Vehicle Count Hits 100 MOST Car Models

The following year, 13 more models implemented the MOST infotainment backbone. In October 2007, the leading network technology had found its way into 50 car models, climbing to 68 models in March, 2009. Just one year later there are 50% more models on the road as MOST Technology spreads into the mass market.

Acceptance Stretches Around the World

After its initial start in Europe nine years ago, Asian carmakers presented their first vehicles with MOST inside in 2007. Today, there are 22 models manufactured by Asian automakers with MOST built in. MOST Technology is now heading to the American continent with the first US carmaker working on future vehicles that incorporate the MOST network.

MOST25 Technology - based on optical data transmission using optical fibers and under development for many years in Europe - has established itself in the European and Korean markets. The Japanese and US markets prefer MOST50, the second generation of the multimedia standard. The most significant new feature of MOST50 is that it allows electrical data transmission over an unshielded twisted pair (UTP) of copper wires while meeting stringent automotive electromagnetic compatibility requirements at a very attractive cost level. Now, various car makers have already started series projects implementing the latest MOST Technology MOST150 based on plastic optical fiber (POF). POF significantly reduces the weight of the wiring harness. Another issue is electromagnetic compatibility (EMC): because of its physical properties, an optical transmission does not interfere with any electromagnetic fields - neither regarding emission or immunity. With respect to environmental sustainability and electric mobility, POF technology is state of the art .

MOST Goes Hybrid and Electrical

The vehicle models that have implemented MOST include more than 10 hybrid vehicles. The plastic optical fiber (POF) chosen ten years ago suits the requirements given by hybrid and electrical power trains due to the weight and its physical properties. MOST Technology constitutes the modern platform for energy-saving infotainment systems.

Expanding into the High-volume Mid-range Sector

The use of MOST Technology is expanding rapidly from the premium range to the high-volume, medium-sized vehicle market. The MOST Cooperation welcomes this essential milestone of the multimedia network making inroads into the mass-produced models of the mid-range sector. While the number of vehicle models is rising linearly, the number of cars on the road will now be growing exponentially.

MOST150 Is on the Road to Implementation

Following the implementation of the first generations MOST25 and MOST50, now the newest Specification Rev. 3.0 for MOST150 is on its way to production. Audi and Daimler will be the first carmakers to integrate MOST150 into series production vehicles. MOST150 enables the use of a higher bandwidth of 150 Mbps, an isochronous transport mechanism to support extensive video applications, and an embedded Ethernet channel for efficient transport of IP-based packet data. It provides significant speed enhancements and breakthroughs while keeping costs down. With the first car makers committing to the MOST150 network in selected vehicles from 2012 on, the suppliers of MOST devices, tools, and software solutions are focusing on optimizing their MOST150 product portfolio to ease the implementation in upcoming car models.

The MOST architecture simplifies moving between speed grades by keeping the application programming interfaces constant while allowing the physical interfaces to evolve as needed.