A SMART WAY TO DRIVE ECU CONSOLIDATION

How to Integrate More Functionality onto a Smaller Number of More Efficient ECUs
Without Increasing the Complexity of the Testing Effort
By Georg Doll
 A SMART WAY TO DRIVE ECU CONSOLIDATION

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

We fall in love with cars because of their hardwaretheir sleek frames, the growls of

their engines, the luxurious amenities within them. But today it is software, not hardware,

that truly delivers on the demands of consumers. Software drives the electronic control

units (ECUs) that power everything from dashboard instruments to safety features to

powertrain components to in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems.

But the success of ECUs in delivering state-of-the-art functionality has created a new

challenge: The number of these devices in the average car has doubled in the past ten

years, and many cars now incorporate more than 125 separate ECUs. These units take

up increasing amounts of space; they draw power; and their weight decreases energy

efficiency.

Consolidation of ECUs is an obvious solution, but how? How do you deal with the increas-

ing software complexity? How do you consolidate without an explosion of integration

issues? How do you avoid a massive new testing effort that could jeopardize time-to-

market? And what can you learn from other industries to help answer these questions?

This article summarizes a new approach to ECU consolidation that can tame the complex-

ities with minimal impact to the testing process. Its an approach that can actually acceler-

ate innovation in ECU-based functionalityand drive new competitive advantages for

forward-looking auto manufacturers.

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 A SMART WAY TO DRIVE ECU CONSOLIDATION

A CLOSER LOOK AT THE CHALLENGES OF CONVENTIONAL OPTIONS FOR ECU CONSOLIDATION

ECU CONSOLIDATION Several approaches to ECU consolidation have been attempted,
The sheer number of ECUs in todays cars is not the only complica- with mixed success. The most obvious approach (shown below)
tion for consolidation. The functions performed by ECUs are also focuses on software integration: Multiple applications run on a
becoming increasingly sophisticated and complex. New features single ECU using a common operating system, such as OSEK or
and capabilities such as adaptive cruise control, digital instrument AutoSAR, with communication via a controller area network (CAN)
clusters, and car-to-car or car-to-fleet communication are great for or other standard bus.
consumers, but they add complexity to an already difficult soft- However, there are multiple issues with this approach. The integra-
ware development and testing process. tion process itself is difficult and complex; it requires all applications
Each ECU also has its own infrastructure components (such as to be optimized for the selected operating system; the memory
power supply, bus, and diagnostics) and its own requirements model may propagate errors without isolating faults; and it dramati-
with regard to functionality, safety, security, and dynamic behavior, cally expands the test effort.
requiring the use of multiple platforms and toolsets for develop-
ment and testing. In addition, ECUs may have differing Automotive Application 1 Application 2 Application 1 Application 2
Safety Integrity Levels (ASIL) and ISO 26262 requirements.
ECU 1 ECU 2 ECU

Selecting from among the array of proprietary and open source

development, testing, and management options further compli-
Bus (CAN) Bus (CAN)
cates matters. How do you test and debug with all these permuta-
tions and complex interactions and interdependencies? How do Figure 1: ECU consolidation via software integration
you meet certification requirements in this environment?
Because of these complications, Wind River and other vendors
Above and beyond the technical intricacies of ECU consolidation,
have worked on a new approach that virtualizes the ECU. A vir-
there are business issues to consider. Currently, ECUs are typically
tualization layer is used to run multiple ECU operating systems
purchased as separate items, potentially from separate Tier 1 sup-
simultaneously on a single processor, as shown below.
pliers. If ECUs are consolidated and combined, who builds them?
Who manages the multi-vendor sourcing, integration, and licens-
ing issues? Who is responsible for maintaining and upgrading their Application 1 Application 2

functionality? How are faults isolated to an individual function? vECU 1 vECU 2

Application 1 Application 2
No single technology partner can resolve the business challenges Virtualization Layer
ECU 1 ECU 2
of ECU consolidation; but the Wind River perspective is that a
Processor
technical solution to consolidation will accelerate the resolution
of the business challenges. Therefore we have dedicated our Bus (CAN) Run-Time Platform

resources to that effort.

