HILLSBORO, OR – DECEMBER 10, 2012 – Lattice Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: LSCC) today announced it will demonstrate a MIPI Specification CSI-2 (Camera Serial Interface 2) image sensor bridge reference design in its private “Mobile Innovation” meeting suite at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) January 8-11 in Las Vegas. Lattice suite 2980 will be located in the East Tower, Las Vegas Hotel. This reference design will allow customers to use low cost MIPI CSI-2 image sensors with their ISP of choice. The CSI-2 image sensor bridge accepts the image data from a CSI-2 sensor and converts the data to a CMOS parallel bus so that virtually any ISP can process the data.
To register for a specific time to visit with Lattice and discuss how mobile innovation can help with your specific design challenges, please visit Lattice Mobile Innovation.
The CSI-2 image sensor bridge can be demonstrated on a hardware evaluation board, and an HDL design file for the Lattice MachXO2™ ultra-low density FPGA is also available so customers can immediately begin using the CSI-2 bridge design. The reference design can support CSI-2 interfaces from 1 to 4 data lanes and the parallel CMOS bus to the ISP is configurable as well. The hardware demo uses a Sony IMX169 CSI-2 image sensor operating at 1080p30. Details are available at www.latticesemi.com/csi2bridge.
“CSI-2-based image sensors have been prevalent for some time now in smartphones and tablets,” said Ted Marena, Director of Marketing Solutions for Lattice. “The Lattice CSI-2 image sensor bridge reference design will allow engineers implementing other types of consumer designs to use these low cost image sensors. In addition, because the MachXO2 FPGA’s I/Os are programmable, virtually any ISP can be bridged.” Applications such as black box car driver recorders, home security cameras and aftermarket automotive backup cameras are just a few of the consumer- based designs that could utilize the CSI-2 bridge design.
A New Breed of FPGAs for Mobile Innovation
The relentless demand to design consumer and mobile products with new and differentiating features produces very short product development cycles, and the pressure to meet these schedules leads to more reliance on standard chips – i.e. fully loaded application processors. But this creates a dilemma: application processor chipsets take two to three years to develop, which means that any device available today was defined two or three years ago – and that, given the breakneck pace of consumer demand, is an eternity.
So, what is the designer of consumer and mobile products to do? In order to meet unforgiving schedules, readily available chipsets must be used. But yesterday’s application processors often fail to meet today’s market demands.
One approach would be to use an FPGA as a “companion” to the application processor, enabling designers to respond to contemporary consumer demand without waiting years for new chipsets. But, until recently, this was not an option. FPGAs were simply too big, too expensive and too power-hungry for use in consumer devices.
Now, however, FPGAs like the Lattice MachXO2 and iCE40™ devices are specifically targeted at the needs of small, inexpensive, power-sensitive consumer devices. This new breed of FPGA can be used to supplement an application processor and enable designers to pursue continuous “mobile innovation.
Hands-on Examples of Mobile Innovation
In the Lattice suite at CES, visitors will have the opportunity to speak directly with Lattice senior executives and technical specialists about their own design requirements, and view demonstrations of design solutions that leverage Lattice’s broad portfolio of low density and ultra-low density FPGA devices. In addition to the MIPI CSI-2 reference design, demonstrations include:
- Smart sensor hub design that manages sensor traffic, minimizing the application processor workload
- Conversion algorithm that converts standard 2D video to simulated 3D video without the need for glasses
- Image sensor extender for remotely locating a camera up to 10 meters from an ISP – ideal for adding a camera on top of a large screen TV
To register for a specific time to visit with Lattice and discuss how mobile innovation can help with your specific design challenges, please visit Lattice Mobile Innovation.
About Lattice Semiconductor
Lattice is a service-driven developer of innovative low cost, low power programmable design solutions. For more information about how our FPGA, CPLD and programmable power management devices help our customers unlock their innovation, visit www.latticesemi.com. You can also follow us via Twitter, Facebook, or RSS.
