Toshiba drives performance of digital instrument clusters with new Capricorn-H controller

You may not know it, but the QNX OS powers a variety of digital instrument clusters, in vehicles such as the Jaguar XJ and the Land Rover Range Rover. To create these clusters, automotive designers need graphics silicon that can pack a lot of performance, simplify system design, and keep costs down. Not an easy combination.

To address these requirements, Toshiba Electronics Europe has just launched Capricorn-H, a display controller for instrument clusters and other in-car displays.

Equipped with an ARM Cortex-A9 multi-core processor, Capricorn-H is a compact, integrated device that incorporates all of the functions and peripherals needed to control TFT panels and to display high-quality 2D/3D graphics. To reduce costs, the controller features a ‘Magic Square’ algorithm for delivering 24-bit performance from lower-cost 18-bit displays. And to simplify the display of virtual speedometers and tachometers, the controller uses a 2D graphics engine with high-performance rotation, transformation, and scaling functions.

Key features:

Dual output, five-plane display controller

3D and 2D graphics engines

Dual programmable shader pipeline architecture

Support for displays up to 12.3"

2MB embedded SRAM

3-channel, full CAN bus transceiver

MOST (Media Oriented Systems Transport) Media-LB interface

I²C, I²S, and USB interfaces

If you're a QNX developer and want to test-drive Capricorn-H, you're in luck: QNX has posted a board support package (BSP) on Foundry27, the QNX community portal. To download the BSP, click here.

For more information on the Capricorn-H, read the press release.