Hybrid Automotive Instrument Clusters combine electromechanical gauges with LCD displays. Today this AIC type is the most common, and higher class vehicles usually have integrated high-resolution LCD display as a part of the driver-vehicle interface.
Xylon has developed the
logiHAC Automotive Hybrid Cluster Development Platform, available for purchase, in a parthership with Xilinx®, Inc. The
logiHAC platform illustrates benefits of FPGA deployment in cluster designs:
- Fast development cycles that save legacy software and hardware
- Very competitive costs in comparison to ASSPs
- FPGA boosted system's flexibility and configurability
Click Photo To Enlarge!
An Example Hybrid AIC with Xilinx FPGA and Xylon logicBRICKS
The Hybrid Cluster demo (
logiHAC) features an multiprocessing architecture including low-cost automotive MCU and a Xilinx Spartan®-3E based graphics controller. The graphics controller has been built of Xylon
logicBRICKS IP cores and Xilinx LogiCORE® IP cores. This architecture offers an extreme flexibility to AIC designers regarding a choice of the MCU, since the only interface between the MCU and the Xilinx FPGA is the SPI serial bus interface. The SPI bus, supported by almost every MCU on the market, can be easily exchanged by other bus types due to a high FPGA configurability.
The graphics controller implemented in Xilinx FPGA based graphics coprocessor allows AIC designers to keep using they preferred RTOS, communication stacks and other middleware running on the MCU of their choice. The graphics rendering is controlled by the Xilinx MicroBlaze
TM CPU implemented in the FPGA. Several GUI Builders supporting Xylon
logicBRICKS IP cores enable an efficient and easy graphics design.
Click Picture To Enlarge!
An exact definition of the FPGA graphics controller's features set enables savings on the FPGA size and cost, and allows universal PCB design for a line of clusters, since differently sized FPGA chips exist in pin compatible packages.
Xylon Hybrid Cluster combines a high resolution color LCD to display information screens, and stepper motor driven gauges showing speed, RPM, oil level and engine temperature.
The 800x480 TFT displays the following screens:
- PowerMeter and EconoMeter gauges
- Navigation screen
- Trip computer
- Rear-View CVBS video
- Pedestrian sensors
- Gear box, text messages, telltales, time, temperature, etc.
Watch demo video clips!
Read More:
- AIC Introduction
- Xilinx FPGA in AIC Design
- Xylon Re-Configurable Instrument Cluster
More about logicBRICKS in Automotive Systems:
- Surround View Driver Assistance - Parking Assistance
- Pedestrian Detection
- Lane Departure Warning
- Rear-View Camera
- Rear-Seats Entertainment System
- Performance Display