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The development of highly automated driving functions (AD) recently rises the demand for so called Fail-Operational systems for native driving functions like steering and braking of vehicles. Fail-Operational systems shall guarantee the availability of driving functions even in presence of failures. This can also mean a degradation of system performance or limiting a system’s remaining operating period. In either case, the goal is independency from a human driver as a permanently situation-aware safety fallback solution to provide a certain level of autonomy. In parallel, the connectivity of modern vehicles is increasing rapidly and especially in vehicles with highly automated functions, there is a high demand for connected functions, Infotainment (web conference, Internet, Shopping) and Entertainment (Streaming, Gaming) to entertain the passengers, who should no longer occupied with driving tasks.

The current automotive electronic and electrical (EE) architecture has reached a scalability limit and in order to adapt to the new and upcoming requirements, novel automotive EE architectures are currently being investigated to support: a) an Ethernet backbone, b) consolidation of hardware capabilities leading to a centralized architecture from an existing distributed architecture, c) optimization of wiring to reduce cost, and d) adaptation of service-oriented software architectures. These requirements lead to the development of Zonal EE architectures as a possible solution that require appropriate adaptation of used security mechanisms and the corresponding utilized hardware trust anchors. 1 The current architecture approaches (ECU internal and in-vehicle networking) are being pushed to their limits, simultaneously, the current embedded security solutions also seem to reveal their limitations due to an increase in connectivity.

Recently, vehicle networks have increased complexity due to the demand for autonomous driving or connected devices. This increasing complexity requires high bandwidth. As a result, vehicle manufacturers have begun using Ethernet-based communication for high-speed links. In order to deal with the heterogeneity of such networks where legacy automotive buses have to coexist with high-speed Ethernet links vehicle manufacturers introduced a vehicle gateway system. The system uses Ethernet as a backbone between domain controllers and CAN buses for communication between internal controllers. As a central point in the vehicle, the gateway is constantly exchanging vehicle data in a heterogeneous communication environment between the existing CAN and Ethernet networks. In an in-vehicle network context where the communications are strictly time-constrained, it is necessary to measure the delay for such routing task.

Autonomous driving systems and connected mobility are the next big developments for the car manufacturers and their suppliers during the next decade. To achieve the high computing power needs and fulfill new upcoming requirements due to functional safety and security, heterogeneous processor architectures with a mixture of different core architectures and hardware accelerators are necessary. To tackle this new type of hardware complexity and nevertheless stay within monetary constraints, high performance computers, inspired by state of the art data center hardware, could be adapted in order to fulfill automotive quality requirements. The European Processor Initiative (EPI) research project tries to come along with that challenge for next generation semiconductors. To be as close as possible to series development needs for the next upcoming car generations, we present a hybrid semiconductor system-on-chip architecture for automotive.

Advanced safety features and new services in connected cars depend on the security of the underlying vehicle functions. Due to the interconnection with the outside world and as a result of being an embedded system a modern vehicle is exposed to both, malicious activities as faced by traditional IT world systems as well as physical attacks. This introduces the need for utilizing hardware-assisted security measures to prevent both kinds of attacks. In this paper we present a survey of the different classes of hardware security devices and depict their different functional range and application. We demonstrate the feasibility of our approach by conducting a case study on an exemplary implementation of a function-on-demand use case. In particular, our example outlines how to apply the different hardware security approaches in practice to address real-world security topics. We conclude with an assessment of today’s hardware security devices.

The automotive industry experiences a major change as vehicles are gradually becoming a part of the Internet. Security concepts based on the closed-world assumption cannot be deployed anymore due to a constantly changing adversary model. Automotive Ethernet as future in-vehicle network and a new E/E Architecture have different security requirements than Ethernet known from traditional IT and legacy systems. In order to achieve a high level of security, a new multi-layer approach in the vehicle which responds to special automotive requirements has to be introduced. One essential layer of this holistic security concept is to restrict non-authorized access by the deployment of embedded firewalls. This paper addresses the introduction of automotive firewalls into the next-generation domain architecture with a focus on partitioning of its features in hardware and software.

