A third-generation high-performance graphic SoCs for automotive applications has been developed by Fujitsu Semiconductor Europe (FSEU). The company advises its MB86R2 features improved CPU and GPU performance for faster processing and sharper image rendering.
The new product has six full HD input channels and three display output channels, which is claimed to allow for greater flexibility in input/output control.
The company advises that with the integration of this new chip, it has, for the first time, been able to incorporate Approaching Object Detection functionality-which notifies drivers of nearby people, bicycles and other objects-into the 360° Wraparound View System that enables drivers to check their entire surroundings in 3D from any angle.
In addition, the product also supports integrated Human Machine Interface (HMI) systems that provide a centralised control over a variety of onboard vehicle information. Previously, the display of such information on multiple screens has been controlled independently for each screen.
This new device has the potential to improve safety, and comfort for automobiles, as well as for home and industrial applications.
The 360° Wraparound View System ultimately notifies drivers about objects approaching the vehicle, as well as integrated HMI systems that connects people with data from inside and outside the vehicle.
This system uses cameras facing forward, backward, left, and right to synthesise a 3D model of the environment and then display the surroundings from any perspective. Last year the company developed a 360° wraparound view system that employed a second-generation MB86R10 series graphics SoC and also worked with megapixel cameras. As systems such as this, which give clear visual confirmation of a vehicle’s surroundings, grow in popularity, there will be increasing expectations for additional functionality that reduces the likelihood of driver oversights while promoting safer, more confident driving.
The MB86R24 is said to feature almost twice the CPU performance and five times the GPU performance of its second-generation predecessor, delivering sharper images and the ability to view surroundings from any perspective.
The chip also features Approaching Object Detection, which notifies the driver of nearby objects approaching the vehicle. The proximity detection algorithm was developed jointly with Fujitsu Laboratories, and is claimed to be the system of its kind to be implemented as part of a 360° wraparound view system.
This SoC can also take input from six cameras simultaneously, enabling greater flexibility in rendering 3D imagery as a result and making the technology applicable in a wider range of scenarios.
In recent years, the amount of information shared between drivers, vehicles and the outside world has been steadily growing. Such information includes battery information for electric vehicles, camera imagery, navigation information, and connectivity with smartphones and the cloud. Different information is displayed on different screens, such as central console displays, cluster displays, or heads-up displays, all of which require separate display control. Such technology responds to the need for a solution that can collect information in a single location and centrally control how it is displayed depending on the driving scenario. HMI systems can accomplish this, and the the solution presented here is able to control each display to present information that suits the current driving scenario.
The new SoC facilitates the development of modules and platforms for displays that can be incorporated into multiple models, rather than one-off development for each car model as in the past. This, in turn, enables a significant reduction in part counts for display systems, while also making it easy to reuse products in different car models.
Fujitsu Semiconductor Europe
