XMOS®, developer of the industry’s first 32-bit event-driven, user-defined embedded processor, announces that Hunter Technology will be using its products to deliver digital audio communication systems for use in train cars. The embedded processing solution, built on the new Audio Video Bridging (AVB) standard, will allow passengers to receive important audio messages that can be directed to specific cars in the train. The system implements complete two-way audio enabling passengers to communicate directly with the conductor or other train personnel in case of an emergency.

“We are pleased to partner with XMOS to give train cars a high performance digital audio two-way communications solution,” said Changyu Park, senior design engineer, Hunter Technology. “We selected XMOS because the company’s event driven processor was easy to use and their complete AVB reference design enabled us to get our product to market much faster than using our previous microcontroller designs. The XMOS architecture will give us a competitive edge in cost and overall product flexibility.”

Traditionally, Hunter Technology has used an analog audio system with bundles containing hundreds of individual wires to carry audio information to every car in the train. The high cost of wire, increasing manufacturing complexity, installation labor cost and analog system maintenance cost had Hunter looking to implement their next generation system using digital technology.

With the new AVB standard, the large bundle of analog wires is replaced with a single Ethernet cable. Multichannel audio content is transmitted to each train car over the same cable as the train’s other digital data. Using the AVB standard greatly reduces implementation cost and simplifies system design. Each train car can use up to 32 XMOS embedded processors to deliver high quality two-way digital audio throughout the passenger area.

Pricing and Availability

The XMOS AVB Audio Endpoint Reference Kit is based on powerful dual-core XMOS embedded processors. Each low-cost hardware kit includes two 100Mbit endpoint boards with high quality clock recovery. Each XMOS powered board has two channels of audio in and two channels of audio out. The complete reference kit integrates AVB protocols, digital audio interfacing, system control and signal processing. The hardware kit is available from XMOS for $349. The XMOS AVB software reference design, including all source code, is available free of charge under a royalty free license from XMOS. AVB endpoint solutions based on XMOS processors can be built for less than $10.

Hunter Technology

Hunter Technology Co. Ltd provides internationally approved “Train Control Systems” and “Network Solutions”. The company was founded to achieve “Technology Independence” in the railway and industrial control field, and is now working to reach world class “Railway E&M Expert Company” status. Hunter Technology creates future value using technology based on continuous research, development and acquirement of other advanced technologies. For more information about Hunter Technology, please visit www.htt.co.kr

XMOS

Headquartered in Bristol, UK, XMOS has developed an event-driven 32-bit, user-defined embedded processor that significantly lowers product development time and bill of materials cost. The revolutionary multithreaded processor combines the code efficiency of a RISC processor, the computational performance of a DSP and the unique flexibility of implementing all peripherals through user-defined “C” software, not in silicon. The XMOS multicore architecture supports high levels of real-time performance with operating system functionality built directly into the hardware architecture. The company was founded in 2005 and has additional offices in Burlingame, CA, Austin, TX, and Chennai, India.  For more information about XMOS and its solutions, please visit www.xmos.com or the open community site at www.xcore.com.