Connecting mobile communication channels to vehicles’ networks is currently attracting engineers in a wide range. Herein the desire of vehicle manufacturers to remotely execute software updates over the air (SOTA) within electronic control units (ECU) is probably the field of highest attention at the moment. Today software updates are typically done at vehicle service stations and connection the vehicles electronic network via the onboard diagnosis (OBD) interface to a service computer. Herby the duration of the update is invisible to the user, as this happens during standard service appointments. With introduction of SOTA, these updates become very convenient to the customer and can lead to higher customer satisfaction levels. SOTA can be made transparent to the user however the method of implementation can affect the user experience.

A cooperation of several research partners supported by the German Federal Ministry of Research and Education proposes a new active matrix LED light source. A multi pixel flip chip LED array is directly mounted to an active driver IC. A total of 1024 pixel can be individually addressed through a serial data bus. Several of these units are integrated in a prototype headlamp to enable advanced light distribution patterns in an evaluation vehicle.

Introduction The introduction of Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet [2] as the main invehicle network infrastructure is the technical foundation for different new functionalities such as piloted driving, minimizing the CO2- footprint and others. The high data rate of such systems influences also the used microcontrollers due the fact that a big amount of data has to be transferred, encrypted, etc. Figure 1 Motivation - Vehicles will become connected to uncontrolled networks The usage of Ethernet as the in-vehicle-network enables the possibility that future road vehicles are going to be connected with other vehicles and information systems to improve system functionality. These previously closed automotive systems will be opened up for external access (see Figure 1). This can be Car2X connectivity or connection to personal devices. Allowing vehicle systems to communicate with other systems that are not within their physical boundaries impose a previously non-existing security problem.

The constant motivation for lower fuel consumption and emission levels has always been in the minds of most auto makers. Therefore, it is important to have precise control of the fuel being delivered into the engine. Gasoline Port fuel injection has been a matured system for many years and cars sold in emerging markets still favor such system due to its less system complexity and cost. This paper will explain injection control strategy of today during development, and especially the injector dead-time compensation strategy in detail and how further improvements could still be made. The injector current profile behavior will be discussed, and with the use of minimum hardware electronics, this paper will show the way for a new compensation strategy to be adopted.

In-vehicle communication faces increasing bandwidth demands, which can no longer be met by today's MOST150, FlexRay or CAN networks. In recent years, Fast Ethernet has gained a lot of momentum in the automotive world, because it promises to bridge the bandwidth gap. A first step in this direction is the introduction of Ethernet as an On Board Diagnostic (OBD) interface for production vehicles. The next potential use cases include the use of Ethernet in Driver Assistance Systems and in the infotainment domain. However, for many of these use cases, the Fast Ethernet solution is too slow to move the huge amount of data between the Domain Controllers, ADAS Systems, Safety Computer and Chassis Controller in an adequate way. The result is the urgent need for a network technology beyond the Fast Ethernet solution. The question is: which innovation will provide enough bandwidth for domain controllers, fast flashing routines, video data, MOST-replacement and internal ECU buses?

End of Line tests are brief set of tests intended to evaluate ECU's in order to ensure correct functioning of its intended functionality. As these tests are executed on the production line, available time to perform these tests is limited. On one hand, faster production demands require these tests and its framework to be designed in a time optimized manner. On the other hand, increase in ECU functionality translates to an increase in test's functional coverage, requiring more time. Therefore the time taken to execute the tests reaches a critical point in overall ECU production. Availability of multicore microcontrollers with increase in clock speed can increase the performance of end of line tests, but design challenges e.g. synchronization do not guarantee a linear performance increase. Therefore, design of test execution framework is absolutely critical to increase performance of test execution.

This paper discusses the RDC method utilizing delta-sigma analog-to-digital converter hardware module (DSADC) integrated in the Infineon's microcontroller family. With its higher resolution capability when compared to the regularly used ADC with successive-approximation (SAR), DSADC seems to have more potential. On the other hand, DSADC's inherent properties, such as asynchronous sampling rate and group delay, which when not handled properly, would have negative effects to the rotor positioning system. The solution to overcome those side-effects involves utilization of other internal microcontroller's resources such as timers and capture units, as well as additional software processing run inside CPU. The rotor positioning system is first modeled and simulated in high-level simulation language environment (Matlab and Simulink) in order to predict the transient- and steady state behaviors. The group delay itself is obtained by simulating the model of DSADC module implementation.

