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Monthly Archives: March 2021

  • March 17, 2021
  • 0

Digital Instrument Cluster and Telematics Gateway Unit Development for Electric Trucks

Category : Automotive control units-design and development , Product Engineering

 

About the Customer

The customer is a US-based transportation lab developing state-of-the-art electric commercial vehicles. They lay special focus on lowering the operating cost of fleets, while also being environmentally conscious.

TGU for Trucks

 

Business Challenge

The customer had plans to develop a new line of electric trucks with high-end Digital Instrument Cluster and Telematics Gateway Unit (TGU) for Over the Air (OTA) updates.

Our vast experience and expertise in connected vehicle solution development compelled them to partner with us for this project.

Embitel Solution

We designed and developed a hybrid product, i.e., a combined digital instrument cluster and telematics gateway solution on a single hardware platform.

The level 3 instrument cluster had no analog components and was fitted on the dashboard of the electric truck. The cluster also had high-end graphics on the display unit.

 

Functionalities of the Telematics Gateway Unit:

TGU is a telephonic interface between the vehicle and the cloud (which is hosted by the vehicle manufacturer).

  • If there is a new software update for the electronic components in the truck ECUs, then it is downloaded from the cloud and installed by the TGU. Hence, TGU acts as the master device/ gateway to the rest of the components in the truck.


  • All the diagnostic data that is uploaded from the truck to the cloud is passed through the TGU. This is very crucial data for the fleet owner as well as the vehicle manufacturer. If the vehicle breaks down, then they can simply connect to the TGU via the cloud and get the fault data. They can get all details about the fault that occurred, i.e., whether it was a battery failure, motor failure, etc.
    		•

     

    The project scope also included the following components:

    1. Common Hardware development for TGU and Digital Instrument Cluster

      2. This includes processor-based hardware design and complete hardware development.

    2. Common Firmware development for TGU and Digital Instrument Cluster

      3. This is inclusive of Linux OS porting to the custom hardware, bootloader implementation and development of BSP and device drivers.

    3. HMI development for Digital Instrument Cluster

      4. For the digital instrument cluster, two displays were supported – one for the instrument cluster details and the other, a central console that ran applications such as navigation. The second display is designed to support additional features such as multimedia content in the future. Development and integration of HMI components such as soft gauges, maps, tell tales and indicators, AV player, etc. were all part of the project scope.

    4. Telematics and OTA application development

      5. We developed the FOTA module, complete with Push Pull mechanism for facilitating ECU updates. We also integrated safety mechanisms within this module.

    Hardware Architecture

    A powerful 64-bit NXP processor is at the heart of the hardware architecture of the product. The hardware modules can be categorized as:

  • Common components
  • Telematics gateway specific components
  • Instrumentation cluster specific components

    •  
    As mentioned above, the same hardware board is used for the TGU as well as the digital instrument cluster. This hardware can be used in the future for integrating multimedia features as well.

    The single processor board has 4 cameras attached to it, i.e., 2 cameras on either side. This provides a wide angle view for the driver.

    The instrument cluster has a 12.3 inch display and the central console has a 15.6 inch display with touchscreen. These two display units are connected to a single port.

    There are some steering wheel controls connected to the main board. The steering wheel controls are used to navigate from one screen to another on the cluster.

    Software Architecture

    The software architecture consists of the following layers:

  • Application layer
  • Middle layer
  • Kernel and Devices layer
  • Bootloader

    •  
    The application layer consists of the firmware for the telematics and OTA applications. Both these blocks are specific to the telematics gateway unit.

    In the Middle layer, there are some components specific to the TGU (FOTA push and pull mechanisms, ECU updates, FOTA safety, OTA download manager, etc.) and some common components (WiFi/LTE services, UDS stack, vehicle communication modules, etc.). This indicates that a single software stack is performing the activities/functionalities of two applications. This combined approach is a highlight of this project.

    Kernel and Device drivers are common to the entire product and these include modules such as WiFi, BLE, GPS, etc.

    Hypervisor Architecture

    The product is currently powered by Linux OS, but in the future, it can co-exist with Android OS. This is accomplished through the use of hypervisor architecture.
     

    Embitel Impact

    A high-end digital instrument cluster and telematics gateway unit was designed and developed by our team in the most efficient manner. We assisted the customer in integration testing as well.
     

