Multi-Objective Optimization for Safety-Related Available E/E Architectures Scoping Highly Automated Driving Vehicles

Abstract

Megatrends such as Highly Automated Driving (HAD) (SAE ≥ Level 3), electrification, and connectivity are reshaping the automotive industry. Together with the new technologies, the business models will also evolve, opening up new possibilities and new fields of competition. To cope with the ongoing advances, new Electric/Electronic (E/E) architecture patterns are emerging in the sector, distributing the vehicle functions across several processing devices and enhancing the connectivity between them via Ethernet-based networks. Upcoming systems will demand Safety-Related Availability (SaRA) requirements in mixed-critical E/E architectures that challenge the concept of freedom from interference defined in ISO 26262. This work explores the concepts of SaRA system development according to ISO 26262, building a framework based on model-based systems engineering to evaluate feasible next-generation automotive E/E architecture designs with a multi-objective analysis. Additionally, we propose a pattern template for SaRA systems to automate the architecture synthesis. To illustrate the framework created, we evaluate a set of automotive E/E architectures synthesized to support mixed-critical vehicle features, including SaRA SAE Level-3 functions, considering the communication networks’ performance as well as hardware and safety-related development costs. This work presents a methodology for original equipment manufacturers and Tier-1 suppliers that enables them to make the trade-offs arising in the design of E/E architectures based on quantified information.