A new design for data-centric Ethernet communication with tight synchronization requirements for automated vehicles

Deterministic communication is a key challenge for modern embedded real-time systems. This is especially true for the automotive domain, where safety-critical functions are distributed over multiple electronic control units (ECUs) across the vehicle. To handle the increased complexity together with the higher data volume, Ethernet is considered as a universal media. Consequently, a great effort has been spent on making Ethernet predictable to satisfy timing and safety requirements. However, the communication stacks (COM-stacks) that build the bridge between applications and the network did not receive the same attention. Until now it has been dealt with as legacy software and overloaded with additional features to support the new multi-level protocols. Moreover, with the shift to automated vehicles, communication requirements will change fundamentally, transforming the car to a data centric system. In this paper we highlight the communication requirements of future autonomous cars and show why today's COM-stack designs are not suited to meet them. We present a novel design approach that ensures predictable timing and resource sharing while focusing on a minimalist and modular design. We also show how it fits to a state-of-the-art middleware, while keeping the complexity as small as possible.