The MIPI Alliance, an international organization that develops interface specifications for mobile and mobile-influenced industries, has initiated development of a physical layer (up to 15m) specification targeted for automated driving, advanced driver assistance and other surround sensor applications.

With development of the MIPI A-PHY physical layer specification already underway to meet 12-24 gigabits per second (Gbps), requirements gathering has begun to support higher speeds including more than 48 Gbps for display and other use cases. When complete, these specifications will serve a broad spectrum of the industry’s connectivity needs.

Technology and automotive companies are invited to join the many MIPI Alliance members already involved in these efforts. Companies participating in the MIPI Automotive Working Group include: Analog Devices, Inc.; Analogix Semiconductor, Inc.; BitifEye Digital Test Solutions GmbH; Cadence Design Systems, Inc.; Fraunhofer IIS; Intel Corporation; Keysight Technologies Inc.; L&T Technology Services; MediaTek Inc.; Microchip Technology Inc.; Mixel, Inc.; Mobileye, an Intel Company; NXP Semiconductors; OmniVision Technologies, Inc.; ON Semiconductor; Parade Technologies Ltd.; Prodigy Technovations Pvt. Ltd.; Qualcomm Incorporated; Robert Bosch GmbH; Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.; Socionext Inc.; Sony Corporation; STMicroelectronics; Synopsys, Inc.; Tektronix, Inc.; Teledyne LeCroy; Toshiba Corporation; University of New Hampshire InterOperability Lab; Valens Semiconductors; and others.

MIPI A-PHY v1.0 is expected to be available to developers in late 2019. The specification will optimize wiring, cost and weight requirements, as high-speed data, control data and optional power share the same physical wiring.

The asymmetric nature of the MIPI A-PHY link, its point-to-point topology and its reuse of generations of mobile protocols promise overall lower complexity, power consumption and system costs for developers and automotive OEMs. It’s anticipated that the first vehicles using A-PHY components will be in production in 2024.

In addition to automotive uses, the configuration of the specification will be well suited for applications such as IoT and industrial.

The MIPI Alliance (MIPI) develops interface specifications for mobile and mobile-influenced industries. There is at least one MIPI specification in every smartphone manufactured today.