The automotive industry is rapidly moving from legacy domain-controller-based to centralized-compute architectures, transitioning from point-to-point (P2P) topologies to zonal topologies. OEMs want to combine high-speed video from multiple sensors in a physical zone with low-speed CAN, LIN, and Ethernet data to maximize the use of the zonal gateway while minimizing the length, weight, and cost of the cabling from these zones. However, on current platforms, the high-speed video links have remained separate from the Ethernet in-vehicle network due to the lower speeds, higher power, and costs associated with the traditional Ethernet solutions.

San Jose, CA-based Aviva Links, Inc. is aiming to move the industry forward and today is showcasing what it says are breakthrough connectivity solutions that enable next-generation vehicle architectures with a live demo at IEEE Standards Association‘s Ethernet & IP @ Automotive Technology Day 2024 in Detroit. The company is showing asymmetrical Ethernet devices based on the ASA-MLE (Automotive SerDes Alliance-Motion Link Ethernet) standard that pave the path for “true” zonal aggregation by providing the industry’s only single-chip solution that combines ASA Motion Link video and Ethernet backbone in a cost-effective solution.

“This is a watershed moment for the automotive industry that breaks down the inflexible silos created by proprietary SerDes solutions and ushers in a new generation of vehicles,” said Kamal Dalmia, CEO and co-founder at Aviva. “Customers will be able to combine the high-speed video links and the Ethernet backbone with a single chip solution and can achieve this dynamic configurability with no changes to the hardware. This flexibility will enable a new generation of vehicles with capabilities the industry has long desired, and it’s now a reality as we demonstrate the achievement live this coming week.”

Aviva says it has set the industry benchmark for infrastructure bandwidth and performance with solutions to securely move unprecedented amounts of data across the vehicle from advanced sensors to processors with ultra-low latency. The company’s portfolio of semiconductor products is used to build ADAS (advanced driver assistance system), telematics, and infotainment applications. Beyond automotive, its products address wired connectivity needs of robotics, industrial, smart city, and XR (extended reality) systems.

The company’s family of asymmetrical Ethernet devices based on the ASA-MLE standard are said to provide a low-power, cost-efficient, and ultra-high-speed solution for addressing video links. By supporting Ethernet protocol natively, it also enables OEMs to more easily combine lower-speed Ethernet data with high-speed video links.

Each ASA port on Aviva devices can be configured to work in either ASA-ML (SerDes) mode or ASA-MLE (Ethernet) mode, and both the ASA and Ethernet ports can work as either inputs or outputs. These unique features give OEMs the flexibility to dynamically configure the various links in the automotive network, enabling true zonal architectures and video sharing across ECUs and controller domains. This Aviva family of asymmetrical Ethernet devices also enables a significant reduction in complexity, several kilograms in weight, and cost of the wiring harnesses, while delivering advanced system-level features such as time-stamp-based precise synchronization and state-of-the-art security.

The company’s demonstration incorporates a first-of-its-kind camera/ethernet communication subsystem featuring zonal aggregation based on the ASA-ML and ASA-MLE technologies. High-speed video streams from multiple automotive sensors are aggregated with data from an Ethernet source onto a single ASA link. The aggregated video/ethernet data are sent over an automotive grade cable to a de-aggregator board where these streams are separated, the video streams are sent through the MIPI (mobile industry processor interface) ports to a SoC (system on chip) for display on a monitor, while Ethernet data are sent to a laptop for display/capture.

In February, the company announced the industry’s first family of multi-Gigabit asymmetrical Ethernet devices based on the ASA-MLE draft specification and showed the portfolio at the March 2024 Automotive Ethernet Congress in Munich, Germany, put on by Weka Fachmedien. The new products include Ethernet PHYs, switches, CSI-2 bridge ICs, and zonal aggregators, all of which the company says are designed as coherent components of critical infrastructure for the next generation of intelligent SDVs (software-defined vehicles).

“Aviva introduced the world’s first 16G standardized SerDes which set the bar for the industry last year,” said Dalmia, in February. “With this announcement of the world’s first asymmetrical Ethernet solutions, we have extended our technology leadership even further. These new products will allow our customers to achieve unprecedented levels of performance, cost, and architectural advantages.”

The devices in February were sampling to Tier 1 and OEM customers and were expected to be available in production quantities during the coming year.