E/E architecture research: From the perspective of supply chain deployment, look at how regional EEA evolves and implements-EEWORLD

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From the perspective of development trends, the automotive E/E architecture will eventually evolve towards a central computing architecture, concentrating functional logic into a central controller . The E/E architecture planning of OEMs is becoming more and more radical. 2023-2026 will be the key time node for OEMs to mass-produce the next generation "quasi-central + regional architecture".

Evolution trends of automotive E/E architecture in the next 5-10 years

Source: Zuosi Auto Research's "2023 Smart Car E/E Architecture Research Report"

The "quasi-central + regional" architecture can be further subdivided into various types:

Body zone architecture (Body-Zonal): The body zone controller is connected to the central computing unit through a high-speed Ethernet backbone network. The central computing unit integrates vehicle control, body control, gateway and other functions to simplify network topology , wiring harness layout and reduce weight;

X-Domain Zone Architecture (X-Domain Zonal): The functional domain is combined with the body zone. The X-Domain zone uses a more powerful processor unit, which can independently call the sensors in the zone and process them;

Software-defined vehicle optimization architecture (SDV-Optimized): centralized, service-oriented ( SOA ) computing. The vehicle central computer has powerful processing capabilities and concentrates all decisions on the central computer. The regional controller is responsible for power supply and execution of the central control unit. instructions.

NXP’s new electronic and electrical architecture development path

Source: NXP

Under the regional architecture, MCU develops towards high performance and multi-core

In the future centrally integrated EE architecture, the central processing unit and the regional controller communicate through Ethernet , and the regional controller communicates with sub -ECUs , sensors and actuators through the CAN/LIN bus .

Physically, the regional controller is the logical concentration point of multiple ECUs, which places higher demands on the computing power of the MCU in the regional controller. In traditional single-function ECUs, low-performance single-core MCUs are often used to meet the requirements, while for regional controllers, high-performance multi-core MCUs are often needed to meet the requirements. In a multi-core MCU, each core can run a separate function, and multiple cores can implement multiple functions, thereby realizing the integration of multiple ECU functions.

GAC Aion GA3.0 Xingling architecture: The newly launched Hyper GT (Haopin) is the world's first model to use NXP S32G3 as the central computing unit processor. The "central computing unit" uses the latest generation "NXP S32G399 high-performance gateway" " Computing chip " and "central computing unit" are developed by Continental. The basic middle layer of the software architecture of the front and rear area controllers adopts atomic service encapsulation and standardized interfaces. The middle layer adopts enhanced composite services and can be executed independently.

GAC Aian GA3.0 Xingling architecture topology

Source: GAC Aian

Xpeng Motors X-EEA3.0 architecture: For the first time in China, it has implemented a communication architecture with Gigabit Ethernet as the backbone and supports multiple communication protocols, making vehicle data transmission faster. The regional controller and central computing unit of X-EEA3.0 both use Renesas’ flagship MCU based on the third-generation RXv3 CPU core. Based on X-EEA3.0, Xiaopeng G6 further deploys the new Fuyao X-EEA3.5 architecture in mass production.

Source: Xpeng Motors

Infineon's third generation AURIX™ product TC4xx MCU: The high-performance AURIX™ TC4xx series mainly meets the new needs of central computing + regional control. It is equipped with up to six TriCore™ 1.8 embedded cores, each core has a clock frequency of up to 500MHz, and integrates a PPU co-processor to implement fast vector operations, basic neural network algorithms and other complex mathematical algorithms. PPU can be used in some information security algorithms such as modeling, model predictive control, and anti-intrusion detection in future regional controllers.

Application areas of Infineon TC4xx

Source: Infineon

Under the regional architecture, demand for automotive Ethernet PHY and switch chips has surged, and prices have fluctuated wildly.

The interface circuit of the vehicle Ethernet is mainly composed of two parts: the MAC controller and the physical layer interface PHY chip . In terms of integration methods, embedded chip manufacturers generally integrate the MAC into the MCU/CPU. For example, Infineon's AURIX product integrates the MAC into the main control chip MCU, and also integrates a dedicated hardware communication routing module CRE/DRE; and PHY chips are provided by OEM or controller suppliers as independent chips.

The global Ethernet switch /physical layer PHY chip market size will be approximately US$800 million in 2023 , and is expected to reach US$2.5 billion in 2028. It is estimated that by 2028, each vehicle will use 2-4 Ethernet switch chips and 2-4 physical layer PHY chips on average.

