Cypress releases first “Infotainment” USB host controller
Cypress Semiconductor introduces the world’s first Infotainment USB Host/Peripheral controller. The EZ-Host is targeted to the automotive industry to make communication between car and GPS, MP3 players, mobile handsets and in-vehicle radios as easy as a USB port. The EZ-Host is a 16-bit RISC microcontroller with 2 configurable SIEs and one configurable I/O block.
Press Release:
Cypress Delivers World’s First Embedded USB Host/Peripheral Controller for Automotive “Infotainment” Applications
AEC Q100-Qualified EZ-Hostâ„¢ Controller Enables MP3 Players, Mobile Handsets And GPS Systems To Seamlessly Interface With In-Vehicle Electronics Systems
SAN JOSE, Calif., April 25, 2006 – Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE: CY), the market leader in USB, today introduced a version of its CY7C67300 EZ-Hostâ„¢ embedded USB host/peripheral controller optimized for automotive applications. The device is compliant with AEC (Automotive Electronics Council) Q100 specifications, offering an operating temperature range from -40 degrees C to 85 degrees C. It is targeted at automotive “infotainment” applications including interfacing MP3 players, mobile handsets and GPS systems with in-vehicle radios and display systems. Cypress recently received certification for Automotive Industry Quality Standard ISO/TS 16949, a standard that ensures the highest levels of quality and reliability throughout the automotive supply chain.
The EZ-Host device is a multiport embedded host/peripheral controller that contains a high-performance 16-bit RISC microcontroller, two configurable USB serial interface engines (SIEs) and a configurable I/O block that can connect to numerous standard interfaces. It can operate as either a host or peripheral, and supports up to four host ports. It contains 16 Kbytes of RAM, enabling custom applications; multiple CPU interfaces; and on-board BIOS to handle a portion of the USB processing. The embedded processor eliminates the need for an external CPU in many applications and can operate in coprocessor mode as well.
“Infotainment applications are a key growth area for the automotive market,” said David Zimpfer, managing director of Cypress’s automotive business. “Our EZ-Host solution brings the ease of design and compatibility of USB to a number of key applications within this space, and we are planning further USB-related automotive offerings. In addition, this product complements other Cypress automotive solutions, including our PSoC®-based CapSense capacitive sensing interface, memory products, and automotive image sensors.”
Key EZ-Host Features
- Support for USB On-The-Go (OTG) protocol
- On-chip, 48-MHz, 16-bit processor with dynamically switchable clock speed eliminates need for external processor or operates in co-processor mode
- Configurable I/O block supporting a variety of I/O options or up to 32 bits of GPIO
- Supports up to four host ports
- 4Kb x 16 internal masked ROM with built-in BIOS that supports a communication ready state with access to I2C EEPROM interface, external ROM, UART, or USB
- 8Kb x 16 internal RAM for code and data buffering
- Extended memory interface port for external SRAM and ROM
- Fast serial port supports from 9600 baud to 2.0 Mbaud
- Supports 12-MHz external crystal or clock
Matt LeBoff
Kicking around in technology since 2002. I like to write about technology products and ideas, but at the consumer level understanding. Some tech, but not too techie.