Synopsys and Elektrobit Collaborate to Accelerate Virtual Development of Automotive Electronics Systems

Shorten automotive development cycles by enabling the transition from physical to virtual system testing

Collaboration supports OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers in rapid deployment of virtual environments

Using Synopsys VDKs enabled EB to migrate its AUTOSAR operating system 12 months before silicon availability

Development of a proof-of-concept virtual ECU based on the NXP S32 automotive processing platform to demonstrate faster interactive development and regression testing

Solutions already deployed in leading automotive companies

Synopsys , Inc. (Nasdaq: SNPS) and Elektrobit ("EB") recently announced a collaboration to accelerate the development of automotive electronic systems using virtual environments. The two parties are working together to combine Synopsys Virtualizer Development Kits (VDK), EB operating systems, development and test tools, and complementary expertise to enable hardware availability and software development before silicon and electronic control units (ECUs). The joint solution accelerates system test cycles, enabling automotive Tier 1 suppliers and OEM companies to transition from physical system testing to virtual system testing.

"Automakers at the forefront of automotive development face increasing electronic hardware complexity and software content to deliver within challenging development timelines," said Martin Schleicher, executive vice president of business management at EB. "Synopsys and EB are collaborating to provide technology and expertise that enables automotive engineers to start software development earlier and significantly accelerate system testing using virtual ECUs."

Synopsys VDK provides fast simulation of ECU hardware, from single processors to entire automotive electronic systems (virtual ECUs). EB is using Synopsys VDK to migrate its AUTOSAR operating systems, including the EB corbos and EB tresos product families, to new automotive processors from leading semiconductor manufacturers 12 months before silicon availability. The integrated solution has been used to build a virtual development environment demonstrator, combining a virtual ECU based on NXP's high-performance S32 automotive processing platform with tools from EB and Synopsys. The solution supports system analysis and visualization, configuration and update management, test drivers, and system management, enabling automotive developers to improve interactive software debugging efficiency and accelerate test cycles by deploying solutions in regression. Leading Tier 1 suppliers and OEM companies have deployed the joint solution for applications ranging from automotive control to autonomous driving and gateways.

"Automotive companies are looking to deliver new and more advanced capabilities to their customers based on the NXP S32 Automotive Processing Platform and require development tools that enable them to bring on board earlier and accelerate system testing," said Dev Pradhan, senior director of automotive engineering at NXP Semiconductors. "Ecosystem collaborations between industry leaders such as Synopsys and EB are key enablers for improving development efficiency and addressing current and future system and software development challenges."

"Reducing vehicle development cycles from five years to two years requires a shift away from the current linear, hardware-dependent development approach," said Burkhard Huhnke, vice president of automotive strategy at Synopsys. "The collaboration between Synopsys and EB brings virtual prototyping, software technology, and expertise to automotive Tier 1 suppliers and OEMs as they transition from physical to virtual development environments and accelerate time to market."

Availability and Resources

The VDK for the NXP S32 Automotive Processing Platform is available now from Synopsys.

EB corbos and EB tresos are available from EB.

Learn more about the Synopsys and EB collaboration at the Automotive Computing Conference (ACC) taking place October 23-24, 2019 in Frankfurt, Germany.

About Elektrobit(EB)

Elektrobit (EB) is an award-winning, visionary, global supplier of embedded connected software products and services to the automotive industry.

As a leader in automotive software with more than 30 years of experience serving the industry, EB's software powers more than 1 billion devices in more than 100 million cars and provides flexible, innovative solutions for connected car infrastructure, human-machine interface (HMI) technology, navigation, assisted driving, electronic control units (ECUs), and software engineering services.

About Synopsys

Synopsys, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNPS) is the Silicon to Software™ partner for innovative companies developing the electronic products and software applications we rely on every day. As the world's 15th largest software company, Synopsys has a long history of being a global leader in electronic design automation (EDA) and semiconductor IP and is also growing its leadership in software security and quality solutions. Whether you're a system-on-chip (SoC) designer creating advanced semiconductors, or a software developer writing applications that require the highest security and quality, Synopsys has the solutions you need to deliver innovative, high-quality, secure products.