Automotive executives from Munich to Tokyo are scratching their heads at how Ford managed to trump the industry with the Sync, an elegant, innovative, and inexpensive approach to vehicle infotainment electronics integration and control.
For those looking for the Sync's secret sauce, the answer lies in its low-cost design built around two chips from Freescale Semiconductor—an applications processor and a microcontroller—according to preliminary data from iSuppli Corp.'s Teardown Analysis service.
Sync swims
Ford has stolen a march on the rest of the auto business with the Sync's impressive functionality and low cost. Other auto makers are smarting in the face of Ford's triumph because of the high costs they are facing to develop similar systems. While iSuppli has not produced a complete estimate of the Sync's component costs, the analysis of the six major semiconductor components indicates the device is far less expensive to produce than comparable products from other car manufacturers that can cost as much as $800.
Sync is a multimedia platform that supports the integration of mobile phones and media players into a vehicle's audio system. The system is voice-controlled and is available in cars from the company's Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury brands.
Beyond this, Sync will offer something that no other competing system currently does—software downloads via the Sync Web portal. This feature will allow users to update the Sync unit and add functionality throughout the life of the vehicle.
Another advantage of Sync is that Ford's design and development efforts were focused on creating a platform architecture, allowing the company to develop a single solution that could be implemented in multiple vehicles. The result is that vehicle development teams at Ford have been spared the requirement to repeat unnecessary and costly testing steps on a range of vehicles, and can easily implement Sync to autos ranging from the high-end Lincoln MKX to the low-end Ford Focus.
The table below presents the major integrated circuits in the Sync, based on iSuppli's preliminary teardown analysis. Some devices may be sourced by multiple manufacturers, causing potential variations in suppliers between individual Sync products. The table does not include all components in the Sync and is presented to highlight major chips in the device.
Freescale inside
U.S. semiconductor supplier Freescale is the supplier of the main multimedia chip on the Sync, the i.MX31L. The i.MX31L is a 400 MHz applications processor based on an ARM11 microprocessor core that hosts Microsoft's operating system, handles voice recognition and conducts all audio signal processing including WMA, AAC and MP3. The chip also implements echo-noise cancellation for hands-free calling.
ISuppli estimates the cost of the i.MX31L at $10.80.
Freescale also contributed the Sync's Controller Area Network (CAN) bus microcontroller, the MC9S12XDP512, which has an estimated cost of $5. The CAN bus provides a communications pathway for vehicle electronics.
Together, the two chips have a cost of $15.80, giving Freescale the largest portion of value of any semiconductor supplier contributing to the Sync.
More Sync semiconductors
Another notable chip in the version of the Sync torn down by iSuppli include Cambridge Silicon Radio's BC41B143A BlueCore device. This CSR chip includes support for phone book, media control, audio transfer, and hands-free functionality. ISuppli estimates the device costs $1.75.
Cirrus Logic contributed the audio codec, the CS42448, costing $1.65.
Also present in the individual Sync torn down by iSuppli was a 256 Mbit mobile double data rate (DDR) SDRAM from Micron Technology, at a cost of $4.80.
The Sync also included a 2 Gbit NAND-type flash memory chip from Samsung Electronics, costing $3.80.
Driving to market
Ford has signed an 18-month exclusivity agreement with Microsoft to sell Sync. However, other manufacturers will be pushing to offer similar levels of connectivity before the end of this period of exclusivity.
Price will still be the biggest headache for vehicle manufacturers as most only offer USB and Bluetooth in an integrated headunit configuration that is much more expensive than Sync.
Richard Robinson is principal analyst for Automotive Electronics at iSuppli Corporation, which provides technology value-chain research and advisory services. ISuppli provides market intelligence services for the EMS, OEM and supplier communities in addition to servicing consumer electronics and media concerns. These services range from electronic component research to device-specific application market forecasts, from teardown analysis to consumer electronics, and from display device and systems research to multimedia content and services.
