Marvell’s Automotive Center of Excellence, the first-of-its-kind automotive networking technology development center, recently opened in Ettlingen, Germany. Due to the rapid advancement of automotive technological developments in recent years, the next generation of cars needs a new architecture to run a wide array of features—for example, full driver assist, ultra high-definition (HD) displays and over-the-air updates. Marvell’s objectives are to provide access to the latest innovative technologies, (link: http://www.marvell.com/solutions/automotive/), work closely with customers and partners, and drive the automotive industry forward more quickly and efficiently.

The grand opening event elicited great excitement, and Marvell was honored to welcome many distinguished guests including Wolfang Erhard, Chief of Business Development from the Mayor’s office in Ettlingen; Klaus Oertel, from Hanser Automotive; Ingo Kuss, from Elektronik Automotive; and Thomas Zimmer from BNN. Philip Poulidis, Vice President and General Manager, Internet of Things, Automotive and Multimedia Business Units at Marvell along with Ian Riches, Director of the Global Automotive Practice at Strategy Analytics provided the keynote speech.

Given Marvell’s history of dedication and innovative design, the company knows that understanding advanced technologies such as, Audio Video Bridging, Time Sensitive Networking and singe pair Ethernet standards—is vital to further the connected car industry. A dedicated team of engineers will utilize their knowledge to expand development and education efforts in these areas with Marvell and its customers to advance the architecture of future, connected cars. The engineering team is responsible for automotive products that include switch, end-node system-on-chips, gateways and automotive software.

Marvell continues to market innovative technologies that will shape the future of the automotive industry, and with its Automotive Center of Excellence in Germany is better positioned to drive new automotive designs and technologies forward.

With OEMs racing to offer connected car services, Marvell has developed a new Ethernet reference platform integrated with TE Connectivity’s (TE) MATEnet modular and scalable connectors for automotive Ethernet, to enable a faster time-to-market for Gigabit Ethernet in automotive systems. The new development platform supports audio bridging (AVB) switching solutions with 100BASE-T1 and 1000BASE-T1 Ethernet physical layer (PHY) capability. Manufacturers are now able to quickly prototype automotive systems with Gigabit Ethernet for electrical and electronic architectures.

The next generation of vehicle technology requires a high-speed, resilient data infrastructure that can operate in the robust conditions of the automobile. Applications such as autonomous driving, advanced safety features and immersive infotainment systems are driving these new architectures. Combining Marvell’s expertise in network and Ethernet, with TE’s experience in providing real world automotive connector and cable systems, this development platform allows vehicle architects to begin designing these systems for mass production.

This new reference platform includes support for the AVB networking standards of the AVnu Alliance’s certification test subgroup and also supports Stream Reservation Protocol to provide end-to-end management of resource reservations for automotive data streams. In addition, Marvell’s Ethernet PHY transceivers (88Q2112 100BASE-T1 PHY and 88Q1010 100BASE-T1 PHY) enable high definition and uncompressed video, high speed links, between domains to support connected and autonomous driving systems and the fastest system bring up from power down. Additional features and benefits include time sensitive networking technology to support time critical control applications, vehicle-to-vehicle Wi-Fi communication to improve safety and reduce response times using real time alerts regarding traffic and road alerts. The 88Q2112 is the industry’s first 1000BASE-T1 automotive Ethernet PHY transistor that is compliant with the draft IEEE 802.3bp 1000BASE-T1 standard.

Marvell’s commitment to extend connectivity to the automobile includes a number of solutions to meet the needs of designers for the cars of the future.

We’ve already seen integrated Bluetooth and Wi-Fi in cars and applications integrated into the user console. We’ve also seen Google’s fleet of prototype autonomous or “self-driving” cars. But a car that can fix itself? That’s just one of the many new transformations on the horizon when the Internet of Things meets the Connected Car. We will explore how connectivity will drive transformation in automotive infotainment technology, much like smartphones transformed telecommunications.

The idea of a connected car is all about making data available, both within the car and with the external world. For example, car manufacturers will be able to improve automobile quality by getting real-time data from individual vehicles and providing corrective updates when problems are identified. In addition, auto manufacturers are looking at completely new ways to use connectivity to make vehicles safer or improve the functionality of the car after it leaves the dealership. Tesla is a good example of this having recently introduced a firmware update that actually added new features, such as adaptive cruise control and blind spot detection. Imagine having the latest automotive features available to you AFTER you purchase the car. Consumers will no longer experience automotive obsolescence the second they leave the lot. It also allows auto manufacturers to strengthen ties with their customers.

There are also substantial changes in store for the internal vehicle data networks. Current systems use a combination of proprietary low-speed or single-purpose communication busses. Next-generation architectures are converting to an IP-based network using Ethernet hardware. This allows massive amounts of data to be easily sent between the various domains inside the vehicle and with external devices. Examples of this type of data include information from the body electronics components, commands on the control systems, multimedia information from the infotainment system and camera/sensor data for the Advanced Driver Assist Systems (ADAS). For instance, video and application data from smart phones and the Internet can be distributed within the car and car information and video data can be sent outside of the vehicle and used in a variety of ways.  Examples might include combining an IP-based vehicle’s camera data, alarm system and LTE to get uploads of pictures surrounding the car when the alarm is triggered. Or, with self-driving cars, who needs the valet? Vehicles can unload passengers and then head to a designated parking area awaiting summons from a smartphone for pick up. (Question: Do I tip my car?)

In Europe, an initial set of technical specifications for Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communications, based on IEEE802.11P Wireless Access in Vehicular Environments (WAVE), has already been created. The primary goal of this technology is to reduce traffic accidents and improve traffic throughput by allowing cars to communicate with each other in the case of accidents and congestion. V2V could also be used to improve traffic control, collect tolls or aid in police enforcement. Widespread adoption is needed for this to work, as well as addressing privacy concerns.

These are just some of the ways car connectivity will change the driving experience. Marvell is leveraging its strength in wireless and Ethernet technology to develop the latest high-quality AECQ100-qualified automotive products and solutions. To see what’s coming in automotive infotainment, wired/wireless connectivity and next-generation architecture platforms, join us at the 2015 IEEE-SA Ethernet & IP @ Automotive Technology Day that will be held in Yokohama, Japan October 27-28 — because when you see the latest in automotive connectivity semiconductor technology, you will get a glimpse of the Connected Cars of the future.