1394 Trade Association, IDB Forum Predict Widespread Use of IDB-1394 Multimedia Standard in Vehicle Prototype and Production
6 December 2000
1394 Trade Association, IDB Forum Predict Widespread Use of IDB-1394 Multimedia Standard in Vehicle Prototype and Production
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--Dec. 6, 2000--Rapid Adoption of IDB-C, Combined with the Versatility and
Widespread Familiarity with IEEE 1394, Will lead to Auto Industry Adoption Worldwide in 2001: CES Demos Scheduled in booths 3747, 10169
Leaders of the 1394 Trade Association and the IDB (Intelligent Data Bus) Forum said today they expect the new IDB-1394 specification to win widespread adoption by the world's leading vehicle manufacturers in 2001, based on its speed, reliability, and proven performance.
The two organizations also announced the next major demonstrations of IDB-1394 in vehicles -- at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas Jan. 6-9, 2001, where both will have technology exhibits. The 1394 TA and the IDB Forum presented the first demonstration of networked high-speed multimedia consumer electronics products in a commercial vehicle at the Convergence 2000 Conference in Detroit last October, and at the ITS World Congress in Turin, Italy in November.
At CES, the 1394 Trade Association will be at booth 3747 in the Las Vegas Convention Center. The IDB Forum will be at booth 10169 in the Gold Lot.
"The IEEE.1394 standard and the new IDB-1394 specification provide significant benefits for the automobile industry as it creates new multimedia applications for cars, trucks, SUVs and other vehicles," said James Snider of Texas Instruments Inc., chairman of the 1394 Trade Association. "It is an inexpensive, fast, reliable, open, and proven in consumer, computer, peripheral and instrumentation systems. Silicon is widely available from a broad range of world class vendors, and prices are coming down the cost curve." Snider added that the widespread adoption of IEEE 1394 throughout the industry has created a very large group of electronic engineers worldwide who are familiar with the standard and who are working with it now.
"The new IBD-1394 specification is a completely integrated specification that includes, the physical layer, power management, protocols and all of the requirements for implementation in vehicles with automobile grade quality components," said Max Bassler of Molex, Inc., the 1394 Trade Association's vice chairman. "The Trade Association and the IDB Forum have created a road map for completion by the second calendar quarter of 2001, if not sooner."
According to Arlan Stehney, executive director of the IDB Forum, "The 1394 provides the fastest speeds of any interface for automotive applications that include CDs, DVDs, games, cellular telephony, and multimedia. The IDB-1394 specification allows designers to use IP over 1394 easily and reliably." Stehney added that a rapidly growing number of leading automakers worldwide is now committed to using the IDB-C specification, which is based on the Controller Area Network (CAN) version 2.0B. IDB-C is the first in the series of in-vehicle networks, and is designed specifically for lower speed multimedia applications in vehicles.
"The rapid adoption of IDB-C by the world's leading auto makers, including Ford Motor, Toyota, Renault, Fiat, Peugeot and General Motors, has created an evolutionary pathway to IDB-1394 for higher speed in-vehicle connectivity. The next logical step is to IDB-1394," he said.
The 1394 Auto Work Group (AuWG) was formed in January 2000 to leverage the IEEE 1394 standard -- which is also known as FireWire and i.LINK -- for extension into automotive multimedia applications. The 1394 Trade Association's work in creating IDB-1394 defines the auto grade physical layers, including cables and connectors, power modes, and higher layer protocols required so all 1394 devices can interoperate with embedded automotive IEEE 1394 devices. It has been a collaboration of many consumer and automotive companies in an open environment, which contrasts with processes in other groups, according to Bassler and Stehney.
The auto architecture is divided into an embedded network and a Customer Convenience Port, or CCP. The embedded network consists of the plastic fiber optic physical network, which hosts various auto components such as DVD players, video displays, navigation systems, radio head units (telematic devices) and other multimedia applications. The CCP port, which consists of an automobile grade bilingual 1394b I/O connector, lets users bring portable consumer electronics devices and standard cables from the home and into their car or truck to access audio and video services over the 1394 interface.
About the 1394 Trade Association
The 1394 Trade Association includes more than 160 members worldwide dedicated to the advancement and proliferation of the IEEE 1394 standard. The Trade Association headquarters is located at 2350 Mission College Blvd., Suite 350, Santa Clara, Calif., 95054, tel: 408/748-9416. For more information, please visit www.1394ta.org.
About the IDB Forum
The IDB Forum actively promotes the global integration of IDB networking into the automotive, consumer electronics, automotive electronics, computer, retail and computer markets, with more than 70 member companies. For more information visit http://www.idbforum.org.
FireWire is a trademark of Apple Computer; i.LINK is a trademark of Sony Corp.