New Mobile Specification Could Foster IoT Development

The MIPI Alliance, an international body concerned with the development of mobile interface standards, has issued a new specification with applications across smartphones, the automotive sector, wearables, and the Internet of Things more broadly. It’s called MIPI I3C.

The specification is designed to integrate multiple sensors on a single device, using a chip-to-chip interface that’s designed to connect all of the device’s various sensors to one processor. According to the MIPI Alliance, the specification allows for speeds of up to 12.5 MHz while using very little power – qualities that could make it ideal for the IoT, which is expected to comprise many devices that must always be on.

Pointing to more specific applications for MIPI I3C, the MIPI Alliance asserted in a statement that the specification could be “used to build smartphones, virtual-reality head-mounted devices, robot drones, medical instruments, autonomous vehicles, industrial equipment, all-in-one computers, and TV remotes, among others.”

The standard is the product of wide industry collaboration. It was developed by the MIPI Alliance Sensor Working Group, comprising organizations including Google, Intel, Sony, STMicroelectronics, and Qualcomm; many if not all of which are currently working on solutions for the IoT.