The MIPI®
Alliance, an international organization that develops interface
specifications for mobile and mobile-influenced industries, is proud to
announce that Google,
Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) has chosen the MIPI UniPort-M protocol for its
smartphone Project
Ara Module Developers Kit (MDK).
MIPI UniProSM
(Unified Protocol) transport layer, combined with MIPI
M-PHY®, creates the MIPI UniPort-M interface, which has
the ability to connect any application specific protocol. MIPI UniPort-M
was designed as a universal, chip-to-chip, interprocess communication
that is ideal for mobile communications that require high speed, low
power, scalable and flexible solutions. MIPI UniPort-M provides
versatility that simplifies the interconnection of peripherals and
reduces time-to-market and design costs. Target devices for
UniPro/UniPort-M include smartphones, tablets, digital cameras and
multimedia devices.
“Google’s selection of MIPI UniPort-M only reinforces the intent and
vision for which it was originally developed. Project Ara needed a high
speed, flexible and low power solution to address the modular nature of
the smartphone,” said Joel
Huloux, chairman of the board, MIPI Alliance. “MIPI M-PHY was
created to offer significant power savings, making it perfect for
Google’s Project Ara.”
“We selected the UniPro/M-PHY protocol stack for the Project Ara
platform due to our need for real-time adaptability, scalability, and
performance. We're excited to work with the MIPI Alliance to support and
advance the UniPro and M-PHY protocol standards, and with the industry
to encourage and facilitate widespread adoption across a broad range of
mobile components and peripherals,” said Paul Eremenko, head of Project
Ara, Google.
MIPI UniPro is used in a wide range of components including application
processors, co-processors and peripheral devices, allowing usage of
different application layers. MIPI UniPro specification supports
different types of data traffic including control messages, bulk data
transfer and packetized streaming. Additionally, the re-useable,
extensible nature of the specification simplifies new feature
implementation in future, high-speed applications.
“Google's Project Ara represents fresh and innovative approach to
creating a modular and highly customizable mobile device. However,
issues related to cost and time to market and interoperability can
hinder the introduction of products before they have the opportunity to
prove themselves in the market. Thus, the selection of MIPI's UniPro
protocol can help smooth the go-to-market process while also providing a
technically efficient standard that will help create a powerful user
experience,” said William
Stofega, program director, mobile device technology and Trends at IDC.
Jürgen Urban, Chair of the MIPI
UniPro Working Group, is presenting at Google’s
Project Ara Module Developers Conference April 15, 2014 at 2:45 p.m.
PDT. This is the first of three Developer Conferences planned for 2014.
The Conference, occurring today and tomorrow, is focused on the alpha
release of the Ara Module Developers Kit (MDK), which utilizes MIPI
UniPort-M protocol.
The Developers Conference is being held in-person at the Computer
History Museum in Mountain View, Calif., and live-streamed online.
For information regarding Project Ara’s Developers Conference agenda
visit:
http://www.projectara.com/agenda.
For more information about the MIPI Alliance and its specifications,
please visit www.mipi.org.
Laudatory quotes from MIPI Alliance members:
Agilent Technologies
“Being able to reliably test standards that connect modular systems -
like Google's Project Ara - is essential,” said Roland Scherzinger, MIPI
Program Manager, Agilent
Technologies. “The MIPI UniPort-M protocol provides built-in test
support features that address these requirements.”
Arasan Chip Systems Inc
“MIPI UniPro is a very versatile and flexible standard. Therefore, it is
used not only within MIPI, but also by UFS 2.0; a JEDEC standard,” said
Zachi Friedman, senior director of marketing, Arasan
Chip Systems Inc. “The new networking support being added to UniPro
will enhance future mobile architectures, such as Project Ara.”
Cadence
“The inclusion of MIPI Unipro and M-PHY in Project Ara is further proof
of the protocols’ ability to deliver the best chip-to-chip interprocess
communications for mobile applications,” said Mao Liu, director of
product marketing, IP Group at Cadence.
“With a proven integrated design and verification IP solution for MIPI
Unipro and M-PHY, Cadence enables customers to quickly implement this
high-speed, low-power connection while reducing their time to market.”
Lattice Semiconductor Corporation
“Lattice is pleased that our ECP3 family of FPGAs helped Google realize
their Project Ara vision by providing critical flexibility and
functionality to implement the MIPI UniPro protocol in each module in
the MDK,” said David Rutledge, chief technology officer, Lattice
Semiconductor Corporation. “MIPI UniPro protocol is an ideal
networking solution for Project Ara modules due to its
application-agnostic, multi-master capabilities and providing high data
rates and low energy per transferred bit. Lattice ECP3 FPGAs are an
ideal platform for Project Ara with MIPI UniPro implementation because
of its programmable flexibility, small form factor (10mm x 10mm) and low
power consumption. This combination enables Google’s team to innovate
‘at the speed of mobility’ in order to deliver the MDK in record time.”
Synopsys
“The MIPI UniPort-M interface helps to address the low power, high
performance needs of the latest mobile devices, including those enabled
by Google's Project Ara,” said John Koeter, vice president of marketing
for IP and prototyping at Synopsys.
“Our silicon-proven DesignWare® IP supporting the MIPI UniPro, MIPI
M-PHY and JEDEC UFS standards enables designers to achieve the stringent
power, bandwidth and latency requirements of mobile SoCs utilizing the
UniPort-M interface for chip-to-chip communication.”
Toshiba Electronics Europe
“MIPI UniPort-M is already used for mass storage with JEDEC UFS and for
Camera with MIPI CSI-3. The Ara program will open new innovation
opportunities that will leverage the usage of MIPI UniPort-M,” said Ariel
Lasry, chief engineer at Toshiba
Electronics Europe. “MIPI UniPort-M is the best in-class interface
to enable easy-to-use, reliable and low-power modular Smartphone
architecture.”
About MIPI Alliance
MIPI Alliance (MIPI) develops interface specifications for mobile and
mobile-influenced industries. Founded in 2003, the organization has more
than 250 member companies worldwide, more than 15 active working groups,
and has delivered more than 45 specifications within the mobile
ecosystem in the last decade. Members of the organization include
handset manufacturers, device OEMs, software providers, semiconductor
companies, application processor developers, IP tool providers, test and
test equipment companies, as well as camera, tablet and laptop
manufacturers. For more information, please visit www.mipi.org.
MIPI®, M-PHY® and UniProSM are
trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks, and/or registered
service marks owned by MIPI Alliance. All other trademarks, service
marks, registered trademarks, and registered service marks are the
property of their respective owners.
Copyright Business Wire 2014