DSRC transceiver for FPGA

[vinivj]

Is there any DSRC transceiver module (IEEE 802.11p), the wireless communication protocol for vehicles, that is compatible with FPGA board? I would like to interface it with Zybo board. Could someone provide input on this?

[zygot]

Well, since no one has bitten on this yet I suppose that I can give it a shot; though you won't like my response.

Your first problem is starting with " I have an FPGA platform; how can I do...."

I suggest starting with the goal and working backward. You can do a search for "DSRC modem modules" as well as anyone else. Would you expect to find a module with limited applications designed for a particular low cost FPGA board?

As to compatibility I'm sure that you can design an interface between a DSRC modem board to some FPGA platform.

Start with vendors supporting your modem and see who might provide EVM kits for evaluation.

[vinivj]

@zygot Thank you for your response.

I have searched for "DSRC modem modules" and I could find some from NXP and Autotalks. However, I could not get clear understanding of those products and their compatibility with other processors. So, I thought of getting help through this forum.

I have zybo board in hand and I am in need to interface DSRC module with that board. My application is related to vehicular communication and so I am left with no other option for now.

I am not sure about designing interface between a DSRC modem and FPGA platform.

I am actually new to all these and so looking for suggestion to find the right vendor itself.

[zygot]

1 hour ago, vinivj said:

I have zybo board in hand and I am in need to interface DSRC module with that board.

So, it's been said that "necessity is the mother of invention". I agree with that. Inventing, or engineering doesn't involve luck.

Let's sort this out.

I am familiar with RF modems but not DSRC modems specifically. I did a quick search and found what you found. This looks to me to be a thing restricted to a fairly restricted arena of applications. If  the big component vendors like Ti, Analog Devices, etc. aren't interested in investing in a particular technology then that should tell you something about the availability of ready to use modules for a low cost FPGA platform like the Zybo. This board is fine for getting experience working with the Xilinx tools and experimenting with connecting a limited set of ready made peripheral boards and delving into HDL design. The PMOD is popular enough that a few vendors have even made PMOD EVM boards for a few of their products for evaluation purposes. If you can't find a PMOD that allows you to use a particular technology or interface can you design one on your own?

So those are three issues to consider, as a start:

1. Is the Zybo a suitable platform for your project?
2. Does a  ready made add-on board with support exist to add a DSRC modem to your project platform?
3. Are you able to do the engineering to design an interface to a DSRC if one exists
4. Can you afford to do what you want to do?

1 hour ago, vinivj said:

However, I could not get clear understanding of those products and their compatibility with other processors

Well, this would suggest that the answer to question #3 is no. Unfortunately, you can't answer question #1 if you don't understand how a DSRC works, and how to design an interface to use one. If the answer to question #2 were yes, then things would be easy. I'm pretty sure that the answer to question #2 is no. I suspect that the answer to question #4 is also no since you seem to have made your commitment to a platform "in hand that you need to use".

It would be amazing if anyone reading this thread were to reply and tell you that what you need already exists and they have a git project waiting to help you on your way. Unfortunately, amazing and luck are extremely rare partners in technology. Amazing and innovative are. But innovation takes knowledge and investment.

As I mentioned the Zybo is a fairly limited platform designed for use in a walled garden. But when considering how to accomplish an objective one can't start with what one has. Start with what your project needs to accomplish. Then figure out if the parts are available and affordable. Then figure out how your hardware/software will work and connect to the outside world. Lastly, if all of that gets worked out you can draw a diagram of the project parts and make selections of what's needed and fits your budget.

If you can't afford to build hardware that doesn't necessarily mean that you can't accomplish anything; perhaps just a limited version of the project as initially conceived.

 

[vinivj]

20 hours ago, zygot said:

I am familiar with RF modems but not DSRC modems specifically.

Will there be RF modems operating at 5.8 to 5.9 GHz frequency? Even that would suit my objective, if available (for FPGA).

