Plugfest Advances Adoption of MIPI I3C Designs

San Jose event assembles MIPI I3C/I3C Basic and Debug for I3C implementers for interoperability testing across multi-vendor devices

PISCATAWAY, N.J., September 26, 2023—The MIPI Alliance, an international organization that develops interface specifications for mobile and mobile-influenced industries, announced the successful completion of a MIPI I3C and Debug for I3C interoperability testing event in San Jose, Calif.

The June 26-27 plugfest, which coincided with MIPI's 63rd member meeting, engaged 26 MIPI I3C/I3C Basic and Debug for I3C implementers from 10 companies in a range of interoperability testing (from initial to advanced) for their designs. An increase in participation and a broader array of devices from previous interoperability testing events signifies the growing importance and breadth of applications for the I3C specification.

Participants tested for interoperability between multi-vendor controller and target devices in a confidential environment with a mix of electronics manufacturers. Acute Technology Inc., Arasan Chip Systems Inc., Binho LLC, Cadence Design Systems, Inc., Intel Corporation, Introspect Technology, Microchip Technology Inc., Prodigy Technovations Pvt. Ltd., STMicroelectronics, and Tektronix Inc., were among the companies involved in the plugfest.

Specifications Tested

• MIPI I3C is a scalable, two-wire utility and control bus interface for connecting peripherals to an application processor, giving developers unprecedented opportunities to craft innovative designs for an array of products—smartphones, personal computers, wearables, IoT devices, systems in automobiles and other devices. Designed as the successor to I2C, I3C incorporates key attributes of the traditional I2C and SPI interfaces to provide a high-performance, very-low-power solution with backward compatibility and a robust, flexible upgrade path. MIPI I3C is available to MIPI members.
• The publicly available, royalty-free MIPI I3C Basic is a subset of I3C that bundles the most commonly needed I3C features for developers and other standards organizations. MIPI I3C Basic has been adopted into JEDEC's Sideband Bus and DDR5 standards, and it has been adopted by ETSI Technical Committee Secure Element Technologies (TC SET) as a physical and logical link layer for the ETSI Smart Secure Platform (SSP).
• MIPI Debug for I3C is a bare-metal interface that allows system designers to debug and test application processors, power management integrated circuits, modems and other power-managed components across a system via the I3C interface.

Public versions of MIPI I3C Basic and MIPI Debug for I3C are available to download and use by developers and the open-source community.

"Plugfests are pivotal gatherings for the evolution of innovation and an opportunity to work together to strengthen the ecosystem," said Sanjiv Desai, chair of MIPI Alliance. "The MIPI I3C and Debug for I3C Plugfest exemplified the power of collaboration to foster seamless integration and efficiency across a breadth of applications, reinforcing the immense potential of the I3C specification."

The next I3C and Debug for I3C plugfest is planned for 2024 in conjunction with the 67th member meeting in Taipei, Taiwan.

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Quotes from MIPI I3C and Debug for I3C Plugfest Participants

"Participating in the MIPI I3C Plugfest was an incredible experience. We were thrilled to demonstrate our expertise, engage in fruitful discussions and contribute to the advancement of I3C technology," said Peiyu Lee, data analyst with Acute Technology Inc. The event reinforced our commitment to innovation and collaboration within the tech community. We look forward to the MIPI I3C Plugfest next year in Taipei, Taiwan."

"Arasan's vision is to enable the rapid adoption of emerging technologies through its Total IP. Standards compliance is a key to adoption of an industry standard to ensure interoperability between vendor devices. Arasan has participated in multiple MIPI I3C interoperability sessions to further our goal of driving I3C adoption," said Arul Lingam, design manager FPGA with Arasan Chip Systems Inc. USA.

"This year's MIPI I3C Plugfest was the perfect venue to test our new USB to I3C Basic host adapter and collect valuable feedback from industry experts," said Jonathan Georgino, founder of Binho LLC. "It's been quite impressive to see how market adoption of I3C has rapidly grown and matured since we attended last year's event in Munich. I3C is now accessible to a much broader audience of developers, and our experience at the plugfest gives us confidence that we are able to provide trustworthy tools to get them up and running quickly and confidently."

"In the whole lifecycle of creating a multi-industry standard, one of the things that needs to happen is multi-vendor interoperability," said Przemyslaw Sroka, principal design engineer in the IP Group at Cadence Design Systems, Inc. "The MIPI Alliance I3C and Debug for I3C Plugfest events provided a forum for learning and allowed adopters to challenge their own assumptions regarding the implementation of devices designed around the MIPI I3C specifications. Cadence has a strong I3C IP offering, and our participation in the plugfest facilitates the broad adoption of the MIPI I3C standard."

"Interoperability testing is an important step in validating new product designs," said Matthew Schnoor, debug architect with Intel Corporation. "The MIPI I3C and Debug for I3C workshop offered a collaborative venue for our team to test key features that interoperate with other products."

"Introspect Technology has been happy to participate in MIPI Alliance interoperability workshops since 2018," said Mohamed Hafed, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Introspect Technology. "Contributing to the MIPI I3C and Debug for I3C Plugfest allows us to play a pivotal role in propelling the industry forward, and to that end, we share our knowledge, expertise and solutions with global electronics manufacturers."

"The I3C Plugfest enabled testing of the PGY-I3C-EX-PD and I3C conformance test suite to the latest implementation of the specification by leading semiconductor companies," said Godfree Coelho, director with Prodigy Technovations Pvt. Ltd. "Overall this event has helped us to authenticate the I3C support in Prodigy Technovations products to provide an industry-best solution."

"STMicroelectronics was excited to bring its technology and I3C team of experts to the San Jose I3C Plugfest, where we could work with other players to successfully test our products," said Géraud Chéenne, corporate standard and alliances strategy with STMicroelectronics. "These interoperability workshops are critical to demonstrate the maturity of our implementation in a wide range of products (including MEMS sensors, microcontrollers and smart power monitors) featuring I3C that are part of the vast ST portfolio. While at the plugfest, ST shared its knowledge and understanding of the MIPI I3C specifications that are becoming ubiquitous in multiple markets with the community of MIPI engineers."

"The I3C Plugfest allowed us to decode software on Tektronix MSO Series 5 and Series 6 oscilloscopes, and also debug and find complex timing issues between I3C host and device systems," said Gajendra Patro, senior application engineer, MIPI solutions, with Tektronix Inc.

About MIPI Alliance

MIPI Alliance (MIPI) develops interface specifications for mobile and mobile-influenced industries. There is at least one MIPI specification in every smartphone manufactured today. Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2023, the organization has over 375 member companies worldwide and more than 15 active working groups delivering specifications within the mobile ecosystem. Members of the organization include handset manufacturers, device OEMs, software providers, semiconductor companies, application processor developers, IP tool providers, automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, and test and test equipment companies, as well as camera, tablet and laptop manufacturers. For more information, please visit www.mipi.org.

MIPI^® and I3C^® are registered trademarks owned by MIPI Alliance. I3C Basic^℠ and Debug for I3C^℠ are service marks of MIPI Alliance.

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