Lattice makes embedded vision-optimised FPGA available for vehicles
The Lattice Crosslink-NX family from Lattice Semiconductor has been expanded with FPGAs specified for automotive applications such as advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems.
The CrossLink-NX low power FPGAs are characterised by a small form factor, high-performance I/O, and reliability, says Lattice. They are also claimed to be the only FPGAs in their class to support embedded MIPI D-PHY interfaces with speeds up to 10Gbits per second.
Many radar, lidar and camera sensors are based on the [Mobile Industry Processor Interface] MIPI. These technologies are being increasingly adopted by the automotive market to enhance vehicle functionality. The ADAS sensor market alone predicted to grow to $40.8 billion in 2030, at an 11.7 per cent CAGR between 2020 and 2030, says Lattice.
“With support for automotive operating temperatures, class-leading dedicated high-performance MIPI interfaces, low power consumption, and high reliability, these new CrossLink-NX FPGAs are an ideal platform for automotive embedded vision systems,” says Jay Aggarwal, director of silicon product marketing at Lattice.
The CrossLink-NX FPGAs for automotive applications carry AEC-Q100 qualification up to Grade 2 (TA = 105 degrees C) and a soft error rate (SER) up to 100 times lower than similar competing FPGAs, says Lattice. According to the company, this makes the CrossLink-NX FPGAs particularly suitable for mission-critical applications that must operate safely and reliably in challenging environments.
The CrossLink-NX FPGAs are built on the Lattice Nexus FPGA platform, which leverages an FD-SOI manufacturing process and FPGA architecture to boost power efficiency. The CrossLink-NX FPGAs deliver up to 75 per cent lower power consumption in comparison to similar competing FPGAs, reports Lattice. This low power consumption provides extra thermal headroom for ADAS and IVI applications running at higher temperatures.
They also support multiple, fast I/Os, including MIPI, PCIe and DDR3 memory, making them suitable for embedded vision applications.
The instant-on performance is better able to support applications like automotive displays where a long system boot time is unacceptable. CrossLink-NX FPGAs enable I/O configuration in just three milliseconds and total device configuration in less than 15 milliseconds.
The high memory-to-logic ratio in the CrossLink-NX FPGAs efficiently processes image data using 170 bits of memory per logic cell. Lattice says this is the highest memory-to-logic ratio in its class.
The small form factor CrossLink-NX FPGAs are up to 10 times smaller than similar competing FPGAs, which is a benefit for space-constrained automotive systems.
The FPGAs also support the latest versions of the Lattice Radiant (version 2.2.1) and Lattice Propel (version 1.1) software tools to simplify and accelerate embedded vision system design. CrossLink-NX FPGAs are also supported by the Lattice mVision and sensAI solution stacks. This allows designers to leverage the stacks’ modular hardware platforms, reference designs, neural network IP cores, and custom design services to further accelerate automotive vision system design.
The FPGAs can meet the performance and data bandwidth requirements of increasingly complex ADAS systems, where they can be used to perform signal splitting, duplication, and aggregation of image sensor outputs. They can also be used to offload edge AI processing from the main ADAS processor, explains K Ganesh Rao, practice head – FPGA solutions at technology consultancy, Tata Elxsi. “Lattice CrossLink-NX FPGAs are a compelling hardware option for these applications, and we applaud Lattice’s decision to release automotive-grade versions of this flexible embedded vision platform,” he says.
