Cars have hidden eyes. Equipped with these invisible eyes, the vehicle recognizes surrounding objects and other vehicles. The car's secret eyes refer to 'camera sensors.' Several camera sensors mounted on the vehicle detect the surrounding environment, enabling not only autonomous parking but also features such as automatic braking when reversing and warning of vehicles approaching from the side at intersections.

On the path toward autonomous vehicles, the ultimate goal of future automobiles, camera sensor-based Surround View has emerged as a hot topic.

On the path to autonomous vehicles, a German automotive parts company has already showcased a system where a driver selects a parking space using a touchscreen, gets out of the vehicle, and automatically parks using a smartphone app. This service was made possible by the ever-evolving surround view systems.
With increasing interest in ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) that promote driver convenience and safety, surround view systems that support features such as parking assistance and blind spot detection are also gaining popularity.

Accordingly, technology development aimed at improving the accuracy and efficiency of surround view systems is in full swing. Maxim Integrated's attempt to reduce the overall system cost and design time at the semiconductor level of the surround view system is very impressive.

Replacing 5 parts significantly reduces costs and design time

Maxim announced last July the release of the MAX9286 GMSL (gigabit multimedia serial link) 4-channel deserializer. The 4-channel deserializer is attracting attention for its significance in that it reduces the number of components, thereby saving system design costs and time.
Then, how does a 4-channel deserializer reduce the number of system components and design time? Since the surround view system must process signals from a total of four or more cameras simultaneously, it is structured such that a serializer and a deserializer are connected for each camera, and the FPGA receives and processes each of these signals before transmitting them to the application processor.

However, Maxim's 4-channel deserializer not only integrates four deserializers into one but also eliminates the need for a separate FPGA.

Designed to receive and automatically synchronize video generated by up to four cameras with a single device, the MAX9286 receives and synchronizes video streams from up to four cameras via Shielded Twisted-Pair (STP) or coaxial cable up to 15m long.

The company stated that this solution can be applied not only to surround view systems but also to machine vision and 3D camera systems. Choi Young-kyun, Director of Maxim Integrated Korea, said, "Existing surround view systems were composed of very complex structures using multiple chips. Maxim leveraged the advantages of integration to consolidate them into a single chip, making the system design very simple and lightweight."

As ADAS technology is increasingly applied to automobiles, the related market is also expected to grow rapidly. According to the "Research Results on the Global Market for Core Devices/Components for ADAS" report by market research firm Yano Economic Research Institute, the market for ADAS components was estimated at approximately 2.3625 trillion won last year, an increase of 40.5%. This market is projected to grow to approximately 8.1218 trillion won by 2020, showing an average annual growth rate of 25.2%.