Automotive pixel link

Automotive pixel link, or APIX, is a serial high speed gigabit multichannel link to interconnect displays, cameras and control units over one single cable targeting automotive applications. APIX2 transmits up to two independent high-resolution real-time video channels and has bidirectional protected data communication with Ethernet, SPI, and I2C, including 8 channels for audio.

APIX, APIX2 and APIX3 were designed by INOVA Semiconductors based in Munich, Germany. INOVA provides its own chips and licences the IP to other semiconductor suppliers such as Fujitsu, Toshiba, Analog Devices, Cypress, and Socionext.

Popularity
The standard is used by a growing number of car OEMs especially in the infotainment area.

It was licensed in 2008 by Fujitsu for use in their automotive controllers. There are also Commercial off-the-shelf boards available from e.g. Congatec. There are also implementations as IP block for Xilinx FPGAs.

Specifications
APIX (or APIX1), which is on lifetime buy through the end of 2019, allows for:
 * Two- or Four-Wire Full Duplex Link
 * Up to 1 Gbit/s Downstream Link
 * Up to 62.5 Mbit/s max Upstream Link
 * Low EMI
 * Wide spread spectrum pixel clock
 * More than 15 m distance with low profile STP cables
 * 10/12/18/24 bit pixel Interface



APIX2  allows for higher link speeds and more flexibility:
 * It can mix various data streams, including SPI, I2C or Ethernet
 * 500 Mbit/s, 1 Gbit/s and 3 Gbit/s sustained downstream link bandwidth
 * 187.5 Mbit/s upstream link bandwidth
 * Single/dual channel LVDS 18 or 24 bit
 * Video resolution up to 1280x720x24bit (720p) / 2 x 1280x720x18 bit / 1600x600x24 bit @ 60 Hz



APIX3 adds higher link speeds:
 * Support STP (shielded twisted pair), QTP (quad twisted pair) and co-axial
 * Link bandwidth of 6 Gbit/s over STP and 12 Gbit/s over QTP
 * Video resolution up to HD and Ultra HD