MIPI CSI-2®

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MIPI CSI-2 ® v4.1 (April 2024)
Member version

Conformance Test Suite CTS v1.0 for MIPI CSI-2 v4.0.1
Receiver CTS
Transmitter CTS See previous CTSs on the member website. Related Specifications & Code

Related Specifications: MIPI Camera Command Set (MIPI CCS) MIPI Camera Service Extensions (MIPI CSE) MIPI DisCo for Imaging MIPI A-PHY Protocol Adaptation Layer for CSI-2 (MIPI PAL/CSI-2) Code Projects: MIPI Camera Command Set (CCS) Tools
(Developed by the MIPI Software Working Group) Multi-Pixel Compression (MPC) Example Code

Previous Versions

Available to MIPI members: CSI-2 v4.0.1
CSI-2 v4.0
CSI-2 v3.0
CSI-2 v2.1
CSI-2 v2.0
CSI-2 v1.3
CSI-2 v1.2
CSI-2 v1.1

Overview

MIPI CSI-2 ® , originally introduced in 2005, is the world’s most widely implemented embedded camera and imaging interface. It has achieved widespread adoption for its ease of use and ability to support a broad range of high-performance applications, including 1080p, 4K, 8K and beyond video, and high-resolution photography.

Designers should feel comfortable using MIPI CSI-2 for any single- or multi-camera implementation in far-ranging application spaces such as mobile, augmented and virtual reality, drones, the Internet of Things (IoT), medical devices, industrial systems, automobiles and client devices such as tablets, notebooks and all-in-ones.

The CSI-2 specification is available only to MIPI Alliance members. For information about joining MIPI Alliance, visit Join MIPI.

Fundamental Features

Implementation

CSI-2 is lane-scalable and typically implemented on either a MIPI C-PHY℠ or MIPI D-PHY℠ physical-layer interface for shorter-reach applications, but it also can be implemented over the MIPI A-PHY® long-reach SerDes interface (up to 15m) for use in such applications as automotive advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and in-vehicle infotainment, as well as industrial IoT.

All versions of CSI-2 are backward compatible with previous versions.

Other Key CSI-2 Features

The CSI-2 interface offers a wide range of other valuable performance attributes:

CSI-2 Version Updates

Version 4.1

Version 4.1 adds enhanced support for applications leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) or requiring ultra-low energy consumption. Key updates include:

Version 4.0.1

Version 4.0.1 replaces MIPI deprecated technical terms with more inclusive wording.

Version 4.0

CSI-2 v4.0 delivers significant updates designed to enable greater capabilities for machine awareness across multiple application spaces. It is also the first to support transmission of CSI-2 image frames over the low-cost, low-pin-count MIPI I3C®/I3C Basic℠ two-wire interface. New features include:

Diagrams & Tables

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