    Tools and Technology

    • BUSMASTER and PCAN-View to simulate, analyse and evaluate CAN system data.
    • D-Bus (Desktop Bus) IPC Interface
    • March 9, 2021
    • 0

    How IT Service Desk Software Can Revamp Business Processes

    Category : Digital Commerce & Experience Blog

    What is an IT Service Desk Software?

    IT Service Desk (ITSD) software offers a single point of contact between the customers and service providers. It provides a seamless experience for users and the IT organization so that they can effectively track queries and resolve technical problems. It also assists the customers in understanding about the products and services of the company.

    The long process of calling the helpdesk, verifying the customer identity, raising tickets, trying to resolve the issue, or passing it on to the concerned authority with available knowledge in real time has been improvised with the help of IT Service Desk software.

    Thus, this system helps in improving the productivity and efficiency of the organization. This saves time and resources of the organization. It also gives timely response to the end user.

    IT Service Desk software generally has the following functions:

    1. Support Widget
    2. Self Service Portal
    3. Live Chat
    4. Knowledge Base
    5. Custom Reporting
    6. Incident Management
    7. IT driven Ticket raising system
    8. Database management
    9. Better customer experience

    How does IT Service Desk help in digital transformation?

    Digital transformation is beneficial for both internal customers, i.e., employees, and external customers. Implementation of an IT Service Desk will help in the following functions:

    1. Management of tickets digitally

      2. The traditional method of logging customer issues by calling the customer helpdesk was hectic and long-winded. Digital transformation allows a company to manage tickets online. Just by registering the complaint through the company website or social media, tickets are generated automatically and resolved faster than traditional processes.
      This automated process reduces employee engagement in the end-to-end ticket lifecycle, and thereby saves the time taken for routine work and verification processes. This also frees up organizational resources, so that they can be used for other high priority tasks.

    2. Automated data management

      3. This function uses data from the customer and company to make strategic decisions to meet the objectives of the organization. The system has a framework of managing the whole process.

      From managing tickets to importing customer data, analysing with respect to historical data, and allocation/ handling of tasks are all streamlined by the system.

      Key features of the automated data management module include:

      • First-level problem solving service
      • Automated job allocation based on priority
      • Automated data import
      • Creation of customized spreadsheets, database and dashboards
      • Automated incident management

    3.  Real time handling of multiple clients

      4. When there are requests from multiple clients, ITSD handles the requests efficiently. Repetitive issues are solved by suggested solutions and other complex issues are sorted accordingly. They are then transferred to the employees only if necessary; otherwise issues are handled by the software itself. Incidents from multiple social media handles or other channels are also addressed.

    4. Automatically tracking and updating customers

      5. As an alternative to the time-consuming process of sending personalized emails to customers, this system helps in sending regular updates to them via email and other social media platforms. This saves a lot of time of the customer service professionals, and they can utilise this time to work on other important tasks.

    5. Chatbot

      6. Live chat is another useful feature in an IT Service Desk. It provides an alternate option to users to chat and resolve their problems online. Integration of Artificial Intelligence has transformed customer support service, and the historical customer data collected is used as a knowledge base to provide solutions.
      The Chatbot engages users with human-like interaction, providing solutions to simple problems. This helps the customer service professional to focus on more complicated problems. Chatbots are also available 24/7 to serve the customers.

    Freshservice – IT Service Desk software from Freshworks

    Freshservice is a leading ITSD software that enables businesses to transition to an ITIL-compliant customer service methodology to effectively manage customer queries or issues. The most attractive value proposition of the Freshworks products is their ease of use. And Freshservice is no different from that.

    It streamlines incident management by enabling users to raise IT tickets through emails, phone calls, in person or through a self-service portal. The prioritising, tracking and assignment of tasks are handled by the software.

    Depending on the ticket categories, it is possible to assign different SLA policies to incidents. The system also eases the process of resolving tickets and automating escalations.

    Final words

    With newer technologies coming in, and the world moving towards digitalisation it becomes necessary to adapt and modernize IT managed services.

    Although IT Service Desk is a single point of contact between customers and service providers, it definitely executes multiple tasks. Thus, it becomes an extremely cost-efficient tool for the organization.

    Efficient management of customer queries through an automated system increases the work satisfaction of the customer service personnel. Thus, they are more inclined to provide better service to customers.

    From the customer’s perspective, an IT Service Desk software provides better user experience and saves their valuable time. This can lead to improved customer retention as well.

