NXP brings multimedia to mass-market two-wheelers

The platform combines the i.MX RT1170 crossover MCU with the integrated AW611 single-chip Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth/Bluetooth Low Energy Audio connectivity solution and the KW45 secure wireless access MCU to deliver a highly cost-effective system designed to enhance the user experience of two-wheel mobility. The platform enables high-performance graphics and rich connectivity use cases such as hands-free calling, wireless pairing for smartphone projection, Bluetooth audio, OTA updates, Cloud connectivity, fleet management, secure vehicle access, and vehicle location.

Why it matters: Two-wheelers have become increasingly electrified, both in the cost-effective vehicles necessary for a daily commute, as well as the higher-end performance vehicles for leisure, with close to 300 million on the roads globally today, according to BloombergNEF. Connected digital displays with rich graphics are essential to the safe operation of these EVs, providing critical information that allows drivers to compare navigation details to battery levels and health, as well as the location of charging points. Two-wheeled EVs have a limited range compared with four-wheeled EVs, and these details are essential for safe transit. Telemetry in the field also provides OEMs with important information about usage and battery lifetimes. 

NXP’s digital instrument cluster and connectivity reference platform is designed to allow OEMs to deliver these essential capabilities, while also enabling a wide variety of different connectivity use cases designed to improve the user experience. This includes three-way Bluetooth pairing between the phone, scooter’s digital cluster, and headphones; rider and pillion music sharing; or even location capabilities such as ‘find my bike’ in a parking lot. 

More details: “Whether it’s their daily commute or a leisure trip, drivers look for a cluster that delivers the connectivity features that make their ride more enjoyable and safer,” said Sivakumar Yeddanapudi, Global Senior Director, Cockpit Domain Controller Product Line at Visteon Corporation. “From cluster safety telltales, gauges, phone pairing, and music sharing to navigation and electric vehicle charging statistics, NXP's cluster and connectivity reference platform with Vector Graphics enables us to deliver a high-end user experience at a price our OEM customers appreciate.” 

“Not only does the digital instrument cluster inform the driver of the state of their vehicle, it also represents the main way a driver can customise their vehicle to their preferences,” said Dan Loop, Vice President and General Manager, Automotive Edge, NXP. “NXP’s digital instrument cluster and connectivity platform enables consistent updates and customisations to support the latest safety, security, and connectivity features, all in a platform that balances performance and wireless connectivity capabilities with cost considerations.”

The new cluster and connectivity reference platform leverages NXP’s high performance i.MX RT1170 crossover MCU with AEC-Q100 Grade 3 qualification. This helps reduce system costs due to the highly integrated nature of the i.MX RT1170, which does not require expensive external memory or power management subsystems. The platform comes with NXP Wi-Fi and Bluetooth device drivers pre-integrated into the MCUXpresso SDK, along with display, GNSS, and more, making it easy for developers to create their own two-wheeler connected cluster. The dual-core i.MX RT1170 crossover MCU provides a wide range of interfaces for connecting peripherals, such as WLAN, Bluetooth, GPS, audio, displays, and camera sensors, plus a vector graphics accelerator. The i.MX RT1170 crossover MCU’s rich graphics capabilities are supported by NXP’s broad ecosystem of partners, including Altia, The QT Company, Embedded Wizard by TARA Solutions, and Crank.

The reference platform also features the AW611, an integrated dual-band Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth/Bluetooth Low Energy 5.2 single-chip solution with AEC-Q100 Grade 2 qualification. This degree of integration enables efficient coexistence between internal radios, as well as with external radios, while helping to reduce system costs.

The platform also includes the KW45 BLE wireless MCU to deliver secure vehicle access and vehicle location services. KW45’s three-core architecture integrates a 96MHz Arm Cortex-M33 application core, a dedicated Cortex-M3 radio core and an isolated EdgeLock secure enclave. It also integrates a Bluetooth Low Energy 5.3-compliant radio that supports up to 24 simultaneous secure connections.