Energy-saving High Performance Standalone Drive Recorder IC

ROHM Co., Ltd. has announced the development of the BU1511KV2 designed for drive recorders in both the consumer and commercial markets.

In recent years there has been an expansion in the utilization of drive recorders not only for automobile diagnostics and accident situations but also as support equipment to promote safer driving and greater efficiency by recording and analyzing operating conditions and driving behavior. This has been proven to reduce accident rates 10-50% while improving fuel efficiency by up to 20% for reduced CO₂ in commercial vehicles such as buses, trucks and taxis. (Please refer to the attached ‘Market Forecast for Drive Recorders’).

The cost of a commercially available standard drive recorder is relatively expensive and a separate PC is necessary in order to utilize the recorded data. This takes time and labor, and is believed to be the major roadblock preventing widespread adoption in consumer vehicles. In response to this, ROHM has developed a monolithic drive recorder IC featuring high performance operation and standalone capability (PC not required).

The new product integrates an interface for a camera, SD card, acceleration sensor and GPS module. A ARM9 processor is also built-in that allows programs to be downloaded serially and processed, eliminating the need for relatively expensive external Flash memory. In addition, independent hardware-based high performance JPEG/ADPCM CODECs and SD card controllers reduce processing load, making it possible to write audio and video data directly to an SD card, rendering external buffer RAM unnecessary. This not only reduces costs significantly but enables standalone operation without a PC.

•Key Features of the BU1511KV2

1. High-performance ARM9 processor utilized in controller block
2. External bus provides greater expandability
3. Independent hardware-based JPEG/ADPCM CODECs ensure high-speed operation
4. 4-channel ADC support enables configuration with acceleration sensors
5. Video encoder built-in for direct video component output
6. Audio support via I²S interface
7. I²C interface utilized for device control (i.e. cameras)
8. SD card controller/interface allows compatibility with SD cards

•Terminology

• ARM9
  A RISC-type processor developed by the ARM Company in the UK. The series includes models such as the ARM7 and ARM10 developed for a variety of products such as mobile phones and gaming consoles.
• I²C Interface
  A popular two-wire serial interface developed by Phillips Co. Widely used in portable devices.
• I²S Interface
  A serial interface used in audio data communications.
• ADPCM
  Short for Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation, a method of compressing sound data.
• CODEC
  Refers to a coder/decoder – an algorithm or program used to compress / decompress audio/video data.