Comprehensive technical interpretation of the two-wheeler digital instrument cluster reference design based on i.MX RT1170

The electrification revolution is in full swing, bringing about earth-shaking changes in all areas of the automotive industry, including two-wheeled vehicles, as well as motorcycles, scooters and e-bikes of all grades and price points. Although motorcycles and scooters powered by traditional internal combustion engines (ICE) are the mainstream, the rising fuel prices and consumers' pursuit of economical and practical are making electric vehicle (EV) models increasingly popular.

Electric two-wheelers are safer, easier to drive, smarter, greener and simpler alternatives to internal combustion engine powered motorcycles and scooters. They are easy to drive, easily connect to smart systems and improve rider safety and comfort. Low-cost basic two-wheelers can meet daily commuting needs in developing regions of the world, while high-end electric motorcycles and scooters can meet riders' desire for higher speeds, longer range and adventure in developed markets.

Electric vehicle companies are actively developing value-added digital features, such as connected digital dashboards, to encourage more drivers to switch to electric vehicles. Two-wheeler manufacturers are keeping up with the trend of change in the automotive industry and incorporating digital dashboards into their new models. Vital information and vehicle parameters are clearly displayed in real time, including driving speed, revolutions per minute, location, navigation, ambient temperature and range, allowing riders to focus on road conditions and enjoy the fun of riding.

New reference platform helps develop digital instrument clusters for two-wheelers

To help accelerate the development of full-color thin-film transistor (TFT) displays for two-wheelers, NXP has built a combined digital instrument cluster and connectivity reference platform designed for mass-market two-wheelers, including motorcycles, electric scooters and commuter e-bikes. The reference platform supports high-performance graphics and rich connectivity use cases such as hands-free calling, wireless pairing of smartphone projection, Bluetooth audio/video, OTA updates, cloud connectivity, fleet management, secure car access and vehicle positioning.

Two-wheeler Connected Digital Instrument Cluster Reference Design

To provide a cost-effective system that enhances the user experience of two-wheelers, the reference platform combines the following NXP components:

High-performance i.MX RT1170 crossover microcontroller (MCU)

Highly integrated AW611 single-chip Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth/BLE audio connectivity solution

Secure, long-range KW45 wireless MCU with BLE 5.3 compliant radio

Two-wheeler instrument panel built with i.MX RT1170 crossover MCU

All-inclusive reference platform: enabling faster, easier development

NXP’s connected digital instrument cluster reference platform enables vehicle manufacturers to provide basic instrument cluster functionality for two-wheelers while also supporting a variety of connected use cases to enhance the rider experience. Key features include:

Three-way Bluetooth pairing between smartphone, digital instrument cluster and headphones

Music sharing for riders and pillion passengers

Location functions, such as "Find my two-wheeler" in parking lots

Mobile navigation and electric vehicle charging statistics

Hands-free calling and Bluetooth audio

Bluetooth helps connect the rider’s mobile phone to the two-wheeler digital dashboard. Once paired, call logs and contact information can be shared and displayed on the smart dashboard, enabling hands-free calling. Message alerts and incoming calls can also be displayed on the screen. When the two-wheeler is stopped or parked, the rider can make outgoing calls by touching the smart dashboard and routing the call using the mobile phone; the display can also be used to answer or end incoming calls.

Implementing Bluetooth audio enables both the rider and pillion passengers on premium models to enjoy music streaming. Connectivity from the dashboard to the helmet further enhances the rider experience. Riders can also enjoy convenient audio playback capabilities when stuck in traffic or waiting for their two-wheeler battery to charge.

Achieving secure access control for two-wheelers

NXP's KW45 MCU features low-energy Bluetooth, CAN, and an integrated security zone, providing a low-cost connectivity option for secure two-wheeler location tracking and access control. In the two-wheeler design, one KW45 MCU is used in conjunction with the RT1170 MCU in the dashboard, and another KW45 is built into the rider's key fob. The KW45 MCU in the two-wheeler can be paired with the key fob or even with a smartphone, but the distance needs to be very close, about 3 meters. The rider side uses the i.MX RT1170 MCU for sound and light indication, so that they can easily find their two-wheeler in the parking lot.

