Industry Perspective | Enhanced Computing Power is Crucial for Software-Defined Vehicles

Developing a standardized method to safely and efficiently leverage the computing power of modern hardware accelerators is crucial for advancing software-defined vehicles (SDVs).

The industry urgently needs a unified solution that enables accelerators to be used in compliance with safety standards while maintaining independence from specific hardware vendors.

Modern vehicles increasingly rely on high-performance computing systems, such as powerful system-on-chips (SoCs), to manage complex applications like autonomous driving, advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), in-vehicle infotainment, and connected vehicle services. These systems require immense computing power, which is typically provided by dedicated hardware accelerators such as GPUs, NPUs, and FPGAs.

The lack of a unified and safe solution poses a dual challenge:

• Software-hardware decoupling:Despite industry efforts to create software that can run independently of the underlying hardware, existing solutions often lead to tight coupling between the two, especially when using proprietary hardware acceleration technologies.
• Ensuring safety compliance:In critical applications such as ADAS and autonomous driving—where failures could have severe consequences—there is an urgent need for hardware acceleration solutions that meet stringent safety standards.

To this end, the AUTOSAR consortium—a leading global development partnership of OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers, and technology companies—has been working to address the automotive industry's most pressing challenges. AUTOSAR members have developed a proof of concept that emphasizes software-hardware decoupling, promising to revolutionize how vehicles are developed, updated, and maintained. By supporting over-the-air (OTA) updates and enhanced modularity, SDVs aim to create flexible and future-proof vehicle architectures.

The ultimate goal of collaborating with AUTOSAR (especially with the AUTOSAR Adaptive Platform) is to develop a standardized approach to safe hardware acceleration in the context of SDVs.

This initiative aims to create a software abstraction layer that enables software to fully utilize the computing power of modern SoCs while maintaining safety compliance. The goal is to provide a standardized set of application programming interfaces (APIs) that can be used across different hardware platforms, ensuring that automotive software is both hardware-agnostic and safety-compliant.

The significance of this work is profound. Without a safe and standardized approach to hardware acceleration, the full potential of SDVs cannot be realized. Vehicles would either be unable to leverage the advanced computing capabilities of modern hardware or use them at the risk of compromising safety. Through AUTOSAR, we are committed to ensuring that the promise of SDVs is fulfilled without sacrificing the safety and reliability that drivers depend on.

The SDV Alliance brings together the collaborative efforts of AUTOSAR, COVESA, Eclipse SDV, and SOAFEE to jointly define industry standards for the future of the SDV ecosystem.

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