Integration scenarios for ECU software become more complicated, as more constraints with regards to timing, safety and security need to be considered. Multi-core microcontrollers offer even more hardware potential for integration scenarios. To tackle the complexity, more and more model based approaches are used. Understanding the interaction between the different software components, not only from a functional but also from a timing view, is a key success factor for high integration scenarios. In particular for multi-core systems, an amazing amount of timing data can be generated. Usually a multi-core system handles more software functionality than a single-core system. Furthermore, there may be timing interference on the multicore systems, due to the shared usage of buses, memory banks or other hardware resources.

In modern vehicles, the number of small electrical drive systems is still increasing continuously for blowers, fans and pumps as well as for window lifts, sunroofs and doors. Requirements and operating conditions for such systems varies, hence there are many different solutions available for controlling such motors. In most applications, simple, low-cost DC motors are used. For higher requirements regarding operating time and in stop-start capable systems, the focus turns to highly efficient and durable brushless DC motors with electronic commutation. This paper compares various electronic control concepts from a semiconductor vendor point of view. These concepts include discrete control using relays or MOSFETs. Furthermore integrated motor drivers are discussed, including system-on-chip solutions for specific applications, e.g. specific ICs for window lift motors with LIN interface.

Glare-free high beams are a consistent enhancement of adaptive headlight systems for vehicles with advanced driver assist systems. A prerequisite for these are camera-based systems with the ability to recognize and classify objects such as vehicles in front or oncoming vehicles when driving at night. These objects can then be dynamically masked out of the high beam of the specially designed headlights. Since we are talking about moving objects, it is essential for the high beam to be continuously and dynamically adapted. This paper describes a modular LED matrix system for dynamically adjusting a glare-free and continuously active high beam. The main focus was on the modularity of the system and the optimization of the thermal properties of an LED matrix in order to ensure that operation was reliable under the harsh environmental conditions inside a headlight. Specific control electronics and different interconnection methods were examined.

The increasingly stringent requirements in relation to emission reduction and onboard diagnostics are pushing the Chinese automotive industry toward more innovative solutions and a rapid increase in electronic control performance. To manage the system complexity the architecture will require being well structure on hardware and software level. The paper introduces GEMS-K1 (Gasoline Engine Management System - Kit 1). GEMS-K1 is a platform being compliant with Euro IV emission regulation for gasoline engines. The application software is developed using modeling language, the code is automatically generated from the model. The driver software has a well defined structure including microcontroller abstraction layer and ECU abstraction layer. The hardware is following design rules to be robust, 100% testable and easy to manufacture. The electronic components use the latest innovation in terms of architecture and technologies.

More than ever, microcontroller performance in cars has a direct impact on the driving experience, on compliance with improved safety, ever-stricter emissions regulations, and on fuel economy. The simple microcontrollers formerly used in automobiles are now being replaced by powerful number-crunchers with incredible levels of peripheral integration. As a result, performance can no longer be measured in MIPS (Millions of Instructions Per Second). A microcontroller's effectiveness is based on coherent partitioning between analog and digital, hardware and software, tools and methodology. To make an informed choice among the available devices, the designer needs benchmarks that are specific to automotive applications, and which provide a realistic representation of how the device will perform in the automotive environment.

More than ever, microcontroller performance in cars has a direct impact on the driving experience, on compliance with improved safety, ever-stricter emissions regulations, and on fuel economy. The simple microcontrollers formerly used in automobiles are now being replaced by powerful number-crunchers whose performance can no longer be measured in MIPS. Instead, their effectiveness is based on a coherent partitioning between analog and digital, hardware and software, tools and methodology. To make an informed choice among the available devices, what the designer needs are benchmarks that are specific to automotive applications, and which provide a realistic representation of how the device will perform in the automotive environment. This presentation will explore the role of new benchmarks in the development of complex automotive applications.

The number of safety critical automotive applications employing high current brushless motors continues to increase (Steering, Braking, and Transmission etc.). There are many benefits when moving from traditional solutions to electrically actuated solutions. Some of these benefits can include increased fuel economy, simplified vehicle installation and packaging, increased feature set, improved safety and/or convenience, simplified unit assembly and modular testability prior as well as during vehicle manufacturing. The trend to implement brushless motors in these applications (which require electronically controlled commutation) has also brought with it the need for powerful inverters, which primarily consist of Power MOSFETs and MOSFET Driver ICs. This paper reviews the challenges associated with the design of safety critical electronic systems which combine sensing, control and actuation.