Automotive electronics such as navigation systems, rear-seat entertainment systems, and game consoles are increasingly integrated in new cars, but these consumer applications require a significant amount of graphics and/or video processing. Lane departure warning systems and night vision systems also involve a large amount of graphics processing. New FPGA technology and video standards are making it possible to have the same high-level graphics quality in your car as you do in your home theater.
The FPGA architecture allows for extremely efficient high-speed data routing and parallel processing rather than using an external microprocessor or dedicated digital signal processor (serialized processing/operation). Since graphics processing by the FPGA is done in parallel, very high throughput can be achieved at much slower frequencies, resulting in lower power consumption as compared to microprocessors or digital signal processors operating at gigahertz frequencies. Combining this massively parallel graphics processing capability with the flexibility of interfacing to multiple consumer interface standards make FPGAs the products of choice for graphics-intensive automotive applications (infotainment or driver assistance).
The advantages of Altera’s Cyclone® III FPGAs versus competitive FPGAs are substantial: 50 percent (on average) faster logic performance, up to 2x more on-chip digital signal processing (DSP) resources, up to 2x more on-chip memory, and up to 50 percent lower power.
Altera provides a rich portfolio of intellectual property (IP) cores that can be used to design next-generation, multimedia-rich applications. This portfolio includes interfacing IP cores such as media oriented system transport (MOST) and controller area network (CAN), and DSP functions such as filtering and digital transmission control protocol (DTCP). You can leverage Altera’s video and imaging processing solutions for a variety of graphics processing applications. Low-cost Cyclone III FPGAs, combined with these IP cores, provide the optimal graphics processing solution.
