MOST – Home > Technology > Introduction

Automobiles have evolved from having a simple radio with perhaps a cassette or CD player to having a variety of sophisticated entertainment and information systems that need to communicate and interact with each other and with a human user. As a matter of fact, automotive systems are more feature-rich than many other A/V applications such as home A/V distribution, security A/V systems and industrial applications. MOST offers an optimized architecture for the real-time transport of audio, video, data and control. It is the backbone of modern infotainment systems.

Automotive systems have tended to use custom standards such as MOST, but one of the leading automotive networking chip suppliers, SMSC, has produced a high-performance single-chip 10/100 Ethernet controller.

Definition

Ethernet: A set of network cabling and network access protocol standards for bus topology computer networks invented by Xerox but now controlled by the a subcommittee of the IEEE. It is also generally used to describe a computer network which complies with these standards

The device is designed specifically to meet the high reliability standards required by automotive applications. Using a high-performance Ethernet interface in today’s complex vehicle electrical systems may help diagnose issues faster and lower software maintenance time.

The need for higher speed interfaces is driven by the increasing size of embedded program and data memories. For example, a recent BMW 7 series has more than 1 GB of memory while the previous model had just short of 100 MB. Repair shops diagnose and fix problems, but also update the software and data embedded in the various control devices inside the car via the data link connector (DLC).

This standardized connector only provides a slow communication interface so updating the software of a modern car via this interface can take hours. As a result, many car companies are working on an upgrade of the OBD connector to provide the car with a high-performance data interface for diagnostics and software downloads. This initiative is expected to lead to a new ISO/SAE standard that mandates Ethernet as part of the OBD interface for all cars.

The device from SMSC provides a simple, parallel host bus interface to the typical automotive embedded microcontrollers used inside a car. It can function as a network branch to the outside world connecting the car to a personal computer, diagnostic tool or a complex Ethernet network in the repair shop with power management, wake-on-LAN support allows network to wake-up electronics devices from sleep state, multiple low-power modes and built-in flow control support.

For more information, visit www.smsc.com

Bridgestone is looking to U.K. primary school children to design a futuristic vehicle by launching a competition to encourage students to think about the future of their environment and green innovation in the transport industry.
The "Green Machine" competition seeks state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly, futuristic vehicles that could include anything from cars, vans and trucks to motorbikes, airplanes and helicopters.
“Bridgestone is committed to supporting innovation and developing green technologies. This is an exciting project for us and it’s great to be able to encourage our future vehicle designers to think about the importance of transport on the environment,” said Andy Dingley, communications manager at Bridgestone U.K.

The winning school will receive a £500 cash prize and a set of Bridgestone truck tires, which can be used as raised beds to grow vegetables, plants and flowers – encouraging pupils to think about recycling, the environment and sustainable living, the tiremaker said.

The winning student also will have a miniature version of his or her futuristic, green vehicle illustrated by a professional artist and displayed at the Bridgestone Eco Rally later this year. The student will be presented with the design at a presentation assembly at their school.

Tire Review – Bridgestone Launches Car of the Future Contest