The conflict surrounding chip manufacturer Nexperia and the resulting problems for the automotive industry illustrate the importance of microcontrollers in modern vehicles. They are the core element of the numerous embedded systems used in modern cars. Electronic control systems are changing and taking on more and more functions, especially in electric cars. This trend is likely to expand in the future.
A typical car contains around 25 to 35 microcontrollers, while luxury vehicles have around 60 to 70 microcontrollers, roughly twice as many. Today, they are a central component of every electronic control system in a vehicle, from anti-lock braking systems (ABS) and airbags to automatic lights and windshield wipers. No modern car can do without them.
Crisis caused by chip manufacturer
The dispute over chip manufacturer Nexperia highlights the role of microcontrollers, the core component of all automotive control units, for the automotive industry. The interruption in the supply of semiconductors threatened to bring production in the German automotive industry to a standstill. The cause was a dispute between the Netherlands and China over chip manufacturer Nexperia, which resulted in serious supply problems for the automotive industry. Following intervention by the Dutch government, Beijing imposed export restrictions on certain Nexperia chips. Around 70 percent of the chips manufactured by this company are relevant to automotive production. It was only after the European Commission intervened to reach an agreement with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce that the German automotive industry was once again supplied with Nexperia components.
Electronic control units (ECUs) in cars, usually consist of a combination of hardware elements—microcontrollers, sensors, actuators—and software in an encapsulated environment. For example, rain or speed sensors in such an embedded system collect data that is then processed by microcontrollers. Based on this data, the system sends commands to actuators such as the windshield wiper motor or the brake system to perform a specific action. Delays in data processing and in the implementation of the results are not tolerable; a brake must respond immediately. Real-time processing is therefore a basic requirement. It is one of the typical characteristics of embedded systems, as is the limited availability of resources such as memory. The various ECUs communicate with each other via an internal network such as the CAN bus. These systems are often highly safety-critical, as a failure can lead to dangerous situations or even accidents.
Networking and electric cars are changing requirements
Advancing digitalization and increasing automation in automotive engineering are significantly changing these integrated systems. For example, battery control in hybrid and electric vehicles requires completely new control units. The increasing prevalence of electric vehicles is also changing their architecture. Requirements such as low energy consumption are becoming an important factor in these vehicles. E-mobility also places new demands on embedded systems, which must be particularly energy-efficient. The increasing number of microcontrollers is leading car manufacturers to try to bundle the functions of several control units into a central module. Central control units, known as domain controllers, are intended to reduce the complexity and number of ECUs.
Developments in autonomous vehicles are presenting manufacturers of microcontrollers and control units with new challenges. With additional tasks, the number of integrated systems is increasing. Autonomous vehicles require a variety of additional sensors such as cameras, lidar, radar, or ultrasound for environment detection. The control systems must process large streams of sensor data in real time. In some cases, this data is even sent to a cloud for processing. This naturally requires a permanent Internet connection in the vehicle. Once connected in this way, the connection can be used for other functions. The 5G mobile communications standard is thus becoming an important basis for vehicle operation. At the same time, it is becoming more challenging to ensure safety and security in such highly complex embedded architectures. Safe vehicle operation increasingly depends on well-designed cybersecurity.
The problem with updates
Updates are a major issue in the life cycle of a car. Traditionally, a car has to be taken to a repair shop to have updates installed. This applies to both infotainment systems and safety-related software, such as drive control or battery management. With an online connection, software updates can be transferred directly to the vehicle via the Internet without having to visit a repair shop. These so-called over-the-air updates (OTA) bring new risks into play: individual integrated systems or even the entire vehicle can now be permanently attacked via the online connection. The limited resources of embedded systems restrict the possibilities for security; cybersecurity software has to make do with little memory and computing power. To ensure that OTA updates can be carried out securely and reliably, separate security standards are necessary. In addition to encrypted data transfers, Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) are used, among other things, to enable the software to run in a secure environment.
All of this takes place behind the driver's back, so to speak. This means that these processes not only go unnoticed, but drivers also have no influence over them and must trust the manufacturer and repair shop. However, malfunctions and failures can have devastating consequences in the automotive sector. Cybersecurity cannot therefore be passed on to buyers, but is becoming a key issue for automotive manufacturers and producers of embedded systems. Cybersecurity is becoming an integral part of modern embedded systems.
In the future, there are plans to integrate high-performance computing platforms such as Nvidia's Orin or Qualcomm's Snapdragon Automotive into control units. This should also enable more powerful, integrated architectures that are better able to handle artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). This allows AI and ML to enter the embedded world. The Thor computing platform has been in the starting blocks since last year. As the successor to Orin, it is expected to deliver 1,000 teraflops of performance, enabling it to bundle cockpit functions as well as safe, highly automated, and autonomous driving on a central platform. In many cases, these platforms are further developments of classic embedded systems.
Source reference
The above article draws on several sources: the article “Nexperia suspends delivery of preliminary products to China” – in German only – in the business magazine “Der Spiegel” and the Tagesschau report “Signs of détente in the Nexperia dispute” (in German only). An overview of “In-vehicle computing for autonomous vehicles” (in German only) is provided on the Nvidia company website, and insights into “Qualcomm Automotive Technologies” are available on the Qualcomm company website. A basic overview of “Embedded Systems” (in German only) is provided on the “Mobility Rockstars” website of Cognizant Mobility.
