Xilinx Inc. has introduced a media oriented system transport (MOST) network interface controller (NIC), associated software stack, and intellectual property (IP) cores for in-vehicle entertainment systems.
Kevin Tanaka, worldwide automotive marketing and product planning manager at Xilinx, said the Xilinx offering, developed in collaboration with Volvo Car Corporation of Sweden, allows product developers to separate specific applications from the MOST network requirements. Applications employing the technology can scale and evolve as new features and capabilities become available.
The MOST NIC, which will be made available in the Xilinx LogiCORE library, can be implemented in either a Virtex-4 or Spartan-3 series device with support available for the soft 32- bit MicroBlaze and embedded PowerPC processors. A 24.8 Mb/s streaming port enables real-time synchronous data transfer, and logical channel-based support is available for synchronous and asynchronous data.
Xilinx’ solution can be used for designing MOST controllers in modules that require real-time processing, such as DVD players, head units, GPS systems, and displays. It comes with an embedded development platform featuring a MOST daughter card, and it is supported by a library of IP for MOST functionality from Mocean Laboratories AB. Xilinx has also collaborated with Integrated Device Technology Inc. on a device designed specifically for use with the Xilinx MOST NIC LogiCORE(TM) IP. The IDT chip can generate a master clock in master applications and lock to the receive data stream for clock recovery.