry leader in providing 1394 solutions and has been among the first to demonstrate 1394b solutions targeting the automotive market. TI has also played a key role in establishing 1394 automotive standards. In addition, TI is a primary participant in the Rolling Test Bed 2002 program, an IDB-1394 AuWG (1394 Automotive Working Group) development project designed to validate the standard and demonstrate its practicality for vehicle implementation.
``TI is the first supplier to provide working IDB-1394 automotive silicon,'' said Frank Desjarlais, senior network engineer at Ford Motor Company. ``The recent introduction of TI's 1394b silicon gives automotive manufacturers the ability to quickly provide industry standard state-of-the-art electronic features to their customers. In addition, providing an externally accessible 1394 Customer Convenience Port gives passengers the ability to plug in their latest portable electronic devices into the vehicle for entertainment or vehicle services.''
Bluetooth Automotive Solutions
TI's Bluetooth wireless chipsets enable hands-free car kits in the automotive market, and when used in conjunction with the IDB-1394 bus, allow for complete advanced telematics communications in automotive applications.
``TI's Bluetooth automotive solutions will enable us to cost-efficiently provide hands-free phone operation to our products,'' said Gerhard Nuessle, Head of Development, TEMIC Sprachverarbeitung GmbH. ``Customers will find that Bluetooth communications give them easy-to-use wireless flexibility for a wide range of applications that can now be used in the car as well as the home.''
TI is extending its line of Bluetooth solutions for wireless transmission to support automotive applications. TI chipsets provide high-performance, full-rate Bluetooth links, supporting wireless data communications and up to three simultaneous voice links with very low power consumption. Bluetooth solutions from TI will enable automotive developers to offer value-added products such as hands-free car kits and wireless communication links to games, PCs, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and other types of systems such as vehicle diagnostic tools.
``We are very excited to be able to introduce an automotive grade complete Bluetooth module to the market. This product has been made possible through the combination of Texas Instruments' durable, high performance chipsets and our high frequency, multi-layer and high density mounting technologies,'' said Shoichi Sekiguchi, general manager and team leader of the Bluetooth Development Group at Taiyo Yuden.
``We have had good success working with TI's Bluetooth solution in developing hands-free and telematics applications. We are looking forward to a continued relationship with TI in the future,'' said Tim Reilly, CTO for Stonestreet One.
Availability
IDB-1394 development boards and samples are available today in limited quantities. TI plans to introduce select versions of commercially available Bluetooth devices characterized for the automotive temperature range of -40 to +85 degrees C during the first half of 2002.
Texas Instruments Incorporated is the world leader in digital signal processing and analog technologies, the semiconductor engines of the Internet age. In addition to Semiconductor, the company's businesses include Sensors & Controls, and Educational & Productivity Solutions. TI is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has manufacturing, design or sales operations in more than 25 countries.
Texas Instruments is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TXN. More information is located on the World Wide Web at www.ti.com .
SOURCE: Texas Instruments Incorporated
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