Renesas, Murata and Ubiquitous collaborate on automotive technology

Renesas Electronics Corporation, Murata Manufacturing and Ubiquitous Corporation have formed a technological collaboration on the development of high-speed network connection technology targeting the IVI (In-Vehicle Infotainment) market. The market is expected to expand in the coming years led by the progress of IT and networking and the accelerated adoption of cloud computing system.

With the explosive spread of smartphones, there is a growing demand for network servicing in an automotive environment. Amidst this situation, the standardisation of connection between smartphones and IVI is in progress and such technology is assumed to be more complex and high-performance in the near future. Therefore, in the state-of-the-art IVI platform, a high-performance network OS (operating system) originally used in information systems is more likely to be adopted instead of an OS dedicated to embedded systems.

Although these general-purpose, high-performance OSs require a certain amount of time for activation, quick start-up of the system is strongly demanded for the quick display of a back camera or quick output of radio sound. Assuming that a high-speed Wi-Fi linkup between IVI and smartphones would be essential for the comfortable use of in-car network servicing, Renesas, Murata and Ubiquitous have come to collaborate in creating a solution by leveraging their respective technologies.

As the popularity of the smartphone has grown, adoption of in-car network servicing system has been eagerly considered. Meanwhile, the implementation of a Wi-Fi system into IVI is about to happen and the average annual growth rate of the implementation is expected to grow rapidly.

Some smartphones now comply with the IEEE802.11ac, the next-generation standard succeeding the IEEE802.11n, and the IEEE802.11ac standard is now expected to be adapted to the automotive environment. The high-speed throughput realised by the IEEE802.11ac standard not only contributes to  comfortable network servicing, but also enhances automotive infotainment system by enabling smooth replay of movie contents such as Miracast. Moreover, the IEEE802.11ai standard is expected to play a part in the improvement of user convenience with quick initial connection and authentication.

Combining Renesas’ automotive SoC, Murata’s Wi-Fi module and driver software and Ubiquitous’ high-speed activation solution and wireless communication software technology, which is widely adopted in automotive devices, the companies aim to offer a platform solution for comfortable network servicing by realising quick activation of the IVI system while supporting the latest standard. Renesas, Murata and Ubiquitous intend to contribute to the expansion of the IVI market by providing this user-friendly and easy-to-use platform solution.