20 hours ago, zygot said:

The PMOD is popular enough that a few vendors have even made PMOD EVM boards for a few of their products for evaluation purposes. If you can't find a PMOD that allows you to use a particular technology or interface can you design one on your own?

Available PMODs actually made me to choose Zybo board as my objective includes interfacing GPS and a display (in addition to DSRC module). I am not sure about designing a PMOD on my own...having time constraints.

 

20 hours ago, zygot said:

So those are three issues to consider, as a start:

1. Is the Zybo a suitable platform for your project?

As I mentioned above, I have to interface other modules (which are available as PMODs) and hence I am going with Zybo. If I get suggestion on another low cost FPGA that would suit DSRC module interface, I would be glad to choose that one too. 

20 hours ago, zygot said:

1. Is the Zybo a suitable platform for your project?
2. Does a  ready made add-on board with support exist to add a DSRC modem to your project platform?

 

I have put up this question here in this forum to get an answer exactly to this question.

20 hours ago, zygot said:

1. Is the Zybo a suitable platform for your project?
2. Does a  ready made add-on board with support exist to add a DSRC modem to your project platform?
3. Are you able to do the engineering to design an interface to a DSRC if one exists

I am not sure about that really.

20 hours ago, zygot said:

1. Is the Zybo a suitable platform for your project?
2. Does a  ready made add-on board with support exist to add a DSRC modem to your project platform?
3. Are you able to do the engineering to design an interface to a DSRC if one exists
4. Can you afford to do what you want to do?

I could afford if I get a better option to proceed. 

Except for the DSRC modem interface, I find Zybo a better option to accomplish my objective. 

Just wondering if RF transceiver could serve the purpose?

[zygot]

50 minutes ago, vinivj said:

Will there be RF modems operating at 5.8 to 5.9 GHz frequency?

There certainly are SDR modems available that operate in that range. But, operating range is not everything. There's the data bandwidth consideration. There's the SDR interface ( the Zybo does have a USB 2.0 OTG port but are you prepared to write your own driver?). There are particular DSRC protocol and modulation/demodulation specifics... etc, etc. Usually, you have to pay a lot of money to join an association to get the specifications and standards to develop you own application for such things. I don't think that you appreciate the complexities of how typical SDRs work.

I appreciate the thought that you've put into this but it's all moot if you can't find a DSRC modem with a downstream USB interface or Ethernet interface. It's very unlikely that you would be able to use a free PMOD ( 8 single ended < 10 Mhz 3.3V IOs ) to make a custom interface to anything that I've seen related to what's available. Admittedly, I haven't tried too hard.

Again, committing to a platform architecture that's half thought out, and missing a key element,  is a dangerous way to live.

But this is just my personal perspective. Who knows perhaps amazing+luck is around the corner.

[vinivj]

@zygot Thank you for your explanation.

I understand the complexity behind SDR working. 

47 minutes ago, zygot said:

Again, committing to a platform architecture that's half thought out, and missing a key element,  is a dangerous way to live.

This is true. Will work on it as per your suggestion.

[zygot]

2 minutes ago, vinivj said:

I understand the complexity behind SDR working. 

The you understand how devilish the details can get. Decoding stereo FM from an SDR with readily available software tools  is one thing. Decoding something involving complex FEC, equalization, and other proprietary functions is quite another. Stick with finding a working DSRC platform that you might have a shot at using within a reasonable time frame.

[vinivj]

4 minutes ago, zygot said:

Stick with finding a working DSRC platform that you might have a shot at using within a reasonable time frame.

Sure... Hoping to find one soon...

[zygot]

There are two general approaches to dealing with resolving complicated problems.

One is to work out the easy, trivial, straight-forward stuff first and worry about the rest later. I've found that facing the hardest, scariest stuff first is always a better approach. Better to find out the bad news as early as possible... for a number of reasons. I wouldn't want to fund a start-up that did things the first way.

Find something that provide the DSRC functionality and potentially workable as a system component and perhaps we'll have something specific, and more productive,  to discuss.