DRM Consortium, All India Radio, Mobis India and NXP worked together to launch DRM receivers and chips designed in India for the Indian automotive market
NXP Semiconductors, the world’s largest supplier of automotive semiconductors and Hyundai Mobis, the world’s leading tier-1 automotive supplier, have announced the successful completion of field trials of MOBIS DRM receivers and NXP chips designed in India. The chips and DRM receivers are now deployed in DRM-fitted car infotainment receivers in a newly launched vehicle in India by a leading carmaker.
DRM is an innovative digital radio standard that has been deployed in emerging markets such as India. DRM provides FM-comparable, or better audio quality on the AM radio band. Since AM radio covers more than 98 percent of the population in India, and only 37 percent of listeners can currently receive the FM signal, DRM significantly improves radio coverage and quality. This technology is affordable and provides additional data services such as traffic updates, natural disaster warnings and news.
The development and deployment, showcased at a DRM Round Table conference on January 31, was made possible by a regional collaboration between All India Radio, NXP Semiconductors, Hyundai Mobis, and the DRM Consortium. At the event, the NXP’s SATURN + HERO Chipset demo and DRM receiver fitted vehicle generated huge interest and was experienced by Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Venkaiah Naidu, and delegates from the public, government and the automotive and consumer industries.
Bob Paul Raj, head of multimedia division, Mobis Technical Center India, said, “Mobis India is a believer in Make in India and has been working with NXP on the design of this world-class radio entertainment system with DRM functions. The two firms have cooperated on comprehensive field trials from design stage to final product to ensure the solution meets the requirements of the Indian market. Hyundai Mobis’ demonstration of live DRM reception in a car at a DRM round table ahead of the BES event in New Delhi confirmed the company’s leadership image by innovating ahead of the curve and offering the latest technological solutions to its consumers. The work and tests which have been carried out highlight that DRM in India is a reality and that the auto industry is at the forefront of the Indian digital radio roll-out.”
Ashok Chandak, senior director, NXP Semiconductors South Asia Pacific, commented, “It is incredibly exciting to have participated in this DRM rollout in India. With this launch, NXP is one of the world’s first semiconductor companies to demonstrate digital audio across all three global standards from the same car radio co-processor — a real milestone for NXP. We’re also proud that our R&D center in India has played such a pivotal role in developing the chip (SATURN – SAF360X) and software for this technology. Field trials and testing receivers that will enhance the consumer experience in the car.”
Welcoming this achievement, Ruxandra Obreja, chairman DRM Consortium added, “Many millions of people in India who haven’t had a chance to receive and experience FM radio quality before will soon be able to enjoy digital radio, so it’s great to be playing a role in making this happen. All India Radio is about to complete the nationwide installations of the DRM transmitters, and the availability of DRM receivers in automobile vehicles will pave the way for more companies to roll out DRM receivers there by enabling digital music and value added services such as news, alerts, sports, etc., to the citizens of the country. This will also give All India Radio reasons to increase the transmission power of the DRM transmitters and provide world-class content to the listeners.”