    Accelerate the digitalisation of your business by integrating a IT Service Desk solution such as Freshservice. As a registered Freshworks partner, we can help you get your ITSD software working in the most seamless manner. Connect with us today to learn more about our services related to Freshworks suite of products.

     

    • March 9, 2021
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    Digital Experience Platform and Why Adobe Experience Cloud Is Here to Stay

    Category : Digital Commerce & Experience Blog

    Consistency is what today’s tech savvy customers expect across various digital portals. Companies need to elevate themselves and meet the customer’s needs to strengthen relationships, sooner rather than later. These requisites can be addressed through the use of Digital Experience Platforms.

    What Is a Digital Experience Platform and Why Do We Need It?

    Digital Experience Platform (DXP) is a framework that is springing up rapidly. An advanced enterprise-level software is integrated to the user interface to reach out to a wider audience across various digital channels. This is achieved by organising and optimising user experiences.

    DXP also helps organisations to collect data and insights and use it for the in-depth processing and analysis of user behaviour. This uncovers valuable insights that can lead to new business channels and improved revenue.

    Digital Experience Platform, as opposed to the traditional platforms like CMS, emphasise more on seamless integration of content and user management at a very large scale. It helps the organisations to bring out digital experiences through portals, websites, apps or IoT devices.

    Organisations need Digital Experience Platforms more than ever before for a simple reason that all CMS cannot perform on a larger scale and into a single interface. On the other hand, DXPs can do that at any given point of time.

    Apart from that, DXPs also aid in Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) implementation in the organisation. They adapt and help in identifying trends, tagging content, natural language processing, creating audience segments, developing audience insights and last, but not the least, help in increasing productivity and ROI for the organisation.

    Benefits of Digital Experience Platform

    • Holistic approach to customer data and use of the metrics


      • DXP overcomes the hiccups of unit silos and apps by allowing effective collection, analysis and processing of customer data so that all digital channels are under one platform.

      It helps brands by creating an in-detail personalised experience based on the demography, preferences, interaction history and other factors. So, if the customer support team has to engage with a rude feedback from a customer, they will know his/her data beforehand.

    • Collaborations and associations


      • Empowering businesses and thereby associating with meaningful brands is also a key for business growth. Digital Experience Cloud readily makes this available and easy for the brands. It helps teams to collaborate and reuse pulsating content for various pages and sites.

    • Room for experiment


      • The flexible architecture helps developers have more tools at their disposal, thereby saving time and money. DXP offers an overall good platform to optimise employee productivity as well. No second thought on that!

    Adobe Experience Cloud – Best From the Rest?

    There are several advanced Digital Experience solutions in the market today, but Adobe Experience Cloud is thriving amongst others. Let us see what makes Adobe stand out – the Why’s and How’s!

    As per Gartner report, Adobe Experience Cloud is cited as the leader in the Digital Experience Platform industry for the year 2021. Today, companies should provide smarter solutions and services for retaining customers (who are inevitably well-informed) and be in business for a longer time. Adobe Experience Manager (AEM), that features content management, digital asset management and customer application management, has been introduced to aid brands in doing exactly this!

    Leveraging the AI potentiality, it is built on Microsoft Azure and Adobe’s Sensei, Adobe Experience Cloud provides cloud-native solution, an agile, expansive and secure application that facilitates PaaS (Platform-as-a-Service) like impact. Both SaaS and PaaS features are well supported.

    From the user information that is collected, content and data is joined in an open cloud platform which enables developers to create experiences and apps swiftly, effectively, and at a large scale.

    Adobe Experience Cloud Characteristics

    • It has a flexible cloud infrastructure


      • With sudden transitions of Brands to cloud-based infrastructure for their businesses, the success of a website depends on the experience it offers to users. Adobe Experience Cloud assists in an aligned organisation of data.

    • Asset management at its best


      • It helps brands to prepare for seamless asset management with its purpose-built experience platform. The CDP is so impactful that it addresses rest data and data in-motion, enabling customer activation while in motion. The result is data assimilation, moderation and visualisation, aiding brands to provide apt experiences at the right time to right customers.

    • Experienced Data Models


      • Adobe Experience Cloud apps (Marketing Cloud, Analytics Cloud and Advertising Cloud) – The data collected here flows into the Adobe Experience Platform where the information is selected and organised into Experience Platform Data Models (XDM). XDM maintains expressions of the resources through language and vocabulary. The two make sure to achieve uniformity without losing the expressivity.