When the KW45 MCU in the two-wheeler digital instrument cluster is registered with a popular search application, the rider can use a smartphone to track the location of the two-wheeler on a map and manually trigger sound/light indications when it is close. In addition, more advanced use cases can be realized, such as BLE smart tag tracking using a global smartphone network to find lost or stolen two-wheelers.

Rich two-wheel vehicle connectivity features

NXP’s next-generation two-wheeler digital instrument cluster reference platform also enriches the connectivity-based features of two-wheelers, including:

Receive real-time vehicle information including battery charge, route, speed and distance travelled

Find the nearest charging stations, public parking areas and other locations

Share updates and alerts supporting two-wheeler maintenance programs

Remote locking and unlocking of two-wheelers

Share safety issues and adverse road conditions with traffic management and law enforcement

Fleet management via the cloud

i.MX RT1170: Bringing advanced technology to two-wheelers

While NXP's i.MX application processors have been widely adopted in the automotive market for many years, the i.MX RT1170 crossover MCU is increasingly popular in connected digital displays and instrument clusters deployed in low-end cars and two-wheelers. The i.MX RT1170 crossover MCU provides the best of both worlds for in-vehicle displays: the high performance and integration of a microprocessor, with the low cost, ease of use and real-time capabilities of an MCU.

The i.MX RT1170 crossover MCU is the first automotive-grade i.MX RT product with a temperature range of -40 to +125°C. The feature-rich MCU has two energy-efficient Arm Cortex-M CPU cores and excellent multimedia capabilities, including a 2D GPU with vector graphics support and OpenVG library. In addition to RGB display and parallel CMOS sensor camera interfaces, the i.MX RT1170 also supports MIPI CSI and DSI, providing more options for developers. The i.MX RT1170 offers a variety of connectivity options with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) capabilities. As a quality management (QM) grade device, the i.MX RT1170 MCU can support ASIL-B automotive safety solutions with additional hardware.

NXP and its ecosystem partners provide comprehensive support to help developers quickly start designing and quickly transition to full product development and mass production. MCUXpresso software and tool suite enables the NXP i.MX portfolio to provide a consistent experience.

i.MX RT1170 crossover MCU block diagram

AW611: Enabling audio connectivity for two-wheelers

The AW611 audio connectivity solution is a highly integrated 2.4/5GHz dual-band 1x1 Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) and Bluetooth/BLE 5.2 single-chip solution optimized for the automotive market and qualified to AEC-Q100 Grade 3. This high level of integration helps reduce system cost and external BOM while enabling effective coexistence between internal and external radios such as 4G LTE.

The AW611 includes a full-featured Wi-Fi subsystem with NXP’s 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) technology, which provides higher throughput, higher network efficiency, lower latency, and longer range than previous generations. The AW611 also integrates an independent Bluetooth 5.2 subsystem that supports Bluetooth and BLE. The device supports Bluetooth profiles such as Hands-Free (HFP), Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) for audio streaming, and additional profiles such as Dual Wideband Speech (WBS).

AW611 internal block diagram

KW45: Bringing cost-effective Bluetooth connectivity to two-wheelers

The reference platform also includes the KW45 BLE wireless MCU, which provides secure vehicle access and vehicle positioning services. The KW45's three-core architecture integrates a 96MHz Arm Cortex-M33 application core, a dedicated Cortex-M3 wireless module core, and an isolated EdgeLock security area. It also integrates a BLE 5.3-compliant wireless unit that can support up to 24 secure connections simultaneously.

KW45 architecture diagram

Enabling safe, reliable, and cost-effective two-wheeler designs

Two-wheeler developers can now leverage NXP’s deep expertise in car infotainment consoles, TFT display technology and secure connectivity, as well as NXP’s broad portfolio of automotive-grade processors, wireless devices, audio solutions and development tools.

NXP’s connected digital instrument cluster reference platform provides advanced technology that lays the foundation for the next generation of safe, reliable and cost-effective two-wheeler designs.