Next-Gen E/E Architectures: Wiring the Car of the Future

Electronic control systems have been used in vehicles for nearly 50 years, and for much of that time, the electrical and electronic (E/E) architecture has evolved in an ad hoc manner. Each new feature provided to an automaker from a supplier consisted of a set of sensors and actuators with an electronic control unit with deeply embedded software. The proliferation of new features implemented in this way has led to greatly increased complexity and cost, and this architecture is largely incompatible with software-defined vehicles.

In 2012, Tesla launched the first next-generation E/E architecture on the Model S; the rest of the auto industry, including both OEMs and suppliers, needs to head in this direction. The shift to next-gen E/E architectures is accompanied by totally new software architectures to enable full, rapid update capabilities and the ability to update the hardware and software independently. In addition to allowing more frequent product and feature updates, these architectural changes can enable cost and quality improvements and make vehicles more resilient to supply chain disruptions.

A number of challenges are associated with these changes. Automakers and suppliers need more engineers with expertise in electronics design, network design, and particularly modern software development. Suppliers also need to focus on the power efficiency of compute platforms, especially as the industry transitions to EVs.