PISCATAWAY, N.J., and MUNICH, GERMANY, August 9, 2023. – The MIPI Alliance and the Automotive SerDes Alliance (ASA) collaborating to standardize asymmetric SerDes technology, announced that the two organizations have entered into a liaison agreement.
Liaison Agreement Details
The agreement’s terms establish a pathway for implementers to utilize MIPI Camera Serial Interface 2 (MIPI CSI-2). The automotive ecosystem highly regards this camera and image sensor interface. This can done directly or “natively” with the ASA Motion Link (ASA-ML) physical layer (PHY) interface. Supporting specifications would also be made available through this pathway. An example is MIPI Camera Service Extensions (MIPI CSE), which offers protocol-layer security and additional functional safety support.
MIPI and ASA each have standardized asymmetric SerDes PHY interfaces for automotive applications such as advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), autonomous driving systems (ADS) and in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) that rely on cameras/sensors and displays. MIPI members can implement CSI-2 directly only with a MIPI PHY (i.e., A-/C-/D-PHY) or MIPI Board-approved non-MIPI PHY. Products incorporating other PHYs may utilize CSI-2 with a “bridge” device following a MIPI-approved PHY. After successfully completing the process defined in this liaison, ASA-ML will receive approval for native integration with CSI-2.
Under the agreement
ASA will develop an Application Stream Encapsulation Protocol (ASEP). This protocol will enable native CSI-2 transport over the ASA Motion Link PHY. After MIPI approves the CSI-2 ASEP, ASA will include it in its next specification release as the sole recommended camera protocol interface. To utilize CSI-2 over ASA Motion Link, join MIPI and ASA for favorable intellectual property licensing, a prerequisite for implementation.
The agreement also establishes ongoing dialogue between the organizations regarding other collaboration opportunities. Therefore, these opportunities include the utilization of MIPI Display Serial Interface 2 (MIPI DSI-2) and security-related specifications.
“This agreement supports the continued coalescence around MIPI CSI-2 in automotive applications,” said Sanjiv Desai, chair of the MIPI Alliance. “The market has already strongly established the specification. We believe alignment on CSI-2 will help foster a streamlined development environment for the global automotive industry. At the same time, MIPI will continue to support MIPI A-PHY and the rapidly growing ecosystem around it.”
“ASA is pleased to work with the MIPI Alliance to expand the ways the ASA-ML SerDes can be deployed in automotive industry,” said Christoph Arndt, chair of the ASA Alliance. “The ASA-ML specification tuned for multi-gigabit connectivity in harsh automotive environments and as a result has been gaining strong momentum. This liaison creates a pathway to new implementations and a broader ecosystem.”
