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Design and development of “in-vehicle products” in OEM a request from conventional SoC andCPU such as I C I don't think there are many people who feel that it is becoming difficult to realize it.
Looking at the trends in the automotive product market, we believe that this trend will only get stronger, and Macnica recommends that you consider "FPGA" as one of the materials you consider.
In the article that I previously introduced below, I explained “trends in automotive products,” “issues associated with them,” and “effectiveness of FPGAs.”
In addition to the contents of the above article, one of the notable trends in “imaging-related automotive products” is “local dimming technology”.
As the popularity of large LCD TVs is increasing, many people may have heard the term itself. When realizing local dimming in in-vehicle products,
There are many cases in which the adoption of “FPGA” will be beneficial.
In this article, "Local dimming", which is expected to spread in automotive products in the future, "problems with conventional ICs" and "advantages of FPGA" in realizing of
Introducing. Considering the "realization of local dimming" that will be required in the future, FPGA Please decide whether you should have "introduction" as one of the materials for consideration.
What is local dimming?
First, let me briefly explain what local dimming looks like.
Local dimming refers to technology that controls the brightness of the LED backlight installed behind the liquid crystal panel in units of multiple areas (dimming zones).
Image of cluster meter display and backlight LED board
Since the backlight is normally controlled uniformly for the entire screen, it is not possible to completely turn off the backlight. Since the backlight is also shining in the black part in the image,
It will inevitably become a little whitish. On the other hand, with local dimming, the amount of light emitted by the backlight can be changed for each dimming zone.
For example, you can turn off the backlight to express a perfect black.
As a result, it is possible to clearly reproduce the "contrast of light and dark in the image", and the feature is that "clearer and more beautiful images" can be projected.
Automotive products that require local dimming
Next, we will introduce typical automotive products that require local dimming.
Meter cluster panel where safety is required
From the point of view of "safety", we believe that adoption in meter cluster panels is the most desirable.
The “vehicle interior” is in an environment where “surrounding brightness changes rapidly” due to the influence of the outside weather, time of day, passage through tunnels, etc. Therefore, it is essential to devise ways to make “important information easier to see” on the display, regardless of the surrounding conditions.
By adopting local dimming, it is possible to project “clearer outlines of images, numbers, letters, etc.” compared to general displays. It will be one of the effective means to ensure safety by making the image of the meter cluster panel "always easy to see" for the driver.
In the same way, we believe that there will be demand for the adoption of liquid crystal display-type HUDs (head-up displays), which project necessary information for driving, due to the need for more visible information related to safety. .
In-vehicle displays with higher image quality
CID (Center Infotainment Display) in the center of the front seat, RSE (Rear Seat Monitor) in the rear seat As you know, the trend toward higher resolution for in-vehicle displays is progressing. It's not uncommon to enjoy Blu-ray movies in the car on a "4K" rear seat monitor. Due to the increasing demand for beautiful images like TV,
We believe that the need for local dimming will also increase.
As I explained earlier, the brightness of the surroundings changes more frequently in the car than in the home where the TV is installed. It can be said that this is an environment in which the “benefits of local dimming,” which project clear images with sharp contrast, can be used more effectively.
Problems of conventional ICs in realizing local dimming
In order to realize “local dimming,” it is likely that conventional ICs such as SoCs will be considered first. It is true that ICs dedicated to local dimming are becoming more popular in the market, but in fact there are cases where conventional ICs are difficult to handle. We have summarized three “things that are likely to be problems in conventional ICs” below.
Task 1. Increased adjustment period and cost considering display, LED driver, and LED characteristics
Local dimming requires adjustment in consideration of the characteristics of the LED driver and LED installed in the display that displays the image and the backlight LED board. These adjustments are made by asking the local dimming IC vendor to adjust the parameters that can be set for the local dimming IC, and then performing evaluations on the actual device again.
If this adjustment is neglected, the use of local dimming will cause halation to stand out, which will have the opposite effect and lead to an uncomfortable feeling in the displayed image.
It should be noted that these adjustments are not something that users can easily perform, and basically it is necessary to request the IC vendor, so each adjustment requires cost and time.
Therefore, in local dimming, not only the specs that can realize the function, but also the "adjustability" of the local dimming IC that can cover the characteristics of related parts is a very important point. Additional adjustment man-hours and time are required, and there are cases where the functionality is not realized.
Task 2. Support for parallel processing of "backlight control" and "video signal control"
Also, in order to realize "local dimming", in addition to "controlling the LED backlight", it is also necessary to "process the video signal in parallel" to be displayed on the display.
Controlling the LED backlight requires multiple processes equal to the number of dimming zones, and video signals require multiple image processes such as trimming and color tone adjustment to match the display. Such a “huge amount of parallel processing” cannot be handled by conventional ICs that handle only single processing.
If conventional ICs were to be used, it would be necessary to increase the number of ICs, such as preparing dedicated ICs for each process, or to select high-spec devices.
In addition, as the amount of processing increases, we believe that "increased latency and time lag will also become issues."
Task 3. Support for unprecedented large and special displays
You probably already know that in-vehicle displays are getting bigger year by year. On a small screen, local dimming is adopted, so even if the image is clear, it won't stand out, and you won't be able to make the best use of it. On the other hand, a clear image stands out clearly on a large screen, so you can make the most of the benefits of local dimming.
