electronicsmedia.info, Dec. 27, 2024 –
Automotive megatrends such as autonomous driving (AD) and advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) are challenging designers to convert from traditional electronic control units (ECUs) to domain control units (DCUs), and to further accelerate adoption of central communication units (CCUs) and zone control units (ZCU). According to the McKinsey Center for Future Mobility, the next generation of electric/electronic (E/E) architecture using zonal computing has started and expects a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 44–45 percent between 2023 and 2030. The DCU usage will increase to US$44M value during the same timeline (Figure 1).
The typical domain-based electrical architecture that dedicates a control unit for each functional system is giving way to a zonal approach; this evolution is fundamentally driven by four factors:
- Facilitation of secure over-the-air (OTA) updates: Large numbers of ECUs can cause update bottlenecks and complexity, leading to safety, reliability, and regulatory compliance challenges. The consolidation offered by domain or zonal architecture is a significant step forward that will also facilitate rollbacks when updates fail.
- Modular and collaborative hardware and software: Modular and collaborative hardware and software offer the potential to speed up development times. They are enabling faster reengineering and accelerating time to market.
- Increasing silicon consolidation and integration: Zonal controllers achieve silicon consolidation and integration by adopting the functionality of several ECUs. Meanwhile, smaller node sizes boost power efficiency. Emerging "system-on-chip" (SoC) designs bring together several central processing unit (CPU), memory, and dedicated hardware (HW) accelerator subsystems. Unsurprisingly, this means that the latest SoCs for zonal controllers are based on node sizes of 16 nanometers (nm) and below.
- Reduction of wiring harness complexity: Because zonal controllers serve as input/output (I/O) aggregators and are often placed at the mechanical construction of the car, they enable a less complex wiring harness, which in turn can foster standardization, support automation in the production process, and reduce costs due to lower employee skills needs. Wiring harness costs in a modern vehicle often account for 20 percent of the total E/E architecture budget, which amounts to a significant benefit.
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