In response to the automotive industry increasingly adopting digital cockpits, replacing traditional buttons and controls with advanced displays which requires high-performance features, Infineon has developed a user-friendly cockpit solution.
Typically, achieving these goals involves running the digital cockpit on a high-performance system-on-chip (SoC) with a hypervisor. However, the initial investment for such a system can reach seven figures, with additional operating system and hypervisor licence fees, making it financially unviable for mid- to low-end car models.
Infineon, working in collaboration with MediaTek and its design partners, developed the user-friendly cockpit solution using Infineon’s TRAVEO CYT4DN microcontroller unit (MCU) family and an entry-level MediaTek Dimensity Auto SoC. This solution aims to reduce the bill of materials (BOM) costs for both hardware and software.
Within this setup, the Infineon CYT4DN MCU serves as a safety companion to the SoC, meeting the ASIL-B safety target for automotive clusters. The TRAVEO MCU monitors the content rendered by the SoC and assumes control with limited functionality in the event of an error, alongside performing standard companion functions such as vehicle network communication.
“Our automotive SoC, combined with Infineon’s TRAVEO T2G MCU, will provide a cost-effective cockpit solution that delivers new possibilities to OEMs and Tier 1 companies,” explained Mr. Xiong Jian, Vice General Manager of the automotive product line at MediaTek. “This option will greatly boost the performance and capabilities of the cockpit in entry-level car models.”
“A modern cockpit supports the driver and increases driving comfort for all vehicle occupants. That is why it is important to us that cost optimised vehicle models can also be equipped with digital solutions. Together with MediaTek and our partners, we are pleased to pave the way for digital cockpits for all vehicles,” added Ralf Koedel, Vice President Microcontroller Smart Mobility at Infineon. “The TRAVEO T2G CYT4DN MCU incorporates our low-power flash memory, multiple high-performance analog and digital peripherals and enables the creation of a secure computing platform.”
This new cockpit solution supports a resolution of 1920 x 720 pixels for both clusters and in-vehicle infotainment displays. The cluster display, driven by the ASIL-B-compliant TRAVEO CYT4DN MCU, ensures high reliability. It also simplifies software development and significantly reduces costs by running the SoC on the open-source Android operating system, eliminating the need for a hypervisor and a costly commercial operating system. Suppliers and manufacturers can maintain and update the software themselves, further reducing costs.
The TRAVEO CYT4DN is part of the TRAVEO T2G family of microcontrollers, designed specifically for automotive systems such as instrument clusters and head-up displays (HUD).
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