    • Overcoming omni-channel challenges


      • With businesses having large volume of content, the need to personalise that data according to user behaviour and needs instantly is what is required by the brands. This is what makes Adobe Experience Cloud stand apart from its competitors.

      These are just a few benefits of the Adobe Experience Cloud platform. Different brands have unravelled different features at different levels and leveraged the implementation of Adobe Experience Cloud successfully.

    Final Sticky Notes

    Not all companies might find the need for a Digital Experience Platform. However, once a company decides to go big, then all they need is an integrated architecture of core business tools which provide a base for cutting-edge technology in digital medium.

    At that point of time, they can explore the many benefits offered by Adobe Experience Cloud and associated products like Adobe Experience

    • March 7, 2021
    • 0

    Automotive Lighting Solution Development for Heavy Vehicles

    Category : Automotive control units-design and development , Product Engineering

    About the Customer

    Our customer is a Tier-1 automotive supplier with focus on products and solutions for efficient commuting and transportation. They are in pursuit of developing smart and innovative lighting solutions for heavy vehicles.

    We had quite an impactful partnership with the customer as we shared a similar vision based on consistent innovation and excellence.

    Business Challenge

    Federal motor vehicle safety standard mandates that every truck trailer is equipped with multiple lights to indicate various functionalities of the truck. For instance, yellow color is for left turn signals as well as hazard lamps. As these lamps indicate the sound functioning of various systems, they must always be working in perfect condition.

    Power supply to all the lamp circuits must be accurately monitored at all times or it may have serious consequences. It becomes highly challenging because the trailers are huge and there are hundreds of lamps to be monitored.

    Owing to all these challenges, our customer was looking out for a reliable technology partner that would help them develop a solution to monitor the health of these lamp circuits and make the diagnostic data available on the cloud. They had tried out a similar solution from a vendor but were not completely satisfied by the results as there were discrepancies in the diagnostic reports.

    Embitel Solution

    Our task was to deliver a turn-key solution that would include complete application (software), hardware design, communication protocol (CAN and J1939), HAL, device drivers and UDS based vehicle diagnostics and Flash Bootloader.

    As the customer had reported issues with the existing solution, we had a clear idea of the customer’s pain point. Following multiple discussions, the requirements were finalized, and scope was defined:

    • Production-grade Hardware design
    • Firmware development for the Light Detection ECU
    • UDS based Bootloader

    We undertook following activities in hardware design:

    • Hardware Schematics design: Included design of protection circuits, power circuits and interface circuits etc. using Cadence tool
    • Layout design & Gerber file generation: Layering decisions based on speed usage, track designing and component mounting; Gerber file generation and checking using Cadence tool and CAM350
    • BOM preparation and Board bring up: BOM optimization and support for board bring up
    • Verification and validation of hardware: Support for EMC/EMI testing as per CISPR standard, transient testing

    Software design and development:

    We developed application layer of the solution with five components in total. In addition to that, the base software comprising of HAL and diagnostics and low-level drivers (LLD) was developed from scratch. All these components were required for the lighting solution to perform two main tasks:

    1. Monitor each circuit current and identify its status
    2. Communicate the status over SAE J1939

    Here’s a snapshot of the components that helped in achieving these tasks:

    • ECU State Manager: Manages different operating modes of the lighting ECU
    • Supply voltage monitoring: An interface to get the supply voltage to check whether the supply voltage is within permissible range
    • Circuit Manager: There is a circuit manager for each circuit. It checks the status of each circuit and communicates the status over SAE J1939

    In addition to the application layer, design and development of low-level drivers and Hardware abstraction layer has also been performed. A UDS based Flash bootloader is implemented for ECU re-programming. ECU communication and vehicle diagnostics have been performed by SAE J1939 and UDS (ISO 14229) stacks respectively.

    ISO 14229

     

    Embitel Impact

    Owing to our comprehensive experience in developing automotive lighting projects, we were able to deliver the project within a short timeframe. We have a library of vehicle diagnostics and ECU communication protocol stacks comprising UDS (ISO 14229), CAN and SAE (J1939) that helped us reduce the turn-around time by at least 6-8 weeks.
     

    Tools and Technology

    Cadence: Used for hardware schematics, layout, and Gerber file generation

    Eclipse IDE: Coding and debugging

    Tessy Tool: For Unit Testing

    • March 3, 2021
    • 0

    How Android Automotive is Unlocking a Holistic In-Cabin Experience in Connected Vehicles

    Category : Embedded Blog

    As connected vehicle technology gets more and more advanced, the automotive engineering community has been making great strides in achieving the vision of autonomous driving. At the same time, vehicle HMI technologies have also been evolving at a fast pace.

