The Automotive SerDes Alliance (ASA) open standard for in-vehicle networking (IVN) is the foundation for Microchip Technology’s latest acquisition of VSI Co. Ltd.
VSI Co. Ltd. is based out of Seoul, Korea, and is known to be a major innovator in high-speed, asymmetric camera, sensor, and display connectivity technologies and products.
“This acquisition brings VSI’s knowledgeable team, their market traction and ASA Motion Link technologies and products to Microchip’s expansive automotive networking portfolio to better serve the ADAS megatrend we are focused on,” said Mitch Obolsky, senior vice president of Microchip’s automotive products, networking, and data center business units. “As the industry converges around three primary IVN pillars – Ethernet, PCIe® and ASA Motion Link, camera and display connectivity is one of the fastest growing and largest IVN markets. With VSI, Microchip can now offer products that span all three pillars and also provide automotive security, microcontrollers, motor control, touch and power management solutions to our customers to enable their next-generation software-defined vehicle architectures.”
Virtue of Automotive SerDes Alliance (ASA) Open Standard
Today, ASA has over 145 members, including Microchip who is a promoter member. With 11 automotive manufacturers including BMW, GM, Ford, Stellantis and Hyundai-Kia Motors Corporation, the Alliance also includes an ecosystem ranging from Tier 1 suppliers, semiconductor and imager vendors, to test and compliance houses.
In addition to being an open standard, ASA-ML brings link layer security and scalability to support 2 Gbps to 16 Gbps line rates.
Furthermore, the upcoming specification update will enable ASA-ML to support Ethernet-based architectures.
“Microchip Technology is an established and trusted market leader in automotive networking known for their automotive quality and robust supply chain, and our team is excited to join them to address the growing ADAS and digital cockpit connectivity market,” said Steve Kang, CEO of VSI Co. Ltd. “VSI is a leader in the development of ASA-ML products and was the first to introduce products to the market. Our standards-compliant chipsets are being evaluated by car manufacturers worldwide. We recently collaborated with BMW in a proof of concept to showcase ASA-ML and our product readiness. This acquisition brings together two organizations with a shared commitment to advancing technology through innovation. We look forward to successfully deploying our solutions in production vehicles for years to come.”
In March 2024, BMW Group announced at the Automotive Ethernet Congress in Munich they would shift to using standardized ASA-ML for upcoming start of productions.
BMW has always been at the forefront of in-vehicle networking innovation and strongly believes in leveraging standardized technologies in their vehicle architectures and now also their video architecture.
Yole Group Report on Automotive Radar, Camera, and LiDAR Modules Market
According to Yole Group, the market for automotive radar, camera, and LiDAR modules is anticipated to expand by more than two times between 2022 and 2028, reaching $27 billion in sales.
Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), is witnessing a significant boom.
In-cabin monitoring, safety and convenience features (e.g., e-mirrors, 360-degree surround view), and multi-screen digital cockpits for next-generation software-defined vehicles (SDV) are the main drivers of this projected expansion of ADAS.
More highly asymmetric raw data, video links, and greater bandwidths will be needed for these applications, rendering the current proprietary serializer/deserializer (SerDes) based solutions insufficient from a technical and financial standpoint.
The Automotive SerDes Alliance (ASA) was established in 2019 in reaction to these advancements, and the first open-standard ASA Motion Link (ASA-ML) specifications were published.
Further Info on ASA Motion Link products: Microchip sales teams.