MIPI Alliance Releases MIPI I3C Sensor Interface Specification

The MIPI Alliance, an international organization that develops interface specifications for mobile and mobile-influenced industries, today released MIPI I3C, Improved Inter-Integrated Circuit, a sensor interface specification that streamlines sensor integration in smartphones, IoT devices and automotive systems.

“Today’s release of MIPI I3C is an important milestone because it brings together multiple sensor interface approaches around a unifying specification,” said Joel Huloux, chairman of the board, MIPI Alliance.

MIPI I3C Addresses Sensor Integration Challenges

MIPI I3C supports the proliferation of sensors in mobile-connected products, giving developers a greater choice of design options, reduces system-level implementation costs, and helps shorten time-to-market for new applications.

MIPI I3C delivers these benefits by incorporating and advancing I2C, SPI and UART with a new approach. The solution is comprehensive and scalable, and provides a superset of features and functionalities while supporting legacy devices.

MIPI I3C specifies a chip-to-chip interface that can connect all sensors in a device to the application processor. It is implemented on a standard CMOS I/O using two wires. The specification achieves clock rates up to 12.5 MHz and provides options for higher performance, high-data rate modes. It uses a fraction of the power while providing more than an order of magnitude the bandwidth compared to I2C.

Industry Collaboration on MIPI I3C

The MIPI Alliance Sensor Working Group developed MIPI I3C to ensure the specification benefits companies across the sensor ecosystem. Participating companies: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Analogix Semiconductor, Inc., Cadence Design Systems, Inc., Google, Inc., Intel Corporation, Knowles Electronics, Lattice Semiconductor Corp., MediaTek Inc., NXP Semiconductor, Qualcomm Incorporated, QuickLogic, Sony Corporation, STMicroelectronics, Synopsys Inc. and others.

Source: MIPI Alliance release