Analog DevicesEVAL-AD2428WD1BZEntwicklungssätze und Werkzeuge

BEYOND AUTOMOTIVE

A²B is a high bandwidth, bidirectional, digital audio bus. A²B is capable of transporting I²S/TDM/PDM data and I²C control information, along with clock and power, using a single, 2-wire UTP cable over distances up to 15 m between nodes and 40 m over the entire daisy chain. A²B can be used as its own network with embedded sub-networks, or as an endpoint transport bus used in combination with other, longer distance protocols. The clock is synchronous on all nodes in a single A²B network. Microphone and serial audio data is received on each node in the system simultaneously.

Advantages of A²B Audio Bus

Configurable, Flexible, Low Risk and Easy to Use

A²B transceivers allow an I²C host to access all transceivers in a system. Designing an A²B enabled system is simplified using the SigmaStudio® graphical design environment—the same development tool that supports the Analog Devices SigmaDSP® and SHARC® processor families. A broad array of full-featured evaluation systems is available to quickly prototype an A²B network and facilitate early system proof of concept, test, verification, and debug.

Reduced System & Cable Costs, Weight, & Complexity

A²B eliminates the need for an expensive microcontroller and external memory. The transceiver’s ability to provide power to remote nodes over the same UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair) cable used to transport data removes the need for a local power supply on each bus-powered slave node, reducing the overall system BOM costs. The UTP cable provides system-level cost savings when compared to other digital bus architectures that may require two or three twisted-pair connections or a costly cabling scheme, such as the heavy cable harnesses required to connect audio systems in vehicles.

Superior Audio Quality

With a configurable 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz frame rate and up to a 50 Mbps bandwidth, A²B is ideal for transporting digital audio and delivers superior audio quality relative to analog connections. System nodes support up to 32 bus slots in each direction, and the slot widths are programmable up to 32-bit, thereby supporting I²S and numerous TDM configurations up to TDM32. PDM input is also natively supported, with the transceiver decimating the input to PCM format before placing it on the A²B bus.

Deterministic Low Latency

A²B technology ensures simultaneous sampling and delivery of data on all system nodes for each frame. The frame structure is fully managed at the master node to program each transceiver’s use of the available data slots in both directions, whether to contribute, extract, or read and pass data on to the next node in the line topology. Delays due to bus collisions or the reassembly of packetized data are removed. A²B features deterministic and very low, sub 50 µs latency.

A²B Solves Automotive and Other Audio Market Challenges

Automotive and Transportation

- Audio ECU
- Active noise cancellation
- Road noise cancellation
- Personal audio zones/active speakers
- eCall and telematics systems
- Autonomous driving systems
- Smart radio connectivity

Building Technology (Smart Buildings)

- Microphone arrays for hands-free/speech recognition
- A/V conference rooms
- Residential intercom systems

Consumer

- ProAV
- Vital signs monitoring (wearables)
- Home theater

Arrow Thor96 Human Machine Interface Platform

The Thor96 Board is a single-board computer powered by the NXP i.MX 8M SoC, incorporating a quad-core 64-bit Arm-A53, dedicated GPU and VPU, 4K support, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and a wide range of I/O. 96Boards is a 32-bit and 64-bit ARM® Open Platform hosted by Linaro™ with the intension to serve the software/ maker and embedded OEM communities. It includes an A2B interface and driver demo.

Additional Resources

The Analog Devices A²B® Eco-System for Next Generation Audio & Video Connectivity
Innovative A²B® & C²B® Technologies for Autonomous Driving Systems
Analog Devices A²B®: A Revolutionary Eco-System for Audio & Voice Connectivity