Subject: [NEXTEL-1] CSR fuels BMW’s new in-car Bluetooth systems

From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2003 13:45:57 -0400

CSR fuels BMW’s new in-car Bluetooth systems

Date posted in ITsecurity.com: 24 June, 2003

Bluetooth Congress, Amsterdam – June 17, 2003 – CSR
(Cambridge Silicon Radio) today announced that car maker
BMW will be using CSR’s BlueCore technology to bring
Bluetooth to the road. BlueCore will be used to Bluetooth-enable
the latest vehicles with a view to providing a safe and convenient
in-car wireless communication system which can be tightly
integrated with the car’s multimedia interface and control panel.

The Bluetooth system includes a Telematics Control Unit (TCU)
which uses an embedded GSM module and an embedded
Bluetooth module with a powerful CPU. It connects to a
Multi-Media-Interface (MMI) on the car dashboard, through an
optical MOST Bus system. The system is also equipped with an
in-car rechargeable cordless Bluetooth handset which allows the
passengers to place and accept calls directly through the TCU
Bluetooth link. The user is thus able to place calls over the
Bluetooth handset and to transfer that call to the Bluetooth enabled
hands-free phone system in the car. One of the eagerly awaited
benefits of Bluetooth, possible with this system, is the ability to
also connect a Bluetooth-enabled portable PC or PDA to
exchange emails and surf the internet via a cellular system while
connected through the TCU.

There are several reasons why CSR is the most popular Bluetooth
integrated circuit used by automotive and telematics design
engineers. This powerful and truly first System-On-A-Chip (SoC)
single-chip integrated circuit solution is highly programmable, has
versatile high-speed interfaces, and allows automakers to include
multiple Bluetooth Profiles. This allows very easy integration into
MOST and CAN automotive bus systems, as well as provide a
very good user experience through audio and data services.
CSR’s mature, single-chip automotive Bluetooth device is also
produced under stringent ISO 9001 requirements and is available
in a 0.8mm pitch package for low cost printed circuit board
construction. CSR is the only automotive grade Bluetooth solution
available which can run the complete Bluetooth protocol stack and
application software on-chip, without the need for an optional
external microprocessor.

By adding Bluetooth to these vehicles, the user can make a phone
call, surf the internet, or access email on a Bluetooth enabled PC
or PDA while riding in the cabin. These features are expected to
grow in popularity as Bluetooth becomes a dominant technology in
the new generation automobiles.

Unique to vehicles which embed the CSR chip, is a technology
implemetation developed at CSR’s laboratories called CQDDR,
which stands for Channel Quality Driven Data Rate. CQDDR is
now a de-facto technical standard being deployed in new
generation cars which helps aid in the very tough environmental
conditions inside a vehicle on a wireless Bluetooth link to ensure
very robust data throughput. CSR has optimised CQDDR to
operate quickly and efficiently and totally out-of-sight to the user.

Anthony Murray, Bluetooth Automotive Specialist at CSR added,
“To match BMW’s stringent quality, reliability and interoperability
requirements, the Bluetooth equipment had to be guaranteed to
withstand in-cabin automotive requirements”. Murray continued,
“At this time, only CSR’s BlueCore offers such a guarantee to
operate or exceed the necessary range of -40degC to +105degC
for in-cabin electronics systems. Automakers and Automotive Tier
One suppliers can not afford to rely on anything less.”

Wireless automotive applications are expected to generate
US$1.5 billion in additional sales for car OEMs by the end of
2003 and will be worth US$6 billion in less than three years,
according to Allied Business Intelligence (ABI). Bluetooth is likely
to represent the majority share of this huge market. In fact, ABI
predicted that 20 percent of all new cars will come with
embedded Bluetooth technology by 2007.

Already illegal in 35 countries, the worldwide legislative trend
towards banning the use of handheld mobile phones whilst driving
will be a factor fuelling the addition of Bluetooth to cars and
Bluetooth in-car kits are likely to play a key role as hands-free
operation of mobiles becomes commonplace. Industry experts
estimate that up to 70 percent of all mobile phone calls are made
from cars. Bluetooth hands-free systems provide a safe,
convenient alternative.

CSR recognises this need and provides everything necessary to
assist automotive designers in developing a fully featured Bluetooth
hands-free system, including the recently announced AutoSira, an
example design which includes ciruit descriptions, a complete
BOM and all software (including the embedded Bluetooth stack).
The hands-free profile runs in external Flash memory but the
circuit design may be easily converted to a ROM-based single
chip solution.

In the future, CSR will make available implementations of new
automotive profiles for vehicle diagnostics, streaming video and
mp3 file streaming for multimedia and info-entertainment. CSR will
also work towards further extending the guaranteed temperature
range of BlueCore2-External and future products.

About CSR
CSR (Cambridge Silicon Radio) is the world leading provider of
single-chip radio devices for Bluetooth wireless communication.
CSR offers developed hardware/software packages for each of
the fastest growing Bluetooth applications markets which are all
based around BlueCore, a fully integrated 2.4 GHz radio,
baseband and microcontroller. BlueCore features in 60 percent of
all qualified Bluetooth v 1.1 enabled end product designs with
international names such as Microsoft Corp, Panasonic, Audi,
NEC, Toshiba, Samsung and Sony already using BlueCore in their
range of Bluetooth products.

CSR is headquartered in Cambridge, UK, with offices in
Richardson, Texas; Tokyo, Japan; Singapore and Aalborg,
Denmark.

More information can be found at www.csr.com and the partner
web site www.btdesigner.com

More information about Bluetooth can be found on the SIG web
site at www.bluetooth.com

http://www.itsecurity.com/tecsnews/jun2003/jun253.htm

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