An instrument cluster, created to resemble a traffic light, is the visual outlet for a new software infrastructure from DSI.

A just-released software package from Diversified Software Industries, Inc. (DSI) that manages in-vehicle information presentations "is so open and flexible that it can support applications today and in the future," said Brian Payne, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the Coralville, Iowa-based company. "So if new legislation comes into play, our framework will be able to support the changes."

The set-up works like this for an OEM or tier one supplier: by using the IVIS (IN-Vehicle Information System) Graphical User Interface Design Environment (GUIDE) tool, a designer configures - in a drag-and-drop Windows setting - a display for presenting in-vehicle visuals and information. Anything from an analog representation of the instrument cluster to telematics offerings, navigation instructions, radio controls, and HVAC settings can be designed via IVIS. (Content and graphical options presented in in-vehicle displays are automaker-selected.) IVIS then provides the software framework for plug-and-play communications management, data warehousing, and display management.

"We took a generic approach to supporting hardware and software platforms - allowing our software to support user-specified combinations, not one proprietary platform. You can use any microprocessor or operating system, depending on the target application. The display solution is flexible as well - supporting different technologies, resolutions, and vendors," said Ron Stahlberg, Manager of Graphics Technology. (IVIS also is designed to work with any vehicle data bus.)

The software framework permits mobile devices such as cell phones and personal digital assistants to be linked into the display zone(s). The system can be activated by mechanical interfaces, touch screen, or voice recognition.

IVIS incorporates DSI's proprietary Embedded Graphic Libraries, which provides real-time 'anti-aliasing,' color management, and loss-less image compression.

Following three years of DSI development work, IVIS resulted in a pending-patent with 19 claims. Certain claims support a central claim, which is an in-vehicle information system that connects to multiple in-vehicle devices and provides the following:

• Data sharing between individual devices
• A display resource to facilitate the showing of information from the individual devices
• The ability to have the different data items prioritized so that the system can determine the appropriate data to display based on defined priorities, user requests to the system, and vehicle status
• The ability to have off-board and on-board applications providing data to the system
• The ability for data to be displayed in real-time.

"The patent also encompasses the processing methods and architecture for the system," noted Jim Griffin, President and CEO of DSI.