Innovative gateway solution satisfies stringent technical demands, speeding up development
The manufacturer featured in this case study was collaborating with a car manufacturer on research into electrical/electronic (E/E) architecture for use in next-generation connected cars. While the manufacturer began work on a microcontroller-based gateway solution, it subsequently realized that such a solution would make it difficult to deliver the required performance, and was therefore forced to rethink its development strategy.
The leader of the joint project explains how the development of the gateway solution came to hit a snag:
"The E/E architecture needed to be compatible with the connected services of the future, enable functions to be integrated and wiring harnesses simplified, and contribute to the reduction of vehicle weight. It was thought that the distributed architecture prevalent at the time would soon become more centralized, and eventually evolve into zone architecture. While we began the development process with the aim of creating a centralized architecture, we really wanted a specification that would also be compatible with future zone architectures."
However, a solution that was capable of delivering real time processing, functional safety, and security all in one package was elusive. A fivefold increase in processor capability, ethernet that could handle gigabit data transfer speeds, and enhancements in functional safety were all imperatives. At the same time, the team also needed to consider the expandability and longevity of hardware and software in preparation for future advancements. However, after beginning the development process, the team realized that it would be difficult to develop a gateway from scratch that conformed to these specifications. They considered a ready-developed, microprocessor-based gateway solution that was inspired by competitors’ products, but later decided against it after realizing that it would be difficult to balance performance against cost within the required release schedule.
"Gateway solution issues thus created a bottleneck that put the project on hold for around six months," explains the project leader.
The project leader says he hoped that the constantly evolving field of car electronics would deliver a technological innovation that could solve this issue. It was in these circumstances that a member of the team who had been gathering information came across a press release for a new product.
The press release concerned Renesas Electronics’ R-Car S4. The employee and the rest of the project team decided to learn more about the solution from a Renesas representative.
"Listening to Renesas explain the solution, I remember thinking that it was exactly what we had been waiting for," says the employee.
The R-Car S4 is an SoC-based solution that integrates ethernet switching and other technology, offering a level of functional safety that is significantly superior to traditional solutions. The R-Car S4 has a processing speed of 32 KDMIPS and is compatible with 2.5 Gbps ethernet. In the interests of compatibility with connected services, the R-Car S4is functionally integrated and optimized for cloud integration, and also offers secure OTA communications on a par with mobile applications. The solution is also compatible with existing CAN and LIN automotive interfaces, and is fully optimized, including with respect to power management ICs and other peripheral devices.
It was the future-proof nature of the R-Car S4 solution that received the most praise from the project team. The representative explained that as a concept, the R-Car S4 has been designed to be readily reusable and transplantable at the time of enhancement of processor performance or future expansion of functions and will therefore keep up with advancements in E/E architecture. Appreciating the R-Car S4’s excellent performance, integration and optimization, including with respect to ethernet and power management ICs, and future-proof scalability, the team decided to use it as a gateway solution. With the gateway solution issue now resolved, work on the project restarted after a six-month delay. The team is currently steadily making up time.
R-Car S4 enables to launch Car Server/CoGW with high performance, high-speed networking, high security and high functional safety levels.
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We will introduce the software that runs on R-Car S4. You can easily start developing gateway applications by using the Software Development Kit.
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