    The In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) systems in cars have reached a new level of sophistication, leading the way to digital cockpit solutions that promise a transformative driving experience. Rich OS designs and intuitive user interface for IVI systems are in great demand today. This is where Android Automotive comes into the picture.

    Android Automotive

    Vehicle Infotainment System and Discontent Consumers

    A survey conducted by Consumer Reports in 2019 assessed the satisfaction level of vehicle owners who used dashboard gadgetry. Insights from the survey findings pointed to widespread dissatisfaction in the usability of vehicle infotainment systems.

    • High-end infotainment systems that are highly responsive and offered easy navigation through menu options received 86% owner satisfaction figures.
    • Medium and low-end infotainment systems seemed to be more of a distraction for users, and garnered owner satisfaction rates in the range of 46%.

    Vehicles equipped with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay use the data from the driver’s smartphone to access cloud-based services. This enables the driver to get real-time traffic details, better navigation advice and advanced speech processing capabilities. However, these smartphone-based systems are far from perfect.

    The only other option for consumers is the built-in infotainment systems that run OEM proprietary applications. These built-in systems usually do not allow new features to be updated and third-party app integration. The survey results indicated that owners of vehicles with built-in infotainment systems showed the lowest satisfaction figures.

    Difficulties that vehicle owners observed with these two types of infotainment systems are:

    1. Intermittent screen freezing while driving
    2. Difficulty toggling between Android Auto functions and those on the built-in system
    3. Phone-based navigation not possible when the phone signal or internet connectivity is weak
    4. Built-in infotainment systems not able to process voice commands easily
    5. Security considerations around the use of phone-based apps for mobility

    The introduction of Android Automotive opens up a world of opportunities for OEMs to iron out these issues and offer better driving experiences.

    Android Automotive OS and Its Benefits

    Google’s Android Automotive is an Android operating system that is specifically tailored to be used in automobiles. Vehicle manufacturers have already started using the Android Automotive OS in vehicles. Polestar 2, the first electric vehicle powered by an Android Automotive OS, is soon expected to take the market by storm.

    The vehicle infotainment systems of the past require a smartphone connection to provide navigation assistance through GPS or play media files.

    On the other hand, Android Automotive OS enables the IVI system to perform all these functions without connecting to mobile devices.

    Android Automotive makes it possible for drivers to download media apps directly onto the infotainment system, without having to connect to a mobile device.

    It also integrates infotainment functionalities with other automotive features (such as cabin climate control, charge level for EV, etc.) on a single user interface.

    Android Automotive OS offers a plethora of options to infotainment system development engineers and media app developers alike. The platform mitigates some of the biggest challenges faced by developers in the past.

    • It enables screen size customizations, input methods and other OEM customizations.
    • The platform also facilitates the implementation of regional guidelines for driver safety.
    • The OS enables the use of Android open source platform for automotive applications. The versatility of the Android ecosystem and the consumer’s familiarity with the OS (owing to smartphone usage) can be harnessed and extended to the automotive experience as well.
    • Android Automotive is evolving quickly to support an extensive range of functions for the IVI systems of tomorrow.
    • OEMs can also choose to use Android Automotive and build their custom IVI system with third-party apps for navigation and VR, based on their unique requirements. There is no obligation to stick to standard Google services for navigation and VR.
    • The existence of a large Android developer community is beneficial for IVI development engineers. Developers have easy access to a goldmine of information and reusable software from thousands of other Android developers.

    Android Automotive Architecture

    A high-level architecture diagram of the Android Automotive OS is given below. It consists of the following generic components:

    1. Application Framework – This is also referred to as the HMI layer, and it contains the user and system applications. It is ideal to design applications in such a way that most of the core business requirements are moved to the Services layer. Such a design facilitates future scalability and easy updates.
    2. Android Automotive System Services – All System services are included in this layer. An interesting point to note is that OEMs can use the Services layer as a shield of security and avoid direct contact between the applications and the Hardware Abstraction Layer.
    3. Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) – The HAL exposes automotive interfaces to the system services in such a way that a vehicle-agnostic architecture is achieved. The application framework, System services and HAL are the core components of the Android Automotive OS platform, and these layers facilitate data exchange between vehicle ECUs and applications.
    4. Linux Kernel – Linux is the underlying kernel of the Android Automotive architecture.

