Abstract
Automotive electric/electronic systems are facing complex challenges. Standalone systems are reaching their functional limits. Additional functionality is created by combining functions based on shared information. Consequently this leads to more and increasingly complex functions. On the other hand, with the available computing power at hand, it has become a major goal in electric/electronic architecture development to reduce the number of ECUs in the car. The electric/electronic architecture has to prepare solutions in the context of functional demands and technical as well as organizational constraints.
The architecture has to consider constraints for the development of future driving dynamic systems set by functional, technical as well as organisatorial aspects. The paper presents a detailed analysis of the constraints relevant for the development of architectures for future driving dynamic systems. Flexibility in technical aspects additionally requires to separate the quickly changing software function from the mechatronic component with its long and costly development phase. Developing safety critical systems additionally has to consider the overall architecture and hardware constraints. Organisatorial flexibility means to be open for different business models and cooperations.
The full paper gives an analysis of the present architecture. The proposed modular architecture and the changes in respect to the present development are described from different points of view, the OEM and the supplier.
Far more than today future architectural solutions require the integration of all architecture disciplines i.e. hardware, software (standard software and integration interfaces), safety and electrical. Along with the complex functions the effort for concept and test will rise significantly in comparison to the hardware costs. This will shift the focus from hardware to modular software architectures and associated development costs. Modular software architectures are the key to limit the impact of changes on the overall system. Test and validation can then be limited to the changes. Nonetheless future architectures require modular and scalable hardware platforms. Most of the software functions can be calculated on a modular standard platform. To use this potential the systems have to be separated into non hardware dependent functions that can be partitioned according to free hardware resources and into hardware dependent mechatronic functions.
The reduction of components by consequent integration is the challenge for the architecture of future driving dynamic systems. The accompanying processes according to the business models have to be prepared now, as an increasing number of participants have to be integrated. Solutions have to consider all parties, OEMs and suppliers.
Keywords: electric/electronic, modular, architecture, integration, test, driving dynamics