Since 2023, the short-term prices of some of Broadcom's BCM89 series Ethernet PHY and switch chips have skyrocketed several times, with a single chip costing as high as 30-40 US dollars; the BCM8955X series is Broadcom's third-generation automotive Ethernet switch, mainly used in automotive ADAS and infotainment systems. , gateway; currently, Broadcom mainly promotes the BCM8957X series, which is the only automotive Ethernet switch in the world that supports the 802.3ch standard.

In a typical central computing Zonal architecture, each Zonal gateway contains an Ethernet switch, and each vehicle requires at least 6-7 Ethernet switch chips. Currently, automotive network communication chip manufacturers such as Marvell, Broadcom, and NXP have proposed next-generation network architectures.

Source: Marvell

According to the forecasts of OEMs, 10G bandwidth is an essential requirement to realize the central computing Zonal architecture in 2025. In June 2023, Marvell launched the Brightlane Q622x series of central automotive Ethernet switches, which are specially designed for automotive Zonal architecture. The regional switch aggregates traffic from devices in the physical area of the car (such as processors, sensors, actuators, storage systems , etc.) and connects to the central computing switch through high-speed Ethernet to implement information exchange.

Source: Zuosi Auto Research's "2023 Smart Car E/E Architecture Research Report"

Under the regional architecture, high-speed communication within the central computer chip requires the support of PCIe switches

Driven by Chat GPT, the demand for AI servers has skyrocketed. PCIe Switch chips represented by Broadcom SS26 are hard to find and prices have skyrocketed. In the next generation automotive E/E architecture, multi-SoC cascading, PCIe-based SSD storage and central SoC In between, expensive PCIe switches must also be used.

Under the evolution of E/E architecture, the development of vehicle communication architecture

Source: Xpeng Motors

Automobile cross-domain communication will be dominated by PCIe. Compared with the past Ethernet communication efficiency, which can be improved to dozens of G, PCIe Switch connects the entire on-chip communication in series. Different SoCs, Ethernet Switches, etc. in the central computing unit are mounted on it. External sensors are connected in series through the Zonal ECU's Ethernet Switch.

Qualcomm's first-generation autonomous driving system , Ride3.0, used a PCIe switch for the first time in the automotive industry, namely Microchip's PM43028B1-F3EI, which sells for about US$100, which is higher than the price of SA8155P and almost 4-5 times the price of an Ethernet switch. times;

Visteon's dual Qualcomm 8155 cockpit domain controllers are internally connected through the PCIe bus. The two 8155s are connected through the PCIe bus. The transmission rate can reach 1 6G bps, which can efficiently transmit the real-time transmission requirements of the ADAS driver assistance system camera input video;

芯擎为亿咖通定制的高速互联总线SE-LINK实现两颗龍鷹一号同时工作，连接两个Antora 1000，得到Antora 1000 Pro。可提供双倍算力同时保持传输速度，其中PCIe 3.0 Lane传输速度实测达到了7.28GT/s。

The evolution of vehicle EE architecture drives changes in the underlying OS of vehicles

Adaptive AUTOSAR introduces service-oriented architecture (SOA) and support for POSIX systems, and is mainly used in high-computing SoCs. SOA or service-based middleware platform, also known as vehicle operating system OS.

The SOA software architecture of GAC Xingling architecture realizes standardized layered interfaces, software modularization, function atomization, function remote configuration, etc. through a layered and decoupled basic software architecture platform. GAC Xingling Architecture is the first domestic product developed based on ASF (AUTOSEMO Service Framework) technical specifications. Based on SOA software architecture, GAC Aian Hyper GT is the first mass-produced GAC Rubik's Cube scene co-creation platform.

ASF is committed to building an application framework under a multi-domain converged architecture.

Origin: AUTOSEMO

In April 2023, Huawei released the iDVP intelligent digital base, which is a set of SOA architecture that can meet regional access + central computing standards. iDVP consists of two parts: hardware platform and software platform. The hardware platform refers to the basic hardware platform of computing and communication architecture. The software platform is divided into operating system, basic management framework and SOA software framework. To facilitate users to develop software on iDVP, Huawei has also developed a supporting tool chain.

Huawei iDVP Intelligent Digital Base