      5. Linux kernel

    Android Automotive Vs Android Auto

    “Android Automotive” and “Android Auto” – The nomenclature here can certainly lead to confusions! Worry not; here is a simple explanation of how they differ:

    • Android Auto – Android Auto literally lives on your smartphone, not on the automotive dashboard. You need to pair your mobile device to the vehicle’s infotainment system through a USB connection.

      Let’s imagine a scenario where you are using a different car (compatible with Android Auto) each day. To have a consistent experience, you will have to pair the app on your phone with each vehicle’s infotainment system.

      One of the main disadvantages of using Android Auto is the fact that it is powered by your mobile device. When travelling through an area with poor internet connectivity, you could experience irregularities in vehicle tracking.

    • Android Automotive – As explained above, Android Automotive is a complete platform that has been developed solely to power automotive infotainment systems. This OS runs directly on the vehicle’s hardware, and there is no need for an external connection with a mobile device.

      The Android Automotive OS supports apps that are developed for Android Auto as well. The platform can be easily customised by OEMs to offer unique experiences to consumers.

    Google Automotive Services (GAS)

    GAS is a consolidated set of services and applications that automotive OEMs can purchase from Google, while adhering to the licensing terms. These can also be integrated as is, with the IVI systems they are developing. Some of the services included in this bundle are:

    • Google Assistant
    • Precompiled wizard for Setup
    • Google Maps and Navigation
    • Automotive Keyboard
    • Google Playstore

    OEMs can choose to avoid the usage of the services and applications in GAS. They would then have to download the free version of the AOSP source code along with the relevant extensions to be used on their IVI systems. Subsequently, they can also integrate their own services and applications, based on their unique business requirements.

    Embitel’s Android Automotive Development Experience

    We have been partnering with global OEMs for the development of dashboard electronics for more than 14 years. One of our recent projects was for a US-based EV company developing a production line of futuristic SUVs.

    The customer decided to opt for Android Automotive OS for their flagship SUV project. We designed and developed a high-end Infotainment Unit that includes functionalities such as navigation, vehicle condition display, Bluetooth connectivity, HVAC, driver and passenger seat temperature control, etc.

    We also integrated FOTA update module and telematics functionality, while adhering to country-based GDPR guidelines. Learn more about this Android Automotive based IVI system development project here.

    Conclusion

    The consumer’s expectations from IVI systems are ever-increasing. This makes it inevitable for on-board capabilities of the vehicle to be integrated with the IoT Cloud. The advent of 5G and other wireless technologies will only fortify this connected architecture.

    The result will be a new generation of powerful digital cockpit solutions at the hub of the vehicle cabin in the future. Android Automotive OS is created to cater to these software-defined platforms.

    Connect with us at sales@embitel.com for transforming your IVI vision into reality. We help you in implementing Android Automotive on IVI systems across a multitude of hardware platforms and HMI frameworks. We can assist you in the end-to-end journey, right from the concept development to the application deployment and monitoring phases.

    • March 3, 2021
    • 0

    Service Oriented Architecture: Bridging the Gap between Classic and Adaptive AUTOSAR

    Category : Embedded Blog

    In our previous blogs on Adaptive AUTOSAR (Blog1 and Blog2), we largely addressed its advantages and highlighted the difference between Adaptive AUTOSAR and its Classic counterpart. We also mentioned that both variants of AUTOSAR can co-exist and work together to support faster and more dynamic automotive applications.

    The million-dollar question that arises here is, “How will this co-existence be achieved?” The runtimes are different, even the programming language to code classic and adaptive AUTOSAR applications are different, i.e., C and C++ respectively. Our latest blog in the AUTOSAR series attempts to answer this question.

    So before, we plunge into the intricacies of achieving this co-existence, let’s refresh our memories on the basic differences between Classic and Adaptive AUTOSAR.

