New Standard Approved For 1394 Architecture

Autoparts Report, Nov 5, 2002

The architecture (1394-Automotive) that allows consumers to connect 1394-equipped portable consumer electronics products -- such as CD players, DVDs, games or computers -- in their cars or trucks is completed and ready for publication following unanimous approval by the 1394 Trade Association's Board of Directors.

Developed jointly with the IDB Forum (the group that actively promotes the global integration of IDB networking into vehicles, consumer electronics, and automotive electronics), the1394-Automotive specification establishes the fundamental architecture, plastic optical fiber and copper connector specifications for a 1394 multimedia backbone.

The Automotive Working Group and the Cables and Connectors Working Group of the Trade Association considered all primary manufacturability, compatibility and environmental issues while developing the specification, including all physical and power management requirements.

A key element of 1394-Automotive is the customer convenience port (CCP), which allows drivers or passengers to plug consumer electronics equipment such as games, PCs, and handheld devices into the vehicle network through a single 1394 cable/connector. The CCP ensures platform interoperability, portability and scalability, and enables users to link legacy electronics products, the Association said.

Using plastic optical fiber cable, the network allows communications at up to 400 Mbps between devices, including satellite radio, audio/video servers, navigation systems, and on-board electronics. Initial versions of the specification were implemented in test vehicles from Ford Motor and Mack Trucks during the Consumer Electronics Show in 2000 and 2001.

Interest among leading manufacturers in the U.S., Japan, Korea and Europe has increased as the specification neared completion. "1394-Automotive provides the most flexible and convenient high-speed network backbone for distributed audio and video in vehicles," said Max Bassler of Molex, vice chairman of the 1394 Trade Association and a leader in the specification's development.

"The specification design is based on the requirements of the automotive OEMs and their suppliers, and can accommodate almost all of the 1394-equipped computer and audio-video devices now in the market." "Automotive OEMs and suppliers have asked for an open standard supported by the industry, and that's what we have with 1394-Automotive," said Arlan Stehney, executive director of the IDB Forum.

"We see this technology as a key enabler in the development of highly integrated, in-vehicle electronics functionality." "We are now moving to define an automotive electrical physical layer supplement to the existing 1394 automotive specification," said Brad Little of Texas Instruments, the group's chairman.

"This will lead to a lower-cost implementation of the standard that meets the automotive industry's demanding EMI requirements. This work is expected to be completed during the first half of 2003."