Valens (NYSE: VLN), a premier provider of high-speed connectivity solutions for the audio-video and automotive markets and the leading supplier of MIPI A-PHY-compliant chipsets, today announced that automotive benchmarking firm A2MAC1 has published a report showing significant cost saving opportunities for automotive OEMs using MIPI A-PHY-based technology.
Released in September 2020, MIPI A-PHY is the first standardized, asymmetric, long-reach serializer-deserializer (SerDes) physical layer interface targeted for advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving systems (ADS). A-PHY’s primary mission is to transfer high-speed data between cameras, radars, LiDARs and their related ECUs.
A2MAC1 used a high sale-volume surround view system as a benchmark for a conventional
proprietary solution and compared it with the MIPI A-PHY-based solution over Unshielded
Twisted Pair cabling. The report found that there are significant cost savings available for OEMs
if they deploy A-PHY-based chipsets such as those offered by Valens, primarily resulting from:
- Simplified wire harness – Including cabling and connectors (and specifically in-line connectors going through the doors).
- Camera design – Cost saving in the sealed connector that can be simplified into an unshielded connector, as well as savings in the internal PCB and camera design.
- ECU design – Switching to smaller, less expensive connectors.
In total, the report found that using MIPI A-PHY-based chipsets for higher-resolution camera sensors and SerDes solutions would result in a total system cost reduction of up to 15%, relative to existing proprietary solutions. This includes a 63% reduction in wire harness and connector costs, which together form a significant portion of the total system cost. The report stated that there are further cost reduction opportunities for OEMs resulting from native integration of A-PHY into image sensors.
“MIPI A-PHY is the connectivity solution that will support advancements in ADAS,” said Gideon Kedem, Valens SVP and Head of Automotive. “For a long time, we’ve known that A-PHY gives OEMs the highest bandwidth, the longest distance, and the lowest error rate – and today, thanks to this first-of-its-kind research by a 3rd-party benchmarking firm, we can add to that list another important metric – lowest total system cost.”
“When comparing the costs of A-PHY based solutions with conventional solutions, there is a clear winner, and that’s A-PHY,” said Abhishek Gandhi, Cost Engineer at A2MAC1. “An industry switchover to A-PHY-based extension solutions could save real money – for OEMs and ultimately for consumers as well.”
The Valens VA7000 chipset family is the first A-PHY compliant chipset and engineering samples will be available in Q4 2021.
About Valens
Valens (NYSE: VLN) is a leading provider of semiconductor products, pushing the boundaries of connectivity by enabling long-reach, high-speed video and data distribution for the audio-video and automotive industries. Valens’ Emmy® award-winning HDBaseT technology is the leading standard in the professional audio-video market with tens of millions of Valens’ chipsets integrated into thousands of HDBaseT-enabled products. Valens Automotive is a key enabler of the evolution of autonomous driving, providing chipsets that are on the road in vehicles around the world. The underlying technology has been selected to become the basis for the new standard for automotive connectivity. For more information, visit https://www.valens.com/.
SOURCE: Valens
