The future development of automotive electronics in the face of conflicting multi-core processors will become a solution

The automotive industry should change the way it designs automotive electronics systems. Reducing the number of electronic control units (ECUs) and integrating more functions are the two main factors driving this change. Since more functions usually require ECUs with higher performance and computing power, the above two factors seem to be caught in a well-known dilemma.

The reduction in the number of ECUs is mainly to save costs, including power consumption, electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), printed circuit board (PCB) area, and cable problems. Reducing ECUs can also reduce communication between ECUs, thereby reducing system complexity and costs.

Reducing the number of ECUs can affect costs in many ways:

Hardware costs: A more efficient system architecture can reduce hardware redundancy that currently exists in more than one control unit. Moreover, fewer nodes and multiplexers and more distributed loads can reduce the complexity of automotive network systems and make them more concise.

Development costs: The reduction in the number of ECUs, which simplifies the system, and may be based on automotive computer platforms such as AUTOSAR and GENIVI, or its own platforms such as QNX and Microsoft Auto, will obviously help reduce development time. Due to the reusability of many software components, the use of such platforms will further reduce software costs, as well as the selection of vehicle configurations in the final stages of the production chain, depending on the requirements of the region or market segment.

Maintenance costs: Flexible and lean control units also facilitate system upgrades and upgrades, especially when relying on standard software platforms.

Judging from the above factors, it seems that the future automobile system will be similar to the PC-based architecture, in which the software will play a more important role. IHS envisages that this will be the era of software-defined cars. Hardware functions such as navigation, telematics, and communications will all be used as software applications handled by several central ECUs. In addition, system updates and upgrades can also be achieved remotely by downloading new software packages.

The integration issues mentioned above are also related to system performance requirements such as computing power. Due to the integration of new features in future cars, it is expected that the computing capacity will need to be significantly increased. These features include infotainment, telematics, navigation, and more. In addition, the traditional powertrain, chassis, and ADAS functions will also add features that require more technology, especially computing power. Gradually improving safety and higher fuel efficiency will require more updated electronics, most of which require higher computing power.

Virtualization can serve multi-tasking systems and helps to rationalize automotive ECUs, leading to lower cost and more efficient solutions. However, virtual systems can only be used for low-to-medium performance systems. Virtualization can provide inexpensive and smooth solutions for existing systems, helping legacy systems transition to next-generation and high-end systems based on open source operating systems.

Therefore, IHS believes that the multi-core architecture will be the basic choice for automotive electronics in the long term, and it can meet emerging and future demands for high performance, maintenance control, and power consumption.

Market availability and indicators Multi-core processors have been used in automotive systems. Freescale Semiconductor offers a dual-core processor with a speed of 130MHz. As an OEM manufacturer, BMW is one of the first companies to adopt a multi-core architecture and has adopted Freescale's solution in BMW racing. It is expected that BMW will also adopt multi-core systems in future Series 1, 3 and X3 models.

ARM recently announced the availability of Cortex-R5 and Cortex-R7 MPCore processors for 3G and 4G mobile devices, as well as for automotive and industrial applications. The ARM processor family covers a wide range of high-performance, real-time embedded applications that exactly meet the needs of the automotive market.

These new products are particularly suitable for embedded applications that require high performance and high reliability. These processors provide a series of features that emphasize security, including error management in all external buses, redundant dual-core systems, and error checking codes (ECC). These products also support high-frequency interrupts, as well as fast and deterministic data transfer for real-time, high-security applications.