TI selects Fraunhofer IIS to deliver SDR platform to automotive industry

2010 NAB Show, ERLANGEN, GERMANY & LAS VEGAS, USA: Fraunhofer IIS, the leading innovator of technologies for audio and multimedia systems, has been selected by Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) to provide its DAB/DAB+/T-DMB software solution for TI’s software defined radio (SDR) platform for the automotive industry.

TI’s Jacinto-based platform delivers a unique approach for the automotive market, implementing a worldwide radio design concept that allows a single design to be used with multiple radio standards around the world, reducing design time and cost.

Fraunhofer’s DAB receiver kit is licensed and optimized for TI’s Jacinto processor, which is based on an ARM + DSP architecture. The DAB receiver kit takes advantage of Jacinto’s C64x+ DSP core to implement a software defined radio, specifically for the digital audio broadcasting standard DAB.

The Jacinto-based platform delivers a unique approach for the automotive market, implementing a worldwide radio design concept that allows a single design to be used with multiple radio standards around the world, reducing design time and cost.

In addition, as a software library, DAB can combine with other features required in automotive head units. Jacinto’s ARM + DSP core combination provides enough performance to efficiently execute SDR functions while leaving headroom for other differentiation.

“We are happy that TI selected our Fraunhofer DAB Receiver Kit for its Jacinto platform,” said Michael Schlicht, head of Department Integrated Digital Terminals of Fraunhofer IIS. “Fraunhofer optimized the Receiver Kit for TI’s platform in terms of memory and processing consumption. This flexibility and expertise allows Fraunhofer to lead the industry, offering complete systems and individual components for digital radio technology while delivering unsurpassed R&D services.”

Developed for high quality DAB radio reception and fully validated for the automotive and consumer market, the Fraunhofer DAB Receiver Kit is a reference design for efficient implementation of DAB, DAB+ or T-DMB radio receivers.

The innovative software radio approach and flexible software options allow TI to efficiently enhance its radio platform with the full range of DAB/DAB+/T-DMB feature set. Fully compliant with ETSI EN300 401, the basic feature set includes baseband processing as well as high quality audio and data decoding. Optional features such as 5.1 MPEG Surround sound or conditional access are available on request.

“We selected Fraunhofer for this SDR reference design because of its well-known reputation in the automotive market and demonstrated leadership in design, integration and implementation of digital radio technologies,” said Matthew Watson, business unit manager, Digital Radio and Infotainment unit of Texas Instruments.

“This technology expertise is complemented by Fraunhofer’s strong affiliations and connection in the WorldDMB community, allowing TI to better understand and meet our customers' needs."