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Optional software-based features (for example, to provide active safety, infotainment, etc.) are increasingly becoming a significant cost driver in automotive systems. In state-of-the-art production techniques, these optional features are built into the vehicle during assembly. This does not give the customer the flexibility to choose the specific set of features as per their requirement. They either have to buy a pre-bundled option that may or may not satisfy their preferences or are unable to find an exact combination of features from the inventory provided by a dealership. Alternatively, they have to pre-order a car from the manufacturer, which could result in a substantial delay. Therefore, it is important to improve the flexibility of delivering the optional features to customers. Towards this objective, the vehicle could be configured with the desired options at the dealership, when the customer requires them.

The Runtime Verification ECU (RV-ECU) is a new development platform for checking and enforcing the safety of automotive bus communications and software systems. RV-ECU uses runtime verification, a formal analysis subfield geared at validating and verifying systems as they run, to ensure that all manufacturer and third-party safety specifications are complied with during the operation of the vehicle. By compiling formal safety properties into code using a certifying compiler, the RV-ECU executes only provably correct code that checks for safety violations as the system runs. RV-ECU can also recover from violations of these properties, either by itself in simple cases or together with safe message-sending libraries implementable on third-party control units on the bus. RV-ECU can be updated with new specifications after a vehicle is released, enhancing the safety of vehicles that have already been sold and deployed.