Page 23 - EE Times Europe Magazine – June 2024

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AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES |SOFTWARE-DEFINED VEHICLES
Ethernet Connectivity Drives Zonal

Architectures

By Robert Huntley

here’s nothing as constant as change, so the saying goes. That feature that allows multiple nodes to be con-
is undoubtedly the case for the automotive industry as vehicle nected to the host over a single unshielded
twisted pair. It supports at least eight nodes
manufacturers experience significant pressure to transform their and bus lengths up to 25 meters. The protocol
T operations. The drivers of change are many. Adding hybrid and provides shared network usage by imple-
battery-electric platforms to the lineup stresses engineers with weight, range menting a physical-layer collision-avoidance
technique, and the maximum latency is dic-
and cost challenges. At the same time, they continue to deliver tated by the number of nodes and the amount
innovations and personalization enhancements to current models. The of data to transfer.
EE Times Europe spoke with Fionn Hurley,
electrical/electronic (E/E) architecture is the most intense of all the areas
marketing director of the automotive net-
undergoing significant change. working group at Analog Devices Inc., to find
out why 10BASE-T1S looks set to become the
E/E ARCHITECTURES ADAPTING fit-for-purpose network throughout the car is missing link for automotive Ethernet-based
TO CHANGE paramount for these megatrends to succeed. connectivity.
Vehicle electrification, semi and full auton- Ethernet has made significant advances
omy, and enhanced connectivity services have and already provides a gigabit backbone RAPID INCREASE IN ZONAL
established and benefited from two inter- connecting ECUs. Ethernet is a trusted and ARCHITECTURE ADOPTION
linked megatrends: the zonal E/E architecture reliable network protocol; however, routing a EE Times Europe asked Hurley if implement-
and the rise of the software-defined vehicle thick, four-twisted-pair cable to every sensor ing zonal architectures had been a long time
(SDV). node goes against the initiatives to reduce coming or if there was a strong push for
The zonal E/E architecture has been in vehicle weight and simplify E/E architec- adoption. “The first time we started hear-
the cards for some time. It represents an tures. One of Ethernet’s recent advances is ing about zonal architectures was around
evolution from a legacy domain approach to the development of single-pair Ethernet, and 2018–2019,” he said. “It’s been a key topic
cabling that connects similar functions, such for automotive applications, 10BASE-T1S is of conversation at ADI for the last few years,
as chassis and body/comfort, to those based rapidly gaining adoption. and we’re already seeing a pretty rapid rise
on physical location. By using zone-based in the push toward zonal architectures, with
electronic control units (ECUs), there is an 10BASE-T1S ETHERNET CONNECTIVITY the first steps already taken by some of the
opportunity to significantly lower the weight TO SENSORS AND ACTUATORS leading automotive OEMs. We’re seeing some
of the cable harness. The 10BASE-T1S specification is part of the domains move toward zone-based before
Complementing the architectural changes, IEEE 802.3cg single-pair Ethernet standard other domains—sort of a hybrid mix of archi-
an SDV employs a service-oriented approach, and offers 10-Mbps networking. What makes tecture. Based on what we’re seeing today,
decoupling hardware devices from the soft- 10BASE-T1S particularly relevant for automo- body/chassis and powertrain domains will
ware. Implementing a robust, resilient and tive applications is its multidrop topology, a move first, while leaving other domains, such

Automotive zonal architectures (Source: Analog Devices Inc.)

www.eetimes.eu | JUNE 2024