A modern car increasingly resembles less a collection of separate circuits and more a complex computing system. The development of electric vehicles, driver assistance systems, connectivity and over-the-air updates means that traditional architecture based on multiple controllers is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain.
Manufacturers are therefore moving towards functional area controllers, zone controllers and central processing units. What does this change mean for automotive electronics design and engineering service providers?
Over the years, vehicle electronics have evolved through the addition of successive electronic control units (ECUs). Separate modules were responsible for controlling the engine, whilst others managed the gearbox, braking system, air conditioning, lighting or central locking. This model worked well when individual functions operated independently. The rapid development of safety and driver-assistance features has meant that many of these systems now utilise the same information and data, such as images from cameras, radar, sensors, maps, braking systems and communication modules. Each new system therefore often meant another control unit and a more complex wiring harness, which in turn led to an increase in the vehicle’s weight and more complex diagnostics.
The response to this complexity was the consolidation of control units. Manufacturers began grouping various functions into larger areas, such as the body, chassis, powertrain, system and infotainment and energy management. A natural step was the emergence of zone-based architecture, in which control units are also organised according to their location within the vehicle. Zone controllers receive signals from sensors and actuators in a given part of the car, whilst central processing units are responsible for the system’s operational logic. This approach can reduce the number of cables, simplify installation and facilitate the development of further functions in the future
ECU consolidation does not simply mean replacing several modules with a single larger device. The central computer or controller for a given functional area must handle more signals, provide greater data throughput and support functions of varying importance to the safety of passengers and other road users. Consequently, the demands on processors, memory capacity, power supply, communication link bandwidth and safety systems are increasing. CAN and LIN buses continue to play an important role, whilst in more demanding systems, Automotive Ethernet, CAN FD and CAN XL are used. Designers must also ensure functional separation, voltage monitoring, memory error correction and a predictable system response to failure.
An electric vehicle creates a more complex electromagnetic environment than a conventional internal combustion engine car. Traction inverters, converters, on-board chargers and high-voltage systems can generate interference that affects the operation of the vehicle’s electronics. Therefore, the design of vehicle electronics must, from the outset, take into account ground routing, signal isolation, filter selection, shielding and appropriate PCB design. Equally important is functional safety, as described in the ISO 26262 standard. The system must not only function correctly, but also detect faults, transition to a safe state and behave predictably in emergency situations.
Changes to electrical and electronic architecture mean that vehicle manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers need partners who understand the entire system: from requirements, through electronics design, to prototyping, validation and integration with embedded software. Engineering services are no longer limited to carrying out a single design task. Increasingly, they involve participation in defining the architecture, risk analysis, preparing documentation, supporting testing and troubleshooting at the interface between electronics and software. This is precisely why expertise in electronics design, sensor integration, power supply, electromagnetic compatibility (EMC/EMI) and functional safety is becoming crucial for the development of modern cars.
In the automotive industry, production decisions are made much earlier than when the line is commissioned. How we design the product, the documentation, the tools and the validation process affects the implementation cost, the timeliness of the SOP and the subsequent scalability of production.
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