DRESDEN, GERMANY - ZMD AG (ZMDI), is an award-winning global semiconductor company headquartered in Dresden, Germany, and specializing in enabling energy-efficient solutions. As a world leader in mobile sensing and specifically environmental sensing, ZMDI is proud to have contributed to the successful joint development of the new MIPI® I3C(SM) digital interface specification targeted for mobile sensor applications.
MIPI® I3C(SM) (also known as MIPI® i3c(SM)) was introduced November 5th by MIPI® Alliance in conjunction with the MEMS Executive Congress. The name MIPI SenseWire(SM) applies to the use of I3C(SM) in mobile devices connecting to a set of sensors directly or indirectly. The MIPI® Alliance is an international organization collaborating to develop interface specifications for mobile and mobile-influenced industries. ZMDI, a member of the MIPI® Alliance, is committed to developing highly integrated environmental sensing solutions for energy-efficient mobile products.
The new specification is optimized to improve performance and power efficiency for mobile, mobile-influenced and embedded-systems applications. It was developed with the participation of vendors from across the sensor and mobile markets. I3C(SM) addresses the challenges of interfacing with multiple sensors in exciting new applications in a rapidly expanding market, especially the handset market, which has typically been constrained by size limitations, performance demands and cost barriers. One of the many advantages of I3C(SM) is a power consumption reduction that can result in longer battery life, which is essential to mobile products, and minimal component count, which can enable smaller devices.
According to the MIPI® Alliance press release, "Companies participating in the MIPI Alliance Sensor Working Group include AMD, Audience, Broadcom, Cadence, Intel Corporation, InvenSense, Lattice Semiconductor, MediaTek, Mentor Graphics, NVIDIA, NXP, STMicroelectronics, Synopsys, Qualcomm Incorporated, QuickLogic, VLSI Plus, Ltd., ZMDI, and others." Tim White, ZMDI System Architect, was one of the members who proposed the I3C(SM) name. He noted that the new specification offers a significant improvement in terms of performance, energy-efficiency and fulfillment of requirements for both present and future mobile sensing applications across multiple markets due to its collaborative development.
David Simpson, ZMDI Business Development Manager of Mobile Sensing, stated "Partnering with the MIPI® Alliance allows ZMDI to share its experience and support the standardization of sensor solutions that provide systems-level improvements for ZMDI's customers. We are proud of the association with the MIPI Alliance and look forward to our continued and active involvement in the important contributions they make to the industry."
By Arthur E. Michalak (arthur@koreaittimes.com)