Therefore, we believe that the demand for local dimming will increase as the size increases.
As an example of "larger size", we can think of a display that extends to the front passenger seat and reproduces a circular analog meter on that display.
The larger the display, the greater the benefit of being able to adjust the backlight for each area.
“Local dimming” not only adjusts the amount of light within a single display for each area, but also enables brightness adjustment for each display on the passenger side, driver side, and center display. However, in the first place, conventional ICs are not designed for non-standard large displays, and often do not support the type of interface or resolution of the display.
It is highly likely that "conventional ICs" will only be able to achieve local dimming within the commonly available display sizes.
Advantages of FPGA in realizing local dimming
In this way, if you try to realize "local dimming" based on "conventional ICs", you will encounter "various problems".
On the other hand, with “FPGA”, there is ample possibility to solve the problem. From the next section, we will introduce “three merits of FPGA” that are key points in solving problems.
Advantages of FPGA1. "Easy and speedy" and overwhelming "adjustability"
With FPGA, it is possible to adjust from various angles by considering the display that displays the image, the LED driver mounted on the rear LED board, and the characteristics of the LED.
There are various problems that can occur at the stage of implementing the local dimming function, such as increased halation, increased latency, and strangeness in the displayed image, but the FPGA has a limited range of adjustment like a dedicated chip. Because it is not, it is possible to respond flexibly to the phenomenon problem.
What's more, you don't have to rely on a vendor to make these adjustments, you can do it yourself on your desktop. If you have a PC with an FPGA design tool installed and an actual device evaluation environment, you don't have to ask the vendor each time a phenomenon occurs.
Therefore, with FPGA, it is possible to pursue quality and finish details "easily and speedily" while taking advantage of overwhelming "adjustment power".
This is precisely the reason why domestic and overseas automotive-related customers have begun to consider FPGAs as ICs for local dimming in recent years.
Advantages of FPGA2. Resistant to parallel processing, capable of controlling "backlight" and "video signal" at the same time
“FPGA” Another advantage of is that it is good at parallel processing because it is hardware-based, and the processing speed is fast. Enormous" LED control” and “video signal control”
There is a good chance that parallel processing can be achieved with low latency and no time lag.
For example, in the past, according to "requests from customers"...
・Convert video signal input by MIPI to Open-LDI and output from FPGA
・At the same time, the LED is controlled by the local dimming control logic inside the FPGA
・Furthermore, add image processing before outputting with Open-LDI
We have also realized "parallel processing" such as ...
Advantages of FPGA3. High flexibility allows for model changes while keeping costs down
I explained that the biggest advantage of “FPGA” is that the circuit data can be rewritten later.
Therefore, even if local dimming is required for unprecedented large and special displays, it is possible to reuse the same FPGA by rewriting the circuit data.
Since it can flexibly respond to various specifications, not limited to displays, it is particularly advantageous in "specification changes due to model changes."
Even if local dimming is used or not, or if the number of dimming zones is different depending on the model, the same FPGA can be used.
If you create a platform board that takes advantage of this kind of flexibility of FPGAs, the possibility of using the same board for multiple models will increase.
Since there is no need to consider appropriate ICs for each model and to develop and revise boards to match new ICs, man-hours and costs can be greatly reduced.
I hope you have understood the case where FPGA is effective in introducing local dimming.
LCD TVs that use local dimming already use many FPGAs, so the need for FPGAs in in-vehicle products will increase.
By all means, I hope that manufacturers who deal with in-vehicle products will bring “FPGA” as one of the materials for consideration.
FPGA implementation support and consulting services
Even if you understand the merits of FPGA as one of the IC candidates for local dimming,
"I don't understand the image of introducing FPGA"
"I have no experience designing FPGA"
There are so many voices like this.
For such people, Macnica 's FAE provides support and consulting services from FPGA specification formulation to FPGA implementation.
First of all, please let us know what you want to achieve with a single PPT or a simple message.
We will support you as much as possible to realize your development specifications.
For details, please check the page at the following URL.
Summary
In this article, we introduced the “problems with conventional ICs” and the corresponding “advantages of FPGAs” in realizing “local dimming” technology.
If you try to achieve local dimming with a “conventional IC”, I think it will be difficult to deal with the following three “challenges”.
Task 1. Increased adjustment period and cost considering display and LED-Driver/LED characteristics
Task 2. Support for parallel processing of "backlight control" and "video signal control"
Task3.Support forunprecedented large and special displays
On the other hand, "FPGA" introduced the possibility of solving the problems with conventional ICs due to the following three advantages.
Advantages of FPGA1. "Easy and speedy" and overwhelming "adjustability"
FPGA2. Resistant to parallel processing, capable of controlling "backlight" and "video signal" at the same timeAdvantages of
FPGA3. High flexibility allows for model changes while keeping costs downAdvantages of
Thus, “FPGA” has many advantages in introducing local dimming.
We hope that you will take “FPGA introduction” as one of the materials for consideration in anticipation of the spread of local dimming in in-vehicle products.
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Is the introduction of FPGA really realistic? There are also articles that introduce the performance of current FPGAs, so please refer to them as well.
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