CSR Drives the Pace of Automotive Bluetooth Uptake; Hands-Free Car Kit Example Design Provides a Quick and Easy Route to Market.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

RICHARDSON, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 24, 2003

CSR (Cambridge Silicon Radio) today launched a ready-engineered example of a Bluetooth-enabled hands-free car kit.

The example design, called AutoSira, will provide car manufacturers and their suppliers with a quick and easy route to market and enable them to benefit from CSR's experience in the automotive sector. AutoSira is based on BlueCore, CSR's proven Bluetooth silicon, and includes all the Bluetooth software, data and schematics required while leaving space for the individual designer to incorporate their own specific features and functionality. The example design is available now on CSR's website (www.csr.com) and includes bill of materials and application notes.

CSR's BlueCore2-External allows designs that can be tailored to suit both after-market type solutions and embedded OEM type solutions. BlueCore2-External contains a 16-bit RISC microcontroller, on which CSR has implemented a Virtual Machine (VM). The VM makes it possible to create a bespoke application without the designer having to reconfigure the existing Bluetooth stack. As the VM is layered on pre-qualified RFCOMM firmware the time and cost of qualifying a new Bluetooth product is greatly reduced. Schematics for the AutoSira design include both PIO (Parallel Input Output) and UART control.

CSR's BlueCore is the only Bluetooth silicon on the market guaranteed to operate across, or indeed exceed, the full temperature range for in-cabin electronics systems of -40degC to +105degC. CSR is also the only automotive grade Bluetooth solution available which can run the complete Bluetooth protocol stack and application software on-chip, without the need for an optional external microprocessor. CSR's mature single-chip automotive Bluetooth device is produced under very stringent QS-9000 and PPAP (Production Part Approval Process) automotive requirements and is available in a 0.8mm pitch package for low cost printed circuit board construction.

Fitting a traditional in-car hands-free kit often involves matching the interface to a specific handset, resulting in the need to reconfigure the entire kit, should the user change handset. An in-car Bluetooth connection eliminates the need for a cradle completely, and as the AutoSira includes CSR's BlueCore2-External, a Class 2 device with a range of at least 10m, a user's handset could still be in use while in your bag or even in the boot.

Anthony Murray, Bluetooth Automotive Specialist, CSR commented, "As legislation veers towards increased restriction on the use of mobile phones in cars, Bluetooth is expected to play a pivotal role in enabling the safer use of handsets in cars." Murray continued, "Audi has already identified the benefits of Bluetooth and has taken the step of integrating CSR's BlueCore technology into its vehicles. With this ready-engineered handsfree design example, CSR is able to lead automotive manufacturers to take a technological leap."

Bluetooth in-car handsfree kits are likely to play a key role as handsfree operation of mobiles becomes preferable, and increasingly, legally required in the near future. Industry experts estimate that up to 70 percent of all mobile phone calls are made from cars. Bluetooth hands-free systems provide a safe, convenient alternative and are already proving to be a successful application for automotive Bluetooth.

Future applications are likely to include vehicle diagnostics and personalisation features where the car can identify its user by the handset that they carry, so for example, the vehicle's temperature and seat position could be adjusted accordingly.

About CSR

CSR (Cambridge Silicon Radio) specializes in providing single-chip radio devices to the global market for short-range wireless communications, including Bluetooth(TM). The company's mission is to create the most highly integrated radio devices available, fabricated using standard CMOS technology, to provide its customers with the lowest cost of ownership of high quality digital radio.

CSR was the first company in the world to offer a true single-chip Bluetooth solution with BlueCore, a fully integrated 2.4 GHz radio, baseband and microcontroller. In Q4 2001 CSR released BlueCore2, its second generation family, and offer developed hardware/software bundles for each of the fastest growing Bluetooth applications markets. Users can combine the chips with the CSR Bluetooth software stack to provide a fully compliant solution for data and voice communications or, used with an upper layer host software stack, CSR is able to offer a complete Bluetooth end-to-end solution.

CSR has a growing list of major international companies including Microsoft Corp, NEC, Toshiba, Samsung, Sony, Compaq, IBM, Fujitsu, LG, ALPS, TDK, 3Com, Mitsumi, Siemens and Motorola, who have already used CSR's BlueCore in the development of a range of Bluetooth products. In fact, 70 percent of available pre-qualified modules, as listed on the qualified products page of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) web site, feature BlueCore and it is in 59 percent of all qualified Bluetooth v 1.1 enabled end product designs.

CSR is headquartered in Cambridge, UK, with offices in Richardson, Texas; Tokyo, Japan; Singapore and Aalborg, Denmark.

More information about CSR can be found at www.csr.com and the CSR partner web site www.btdesigner.com

image available upon request