OEM&Lieferant Ausgabe 2/2020

98 Engineering Partner Automotive-Displays Test and validation of display systems made easy – thanks to a novel HDMI-APIX3 converter By Annika Mahl, Marketing Officer/Public Relations, ARRK Engineering The automotive industry is increasingly turning to the 3rd generation of Automotive Pixel Link (APIX) technology to meet the high requirements of modern infotainment systems. APIX3 is one of the technologies that supports UHD resolution in the latest vehicle displays. Until now, technical testing of the image display with APIX3-compatible components was only possible with a special developer board, which had to be connected with a separate microcontroller platform to dis- play more complex scenarios. This made it very difficult to set up a test environment for APIX3 components. ARRK Engineering, a specialist for vehicle interior electronics, has developed a compact HDMI-APIX3 con- verter that conveniently shows the display of video signals from any HDMI source on APIX3-compatible panels. The converter uses a customizable firmware to enable simple analysis of APIX3 displays and easy debugging of components. With its compact design, the versatile platform also offers new possibilities for rapid prototyping of HMI concept ideas. Until recently, APIX3 displays could only be tested with the help of a developer board from the APIX semiconductor manufacturer Inova Semiconductors. However, it was not possible to use this board as a stand- alone solution as it required an additional computer to be set up and configured for each specific application, which was a cum- bersome process. “We’ve developed the prototype of an HDMI-APIX3 converter for Image: © Chesky/shutterstock.com S H A R E APIX (Automotive Pixel Link) technology enables the serial high-speed gigabit multichannel con- nection of displays, cameras, and control units for applications in the automotive industry. APIX3 is the latest generation of this technology from Inova Semiconductors. It supports the transmission of up to 6 Gbps via an STP (Shielded Twisted Pair) cable, and up to 12 Gbps via a QTP (Quad Twisted Pair) connection. The APIX3 is therefore about four times as fast as the previous APIX2 generation and is ideal for the use of displays with HD and Ultra HD resolution. It also enables diagnostics, including cable monitoring for the preventative recognition of cable defects. What is APIX3? Complex infotainment systems with HD and Ultra HD resolution are increasingly being used for operating on-board computers in modern vehicles.