We can certainly learn from other markets that have already Bus (CAN)
solved the technical and business challenges. A great example Figure 2: ECU consolidation via virtualization
is the aerospace industry, where integrated avionic systems have
been launched successfully. The technical solution of consolida- This virtualization model makes it possible to choose the appropri-
tionand the clear definition of roles such as platform provider, ate solution for each application, and it provides clear fault isolation.
application provider, and software integratorhas helped to over- The integration effort can be split into teams for higher efficiency.
come the business challenges. With its long record of automotive However, it requires an additional integration step, potentially slow-
experience, Wind River is in a position to combine the expertise ing down the process.
of these markets.

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 A SMART WAY TO DRIVE ECU CONSOLIDATION

A SMARTER APPROACH: VIRTUALIZED ECU COMBINED From a security perspective, there are several advantages to the
WITH MULTI-CORE ECU/multi-core approach. First, it fundamentally simplifies threat
More recently, Wind River has been further evolving the virtual- analysis, because it is possible to build a virtual security appliance
ized ECU approach by adding multi-core processing capabilities. into the ECU once, rather than build a separate one for each indi-
The basic concept is to centralize compute power into function- vidual ECU. This approach saves time and money and minimizes
oriented regions, decouple software functionality from the the performance impact of security inspection and analysis.
underlying hardware using virtualization technology, and deploy Second, security researchers can use sophisticated simulation
virtual ECUs on multi-core processors so there is little interference tools such as Wind River Simics to systematically test and gain a
between them, as shown below. deeper understanding of every aspect of system behavior than is
possible through traditional methods. Simulation can help create
an improved integration and testing environment, and it can also
Application 1 Application 2 Application 1 Application 2
expose flaws in hardware and software design and allow systems
vECU 1 vECU 2 vECU 1 vECU 2
to be debugged faster and more effectively.
Hypervisor Virtualization Layer
Third, the Wind River approach makes it possible to combine safe
Processor Core 0 Core 1
and unsafe functions without increasing risk to other software ele-
Run-Time Platform Run-Time Platform ments or impacting compliance.

CONCLUSION
Bus (CAN) Bus (CAN)
ECU consolidation has been a goal of automakers for years. Its
Figure 3: A better option: Virtual ECU + multi-core time to turn the vision into reality. The approach outlined in this
brief article is based on mature technology, it has been proven in
real-world implementations, and it is financially practical. Business
This model creates the opportunity to consolidate a large num- leaders in the automotive industry can now have their develop-
ber of software-driven functions onto a smaller number of more ment, testing, and security teams take a closer look at the underly-
powerful hardware platforms. Equally important, it helps solve the ing technology of this new approachand take a closer look at
separation/latency trade-off dilemma. Each application is walled the possibilities for improving the efficiency of new automobiles,
off from the others, but each can still receive configurable, adjust- the safety and security of future automobiles, the satisfaction and
able CPU resources to meet performance requirements. brand loyalty of consumers, and the bottom-line profitability of
The virtual ECU/multi-core approach also moves integration to an the business.
earlier stage of the project, so development and testing teams For more information about ECU consolidation, visit our web site at
can identify bugs and other issues sooner, solve problems faster, www.windriver.com/solutions/automotive/ecu-consolidation.html.
and accelerate time-to-market. And legacy software and individ-
ual functions can be upgraded or replaced at any timeover the
aireliminating the need to bring the car in for servicing to deal
with software issues.

Wind River is a world leader in embedded software for intelligent connected systems. The company has been pioneering computing inside embedded devices since 1981, and its technology is
found in nearly 2 billion products. To learn more, visit Wind River at www.windriver.com.
2015 Wind River Systems, Inc. The Wind River logo is a trademark of Wind River Systems,Inc., and Wind River and VxWorks are registered trademarks of Wind River Systems, Inc. Rev. 11/2015