The automotive industry is still largely at the beginning of its journey to reshape how the electrical and electronic (E/E) architecture of vehicles  will be implemented.
The classic decentralized approach to the automotive E/E architecture no longer meets the needs of today’s, increasing electrification of vehicle. More new functions led to more ECUECU – electronic control unit – is an embedded system in automotive electronics that controls one or more of the electrical systems or subsystems in a car or other motor vehicle. ECU in new cars control every feature a car has and are becoming more and more important in the development of automotives. More.
With Controller Area Network (CANCAN- Controller Area Network – is a vehicle bus to allow devices to communicate with each other without a host computer. More), Local Interconnect Network (LINLIN – Local Interconnect Network – also called LIN-bus is a communication system to connect different sensors and actuators. More), Media Oriented Systems Transport (MOSTMOST- Media Oriented Systems transport – is a bus system to transfer Audio, video, voice and data signals over optical fibers or over electrical conductors. More), and FlexRayFlexRay –  is a scalable, flexible high-speed communication system that is designed to meet the growing safety-related requirements in automobiles More, each domain, from infotainment and chassis to powertrain and body and comfort, were implemented so far with an appropriately automotive networking technology.

From Decentralized to Zonal Control
Instead, the in-vehicle networks are being upgraded to support simpler connectivity with sufficient bandwidth to allow a small number of zonal, central controllers and high performance computers to handle multiple functions, coupled with a reduced number of classic ECUs.

From Decentralized to Zonal Control

History

Vehicles have gone from being mechanical marvels to software-defined rolling computers. The automotive industry is still largely at the beginning of its journey to reshape how the electrical and electronic (E/E) architecture of vehicles will be implemented. Electronic control units (ECUECU – electronic control unit – is an embedded system in automotive electronics that controls one or more of the electrical systems or subsystems in a car or other motor vehicle. ECU in new cars control every feature a car has and are becoming more and more important in the development of automotives. More) handling individual functions within the vehicle have long been the approach to electrifying previously mechanical functions. New functions led to more ECUs. As a result, even a basic vehicle model contains around 70 ECUs, with premium models featuring well over 100. With the introduction of connectivity such as Controller Area Network (CANCAN- Controller Area Network – is a vehicle bus to allow devices to communicate with each other without a host computer. More), Local Interconnect Network (LINLIN – Local Interconnect Network – also called LIN-bus is a communication system to connect different sensors and actuators. More), Media Oriented Systems Transport (MOSTMOST- Media Oriented Systems transport – is a bus system to transfer Audio, video, voice and data signals over optical fibers or over electrical conductors. More), and FlexRayFlexRay –  is a scalable, flexible high-speed communication system that is designed to meet the growing safety-related requirements in automobiles More, each domain, from infotainment and chassis to powertrain and body and comfort, were provided with an appropriately dimensioned automotive networking technology (Figure 1). Each ensured enough bandwidth and sufficient functional safety at an acceptable price point, linked together in a decentralized architecture. As a result, the wiring harness has become the third heaviest and third most expensive component in the modern vehicle and the addition of new, differentiating features often demands yet another connectivity technology. The classic decentralized approach to the automotive E/E architecture no longer meets the needs of today’s, increasing electrification of vehicle.
However, the vehicle original equipment manufacturers (OEMOEM – Original Equipment Manufacturer. More) look to differentiate their products add more advanced safety features (ADASADAS – Advanced Driver Assistance System – supports the driver with the handling of the automotive. They are often used to increase the safety, efficiency or the comfort of the ride. The systems use sensors to record the driving situation, process the collected information with the aid of computer technology and provide the driver with visual, acoustic or haptic feedback. In some cases, they intervene autonomously or semi-autonomously in the control and operation of the vehicle, for example by operating the accelerator, brake, signaling or steering. This can extend all the way to fully autonom… More), it is obvious the old one-feature-per-box approach is no longer tenable.

Centralized Zone-ECU
Instead, the in-vehicle networks are being upgraded to support simpler connectivity with sufficient bandwidth to allow a small number of zonal, central controllers and high performance computers to handle multiple functions, coupled with a reduced number of classic ECUs. With the use of multicore system-on-chip (SoCSoC – System on Chip – is a microchip with all the necessary electronic circuits and parts for a specific system all this in a single integrated circuit. More) processors (well established in the industry), the challenge is to ensure that these devices have the connectivity needed by these new zonal controller-based E/E architectures.
The approach being taken is toward a zonal architecture (Figure 2). Each vehicle is equipped with one or two (for backup reasons) high-performance computers (HPCHPC  – High-Power-Charger. Charging power up to 950V and 500 Ampere / 450kW More) and several powerful zone ECUs. These connect to a high-speed network tuned to the needs of automotive and based upon the well-established and understood Ethernet technology.
Functionality, e.g. the control of Matrix-LED Headlights, is implemented in software. The inputs required, from cameras to steering wheel angle, are fed from sensors around the vehicle to the zone controller hosting the software function Adaptive Driving Beam (ADB). From here, commands are issued to each headlamp cluster ECUECU – electronic control unit – is an embedded system in automotive electronics that controls one or more of the electrical systems or subsystems in a car or other motor vehicle. ECU in new cars control every feature a car has and are becoming more and more important in the development of automotives. More. Should the software algorithm be improved, or a bug be found, this software function can be updated via an over-the-air (OTAOTA – automotive over-the-air- is the new way cars use to automatically update their firmware and software. The manufacturer uploads the update data to a cloud, which is then forwarded to the car via a mobile connection, where it must be confirmed by the car owner, then installed, and finally feedback is sent back to the OEM. More) update.

Ethernet Tuned to the Needs of Automotive
Ethernet is a well-established networking technology that has continuously been updated and revised to meet the demands of IT systems and Internet connectivity. However, this IEEE standard technology is primarily focused on reliable data delivery and less on end-to-end delivery timing requirements. New extensions to the Ethernet standard have been developed to ensure bandwidth can be reserved for video and audio data and to guarantee that connected nodes can operate synchronously.

• Toshiba study: Ethernet-based high-speed communication for Zonal Architectures and Telematics systems
• KEYSIGHT: Advancing the autonomous vehicle ecosystem
• shutterstock