Microsoft Automotive teams with Xilinx and others to develop new telematics solution for Fiat
SAN JOSE, Calif., February 28, 2005 Xilinx, Inc., (NASDAQ: XLNX), the world's leading programmable logic supplier, today announced the use of their Spartan -3 Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) devices in the successful development and delivery of a flexible, low-cost telematics system that will be integrated into every Fiat vehicle. Based upon a reference design that they defined with Fiat Auto, Microsoft's Automotive Business Unit collaborated with Xilinx, Samsung, ScanSoft, Siemens, SiRF and Magneti-Marelli to develop the solution with each company contributing to key aspects of the system including chipset, processor, telecommunications module, speech engine and hardware development.
The Xilinx Spartan-3 FPGA is used as a companion to a Samsung processor to implement the mobile application processor within the platform. The Spartan-3 FPGA delivers a high-value solution, lowering the system bill of material (BOM) costs through the integration of several functions, including two UARTs (Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitters), a volume controller, a noise suppression filter, echo cancellation, decimetres, and scalers, which would otherwise require discrete devices. In addition, Xilinx Spartan-3 FPGAs are fully programmable so updates can be made to the hardware even after deployment to the field. This is an especially attractive feature for the automotive industry where a car's life span often exceeds ten years. As the first 90nm programmable device in the industry, the Spartan-3 platform provides unrivalled cost benefits with higher density and numerous performance features.
Xilinx is already the leading PLD provider to the automotive market with many programmable devices "on the road" in areas such as GPS, infotainment, communication, driver assistance and comfort applications. In addition to its Spartan-3 family of FPGAs, Xilinx offers a complete line of temperature-tolerant devices designed specifically for the automotive industry. Unveiled at Convergence 2004, the new Xilinx Automotive (XA) line is the only programmable logic line to meet the Automotive Electronics Council AEC-Q100 qualification flow and fully support the Automotive Industry's Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) provision.
Market analysts indicate that the worldwide market for semiconductors for in-car audio, infotainment and driver information/telematics systems is forecasted to more than double from $5.6 billion in 2003 to $12.8 billion in 2010. According to Frank Visquez, director of Automotive Technologies at ABI Research, the FPGA/CPLD revenue portion of this segment is expected to grow 94 percent from $240.3 million to $449.3 million during the same time frame.
About the Microsoft Telematics Platform
Today's motorists are talking on the phone, enjoying their personal music selections and looking for directions - all while driving. The joint telematics solution gives easy access to all these applications. Diagnostic data can be transferred to and analyzed by the manufacturer and the preferred dealer. Later this year, Fiat customers will be able to purchase vehicles with new systems offering several levels of connectivity. Key features among these systems include seamless integration of customers' own devices such as cellular phones, Pocket PCs or Windows Mobile™-based devices using Bluetooth connectivity for access to contacts, appointments and making hands-free calls. In addition to hands-free phones, motorists can access Web services for off-board navigation and real-time traffic. Drivers and passengers also will enjoy digital music in the car through a USB port on the dashboard for easy connectivity to personal electronic devices. All systems will feature high-quality speech recognition. As a result, Fiat customers will more easily be able to make calls, access contacts and other information stored on their own PDA or mobile phone over the car audio system hands free - all by simply using their voice.
About Xilinx FPGAs
The 90nm Spartan-3 platform is the world's lowest-cost FPGA offering unrivaled price points with more density and performance features than any other device in its class. Spartan-3 devices feature an industry-leading combination of block and distributed RAM, up to 784 I/Os, MicroBlaze™ 32-bit RISC soft processors and XtremeDSP™ functionality with dedicated 18x18 multipliers that deliver up to 330 billion multiply and accumulates (MACs) per second.
The XA line consists of both FPGA and CPLD devices, providing significant flexibility for automotive device designers. The FPGA devices are available in densities ranging from 50,000 to 1,000,000 system gates in a variety of packages. The CPLD devices range in density from 32 to 256 macrocells with I/O ranging from 33 to 184. Xilinx XA devices operate over the extended temperate range with both Q-Grade (-40oC to +125oC) and I-Grade (-40oC to +100oC) devices. The XA product line is complemented by a suite of intellectual property (IP) optimized for the automotive market, including communications and connectivity cores, such as Controller Area Network (CAN) and Local Interconnect Network (LIN) IP cores provided by Xilinx AllianceCORE partners, as well as a variety of reference designs.
About Xilinx Xilinx is the worldwide leader in complete programmable logic solutions. For more information, visit
www.xilinx.com.
