A highly integrated single-chip graphics solution for automotive display systems has been developed by Fujitsu Semiconductor Europe. The MB88F333 ‘Indigo-L’ is a new sprite-based graphics controller, which incorporates the APIX1 interface and is optimised for CID (Central Information Display) and HUD (Head-up displays) of next-generation automotive applications.
A key feature of the device is the APIX serial gigabit interface from Inova Semiconductors. This new standard for the transmission of image and peripheral data meets the requirements of the latest display applications in vehicles, leading to higher performance and low implementation costs.
Automotive peripherals such as stepper motor controllers, pulse width modulators, ADCs, I2C, UARTs and sound generator are also integrated into the device. This allows it to control all the peripheral functions in a display sub-system. Typical applications for these interfaces include driving dashboard gauges, backlight circuits, LEDs, sensors and on-board communications.
The new solution optimises the BoM (bill-of-materials) for CID and other display based systems as it runs without external memories. The graphics processing is based on a line-buffer principle, which eliminates the need for expensive (internal or external) frame-buffer memory.
