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With the dramatic mismatch between handheld consumer devices and automobiles, both in terms of product lifespan and the speed at which new features (or versions) are released, vehicle OEMs are faced with a perplexing dilemma. If the connected car is to succeed there has to be a secure and accessible method to update the software in a vehicle's infotainment system - as well as a real or perceived way to graft in new software content. The challenge has become even more evident as the industry transitions from simple analog audio systems which have traditionally served up broadcast content to a new world in which configurable and interactive Internet-based content rules the day. This paper explores the options available for updating and extending the software capability of a vehicle's infotainment system while addressing the lifecycle mismatch between automobiles and consumer mobile devices.

Until recently, the electrical systems architecture that connects hardware devices and their accompanying control components were not separately a part of formal certification mandates. This changed with the advent of the FAR Part25 Subpart H EWISi (Electrical Wire Interconnection Systems) mandate. Interestingly this mandate, like certain others, does not impose specific solution. Instead it provides a structure that outlines what must be accomplished from a variety of perspectives - safety, signal separation, part selection, etc. The designer has some flexibility on which decisions to make, but those decisions can have significant cross-domain impact, which in turn, have influence on the intended product performance. What is needed is a method to design, verify and build virtually the entire electrical architecture with confidence that the best architecture is defined within the program constraints.

The evolution in automotive qualified electronic components, including the birth of powerful multicore System-on-Chip (SoC) platforms has fundamentally changed the approach to designing automotive electronic systems today. This evolution is not only happening on the hardware side, but also on the software design side where there has been consolidation of multiple domains onto a single SoC. This type of consolidation allows shorter time-to-market with consumer-ready features to address immediate market demands. This paper explores the reasons for this trend and available architectures for achieving consolidation. AUTOSAR on Linux is one of those architectures and has been popular in Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and infotainment applications, allowing complex functions to smoothly integrate into the vehicle network.

The number one priority in vehicle security is to harden the root-of-trust; from which everything else - the hardware, firmware, OS, and application layer’s security - is derived. If the root-of-trust can be compromised, then the whole system is vulnerable. In the near future the root-of-trust will effectively be an encryption key - a digital signature for each vehicle - that will be stored in a secure memory element inside all vehicles. In this paper we will show how a mathematical, formal analysis technique can be applied to ensure that this secure storage cannot (A) be read by an unauthorized party or accidentally “leak” to the outputs or (B) be altered, overwritten, or erased by unauthorized entities. We will include a real-world case study from a consumer electronics maker that has successfully used this technology to secure their products from attacks 24/7/365.

Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) [1, 2] has emerged as a solution to the extreme design challenges caused by automotive Electrical/Electronic (EE) complexity [3]. This paper explores how coherency in early design can be applied across the entire EE design cycle. Starting from a functional abstraction, we introduce a new lightweight solution to evaluate and guide optimized implementations integrating software, networks, devices, and connectivity. The pattern used for this and the data created can be directly driven into downstream, domain-specific design flows delivering vehicle lower costs, better design quality, and faster innovation.

AUTOSAR 4.x is being deployed by many of the world's top automotive OEMs. It has also seen increased adoption in regions outside of Europe. OEMs exert significant effort in the design, configuration, integration, and final build of AUTOSAR-based systems. This presentation gives an overview on the main advantages and critical gaps of adopting AUTOSAR to E/E design automation, including the digital interaction between Tier 1 suppliers and OEMs. This paper also discusses how the Electronics Architecture and Software Technology Architecture Description Language, or EAST-ADL, complements some of the weaknesses found in the current AUTOSAR release.

Manufacturing companies are benefiting from technology in most key areas of the flow from design through manufacture. This applies to the wire harness industry which is a key element of the modern automotive industry. Wire harness manufacturing engineering, however, is a critical path function that is under severe pressure and yet has been under-served by technology. In some respects it has become the weak link in the chain. Recent innovations in commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technology are set to change this situation. Software applications are now available to deliver transformational manufacturing engineering automation as well as being able to integrate with technology in other areas of the process. This will enable a digitally continuous data flow that can remove excessive cost, time, and pressure - while helping manufacturers meet the increasing demands of the industry.