RAW-28 Color Depth
Given that the stakes in automotive applications include human safety, requirements around image quality and superior PSNR and DR in this space are very high. An advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) must discern and appropriately react to the surroundings of a vehicle in motion and in all environmental conditions. The RAW-28 color depth feature introduced in CSI-2 v4.0 is a method for gathering more and better information for such a process. RAW-20 and then RAW-24 were featured in previous CSI-2 versions. With introduction of RAW-28 pixel encoding, the MIPI Camera Working Group leverages the high-DR extraction techniques of next-generation MV image sensors.
Shaping ongoing Innovation
MIPI CSI-2 v4.0.1 was published in 2022, delivering minor editorial clarifications, including revisions for inclusive terminology that more accurately reflect the functions of technical devices. The MIPI Security Framework, a suite of four specifications initially targeted at automotive applications requiring end-to-end protection of CSI-2 data streams, is scheduled for release in late 2023 and early 2024. The MIPI Camera Working Group continues to monitor MV innovation in planning updates to CSI-2. Multi-sensor support and extended virtual channels, for example, are under exploration. Furthermore, MIPI has launched a Camera Imaging and Vision Interest Group, open to all MIPI Alliance members, to explore emerging MV applications.
CSI-2 for MV Ecosystems
MIPI CSI-2 provides the machine-vision ecosystem specifications and supporting resources designed to enable the field’s current and emerging applications:
– Deeply integrated low-power PHY transport solutions (D-PHY, C-PHY, and A-PHY)
– MIPI A-PHY Protocol Adaptation Layer for CSI-2 (PAL/CSI-2), which defines flows and mechanisms for carrying MIPI CSI-2 traffic over A-PHY, connecting host ECUs with peripheral sensor devices, such as cameras, lidars and radar sensors
– MIPI Camera Command Set (CCS) for streamlining image-sensor configuration
– MIPI CCS Tools to provide developers with a common toolset for CCS Static Data
– MIPI DisCo for Imaging for simplifying discovery and use of devices connected by CSI-2
– MIPI Camera Service Extensions (CSE) for enabling functional safety and, in the near future, end-to-end security within camera systems
– A conformance test suite (CTS) for testing products against other CSI-2 implementations
