Fujitsu Microelectronics Europe (FME) and Fujitsu Microelectronics America Inc. (FMA) have licensed the FlexRay Communication Controller IP module from Robert Bosch GmbH for use in Fujitsu automotive-control MCUs.
Fujitsu currently offers MCUs with the control area network (CAN) and the local interconnect network (LIN) interface protocols for various automotive-control applications, including body and comfort electronics, climate control, dashboards, navigation, safety and sensor electronics, power train, and chassis electronics.
Noting that in-car control systems will require faster and more reliable data transfer as data volume increases and systems become more complicated, Fujitsu said that by licensing FlexRay IP from Bosch, it will speed time-to-market for products with faster data-transfer speeds and greater reliability.
Bosch’s FlexRay IP core features data-transfer rates up to 10 Mbps and can pre-define necessary time slots within the transmission bus for higher reliability. Embedding FlexRay IP into a single-chip MCU will further advance the performance and range of automotive electronic-control applications, according to Fujitsu.
Fujitsu plans to offer an FPGA prototype board and will also offer FlexRay as an ASSP standard IP solution, so customers can use FlexRay IP with other CPU cores. An MCU with embedded FlexRay IP, based on the 32-bit Fujitsu FR core, is planned for 2006.