MIPI Alliance releases I3C interface specification for more seamless sensors system integration

The proliferation of sensors in mobile devices requires an increasing number of logic pins for sensor communication and control.  In a typical application, multiple digital communication interfaces (e.g. SPI, I²C, UART, and others) are used along with supporting logic signals for interrupt and sleep functionalities.  Top tier smartphones include 10 or more sensors, which are supported by 20 or more logic signals.  This takes up a lot of “real estate” and requires many dedicated pins.  The MIPI I3C interface is a new standard that improves on the features of the two-wire I²C, while maintaining backward compatibility.  MIPI’s new interface aims to standardize sensor communications by reducing the number of physical pins used in sensor system integration, and it supports low-power, high-speed communications.  We had an opportunity to speak with Ken Foust, who has been chairing the MIPI Alliance Sensor Working Group, and discussed the feedback from the sensors community to date, comparison to the other sensor interface standards, and next steps in the interface development roadmap.