    A Comparison Between Classic and Adaptive AUTOSAR

    Classic AUTOSAR Adaptive AUTOSAR
    Classic AUTOSAR follows a signal-based communication approach which is achieved by the communication BUS network such as CAN, LIN, etc. Makes use of Ethernet and SOME/IP as physical medium for service-based communication
    Ideal for implementation of deeply embedded functionalities Ideal for implementation of computation-intensive and faster applications
    Examples include Engine Control, Braking systems, Airbag Control Unit, etc. Examples include Over-The-Air updates (OTA), Sensor fusion Data processing, Persistence, Dynamic choosing of application packages over run-time of vehicle, etc.
    Software update at run time is not feasible as communication between the software components are hard-wired Over-The-Air update is possible as Adaptive AUTOSAR RTE is independent of the applications
    Replacement of the entire ECU code is necessary for software update in Classic AUTOSAR environment Adaptive platforms allows removal/update of individual applications in an ECU

    Right in the beginning of the comparison, a term called service-based communication is introduced. This concept of service-oriented architecture (SOA) forms the crux of this blog. Let’s start with this very concept.

    What is Service Oriented Architecture?

    SOA is a software architecture wherein the applications are designed as both service providers and consumers. This means that each application can produce, capture, process and communicate data. These applications consist of many such services that are essentially functionalities developed to get a particular job done. These services while acting as a provider make their functionalities available to consumers and vice versa. Every service plays a double role!

    The idea behind having multiple services is to create a distributed system where the logic is divided into various small services. In order to extract highly complex functions, these simple services are made to interact with each other and utilize their individual functionalities. You see what the design architects did there?!

    By combining multiple simple functions in various ways, they can be re-used for various purposes, many of which are not even conceived while designing the applications. In other words, there is no tight coupling between different software and hardware components which promotes flexibility and dynamism.

    These services interact with each other using service interfaces. If these services are able to portray dynamism in terms of communicating with other services, it is because of the service interface. The interfaces are defined at an abstract level. The beauty of this abstraction is that it focusses only on the functionality and not on the underlying technology that will be used to implement the communication.

    The communication path is defined at runtime. To enable this, a middleware is deployed. The most common example of middleware that is used in the adoption of AUTOSAR adaptive is SOME/IP. This middleware along with Automotive Ethernet makes Adaptive AUTOSAR a dynamic software architecture. We will briefly discuss the collusion of these three components in brief in the subsequent sections.

    Terms to Remember:

    Service: An abstract description of software functionality that can be made available to a client on request. It’s a self-contained functionality that can be updated and modified.

    Service Instance: It makes the functionality of a service interface available on AUTOSAR adaptive platform

    Service Interfaces: Describes the capabilities of a service; the services communicate with each

    How SOA acts as a Bridge between Classic and Adaptive Platforms

    Modern vehicle architecture believes in combining both the AUTOSAR platforms so that their benefits can be tapped efficiently. Adaptive AUTOSAR is mostly opted for applications that are bandwidth intensive such as automated driving or connected vehicle applications. Whereas, Classic AUTOSAR is still the preferred choice for safety-related applications.

    When these two AUTOSAR platforms combine, the need for a bridge is felt due to some obvious reasons such as difference in runtime environment and coupling of sensors and actuators. Service-oriented architecture acts as one.

    An adaptive AUTOSAR platform is responsible for establishing connection with both the Classic AUTOSAR ECUs as well as the back-end services (connected car application). The diagram below shows a system architecture where Classic and Adaptive AUTOSAR work in tandem.

    Autosar system architecture
    Source: Vector

    Whether a software component is implemented as Classic AUTOSAR or Adaptive depends solely on the vehicle architecture. Based on this consideration, the functions are distributed to the control units. For a software component (SWC) implemented as Adaptive, a service interface is assigned to it. In a scenario, where a service from Classic AUTOSAR wishes to interact with a service from Adaptive platform, a middleware such as SOME/IP resolves the incompatibility. Remember the dynamism we have been constantly talking about?!

    Another element related to SOA and Adaptive AUTOSAR platform is the introduction of a new ECU communication protocol, Ethernet. Essentially, Adaptive AUTOSAR was conceived to enable a software to be installed during runtime in order to facilitate dynamic software update. As these requirements emanate mostly from applications that require high data speed, Ethernet was introduced for faster inter-ECU communication.

    Conclusion

    Service-oriented architecture is at the core of making automotive software future-proof in real terms. The dependence between the services, kind of data they exchange, and how they communicate are all defined in a very abstract manner.

    From the point of view of the design architect, it is easier to understand the entire system from early stages without worrying about the underlying communication technology or the hardware platform. One ECU interacting with the other does not have to bother about whether it communicates over CAN, LIN or FlexRay. Middleware like SOME/IP handles such issues.

    Going by the trends, both Classic and Adaptive AUTOSAR are here to stay, and service-oriented architecture will make sure they do by acting as the bridge.

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