What is in-vehicle infotainment system and integrated cockpit

What is In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI)?

"In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI)" provides convenience and comfort for driving by providing information and entertainment to drivers and passengers. In order to understand this concept, it is necessary to know what "infotainment" means. "Infotainment" is a word used in this market, which combines the words "information" and "entertainment". "In-Vehicle Infotainment" provides these things when needed. What types of information drivers and passengers need are typical information to support driving, such as navigation and road traffic information. In addition to this, entertainment, content playback, such as music and movies are also the same. In the future, when cars are universally connected to high-speed Internet, we will be able to see more. For example, reading the news, retrieving files stored in the cloud, downloading movies, downloading music, and operating our cars using voice recognition, these things we do now with computers and smartphones are more comfortable and seamless.

What is an in-car infotainment system?

The term "in-vehicle infotainment system" refers to the various mechanisms that make in-vehicle infotainment possible. More specifically, it is a system that receives user operations through switches, touch panels, voice, processes necessary information, and then outputs it to speakers or displays. It is based on various hardware and software. Among these parts, the display that displays various types of information plays an important role.

*“In-vehicle infotainment” generally refers to “navigation etc + audio/visual”, but includes “instrument/instrument cluster display” in the description here.

What is the Center Information Display (CID)?

The "Central Information Display" is a large display located in the center of the cockpit. It displays navigation and entertainment information and is the key to realizing in-vehicle infotainment. It will become larger with higher resolution sizes and a greater number of displays.

What is the instrument cluster display?

The "instrument/instrument combination display" is the display located behind the steering wheel. In some cases, it is called the instrument cluster display. It shows driving speed, battery charge, engine/motor speed, fuel consumption and various reminder/warning lights. Most of this information is related to driving safety, so you need to ensure that it is displayed correctly.

What is a Head-Up Display (HUD)?

A "head-up display" is a display that shows information by projecting it onto the windshield. It might be easier to understand if you think of it as a display screen on the windshield. A head-up display typically displays driving information such as speed and gas/battery level, as well as simplified information from the navigation. Therefore, the driver can continue driving without looking down. In recent years, with the rise of augmented reality (AR) technology, head-up displays have made great progress. For example, instead of simply projecting navigation information, an augmented reality display can display arrows indicating the direction of travel that is consistent with the actual road outside the windshield, making recognition more intuitive. This next-generation head-up display is expected to become mainstream in the future.

The future vision of "In-car Infotainment" cars

Some of these have already been achieved through the connection between the in-vehicle infotainment system and the Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS). Object detection, such as pedestrians or other vehicles, is an example. The system uses sensors installed in the car and high-precision GPS to detect hazards. The system not only displays information on the display, but also assists in braking. In addition, the system monitors the driver to achieve safe driving support. Image sensors and heart rate sensors installed on the car seats and other parts monitor the driver's condition in real time. If the system determines that the driver is drowsy or inattentive, it reminds the driver to avoid danger through warning sounds and seat vibrations.

The entertainment industry has also realized something. For example, by downloading high-quality music from a smartphone and playing it through a car audio system connected to high-spec speakers, you can enjoy the music in your car as if you were in a concert hall.

As in-car infotainment further develops in the future, new possibilities will emerge. This is just one example, but the car might recognize the schedule registered on the driver's smartphone and automatically set the navigation system. Or play the music selected by the driver. Combined with autonomous driving technology, drivers will be able to eat, chat, play games and work just like they do at home or in the office.

With the development of in-car infotainment, time that used to be spent in traffic can now be spent freely.

What is an integrated cockpit?

An integrated cockpit refers to displays that comprehensively manage various information, including information displayed on the meter/instrument panel, as well as information displayed on the central information display and head-up display. In addition, recently, the integrated management of information including advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), driver monitoring systems (DMS), etc. is expected to become popular. Until now, the meter/instrument panel and infotainment system have been a separate unit, but in the "integrated cockpit", everything is controlled by a single ECU. This will make it possible to display the necessary information on the most appropriate display at the necessary time, helping to improve the safety and convenience of drivers and passengers.

Challenges of Display in In-Vehicle Infotainment Systems

With the development of in-vehicle infotainment, the display area also faces challenges.

*Generally speaking, "in-car infotainment" means "navigation etc + audio/visual", but this includes "instrument/instrument cluster display".

Larger, higher-resolution displays

First, the size of displays is getting larger and the resolution is getting higher. In the past, car displays were used to show limited information such as time, navigation system, and song titles. With the increase of display content such as images on the rearview mirror, motor remaining power, and driver operation trends, the size of displays is also getting larger and the resolution is getting higher.

In order to display so much information on a larger display, the entire system must reach higher specifications. Therefore, the challenge is how to cope with the increase in display size and resolution.

Multi-display

Multiple displays are another challenge. In addition to the central information display and the instrument/instrument cluster display, cars now have more displays, including head-up displays. Of course, the convenience of displaying more information has greatly increased. However, in some ways, it is difficult to know which information is displayed on which display.

In addition, multiple displays are being combined into one large display. For example, a central information display is usually a single display, however, as the information increases, several displays are combined into a single display. User convenience increases, but the technical problem of distributing a single video signal to multiple displays must be solved.

Safety measures for digital instruments/instrument clusters

Instrument/Gauge cluster displays used to show speed, engine speed, etc. in an analog way. Nowadays, digital displays on LCD screens placed partially or fully on the instrument cluster are becoming mainstream.

It is important to pay attention to safety-related information such as reminder/warning lights, gasoline, battery charge, seat belts, half doors, and side brakes. If the display continues to show erroneous information, the safety of the driver and passengers may be seriously threatened. To prevent this from happening, the entire system must have a mechanism to detect when a fault is displayed.

Features of Epson Car Display Controller

Epson offers a range of in-vehicle display controllers with a variety of functions to help realize in-vehicle infotainment and integrated cockpits. A key feature is the ability to adapt to a variety of display needs.

The image on the display is displayed by outputting a video signal from the SoC (System on Chip) to the display. However, with the development of in-vehicle infotainment, inconsistencies have arisen between the signals from the SoC to the display. Epson's in-vehicle display controller is placed between the SoC and the display to solve these problems.

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Safety functions of automotive integrated circuits

Epson's automotive ICs have a variety of safety functions. One of these functions is monitoring. When the IC detects an abnormality in the signal in the streaming image from the host, it notifies the host and performs display processing such as overwriting the signal if necessary.