The MOST driver assistance networks.
academia to exchange knowledge and experience of recent work on systems, circuits, technologies, processes and applications, as well as outlooks on future trends. The event provides a platform for a broad audience, ranging from researchers, designers, engineers, system developers, to purchasers and journalists, and to the managers of the industries involved.
AI: What are the benefits of attending, given that the presentations are available online?
Thiel: Going beyond one-way presentations, the event provides a networking forum for professionals to exchange their ideas and learn about further and new solutions and trends. There will be up to 20 exhibitors, and experts will be available for discussion and to set up new business partnerships. In addition, several of the latest car models will be there to allow attendees to experience implemented multimedia applications based on MOST.
AI: What is the schedule for MOST150 being rolled out by OEMs?
Thiel: The rollout of MOST150 has just been started in the new Audi A3. The first Mercedes Benz car model to implement it will be the S-Class vehicles. Following this, the technology will roll out successively through other car models of the two groups. Further carmakers in Europe and Asia will also set on MOST150 for their upcoming car models.
AI: When will designers and engineers be able to start incorporating the next generation of MOST into their systems?
Thiel: The lead time for a new network usually is between six and eight years. Work on MOST next Generation has just started a while ago and targets cars on the road in the 2018 time frame. In MOST Cooperation working groups, suppliers and carmakers are converting requirements provided by the auto makers into specifications. At this stage all parameters have to be examined for feasibility and defined. As soon as the specifications are released by the MOST Cooperation, suppliers will provide corresponding products and carmakers will begin their implementation processes. AI: What are the current focus areas of MOST? Thiel: Along with information features such as navigation systems, traffic information, and function warnings, the number of vehicles with driver assistance( ADAS) functions like camera systems, distance controls, or lane departure warnings will rapidly increase. Consequently, the need for the seamless integration of infotainment and driver assistance becomes evident. For driver assist and infotainment systems to work together seamlessly, special requirements at the network level are necessary. These prerequisites are characterized by high integration of a multichannel network; hard real-time, determinism and low latency; flexible topology; high bandwidth; safety aspects; as well as robustness and maturity. Consequently, a multi-channel network like MOST with inherent synchronicity is very advantageous. Further advantages such as maturity, cost efficiency and flexible topology are additional arguments for MOST Technology.
A related topic is packet and stream transmission, which are both available on separate channels through the MOST network. MOST150 enables IP data communication, providing an automotive-ready Ethernet channel according to IEEE 802.3 with freely configurable bandwidth from 0 to nearly 150 Mbit / s. But the quality of service audio and video channels continue to be available in parallel. A separate real-time control channel is also available. Thus there is no need to force all data into a particular format to fit a single transmission protocol.
MOST transports different types of data in parallel and independent data channels that provide mechanisms that are optimized for the specific characteristics of the data to be transported. The Ethernet channel can take standard Ethernet packets without any special processing by the higher levels of the Ethernet network management stacks, and send them over the MOST network. In this way, MOST is open to a broad variety of IP protocol based applications, including the seamless integration of wireless mobile devices or car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure communication.
The whole automotive network management infrastructure currently in place can be leveraged when adding Ethernet capabilities to the vehicle. Complete tool chains geared for automotive development and manufacturing systems already exist and are ready to add Ethernet capabilities to the current set of MOST functions. MOST includes all the software layers needed for the car industry and does not require new automotive network management stacks. From a technical perspective, there is no need to argue what kind of infrastructure the vehicle needs. Both packet and stream transmissions can be accommodated and the designer can take advantage of the best solutions to his problems. MOST provides a single physical layer that supports the advantages that each technology brings to the vehicle. AI
Automotive Industries 37