Ethernet in Autonomous Vehicles

The in-vehicle network is the backbone of the vehicle, the underpinning infrastructure which makes all communication possible: within the vehicle, between vehicles (V2V), between the vehicle and infrastructures like the operator or control center or the manufacturer (V2I), and also, increasingly, communication with everything in the vehicle’s environment (V2X). The network provides reliable real-time data transmission, ensuring full information of the driver about every aspect of the vehicle, at all times, with advanced features like telemetry, cloud computing, and autonomous vehicle architectures.

As vehicles evolve towards being fully autonomous, they require and create exponentially more data than today’s systems, data that is delivered and transmitted by an increasing number of sensors and external antennas. In addition, much of the vehicle’s operational maintenance and updates will have to be performed via over-the-air (OTA) software updates, which requires even more high-speed data transmission.
 

Growing numbers of ECUs sharing real-time data on a much broader level are increasing the demand for more network bandwidth.  The most common network architecture used in industrial and commercial vehicles today is CAN networks, SAE J1939. To create more bandwidth in an existing system, more CAN networks can be added. However, as requirements increase, completely new architectures will be needed to satisfy the data communication requirements. Therefore, the automotive industry has been developing new Ethernet standards tailored to meet the harsh requirements in industrial automotive communication networks, using 100BASE-T1 physical layer communication protocols on the basis of the OPEN Alliance.

The Ethernet creates a strong value proposition for automotive communication networks. The technical work done on Ethernet protocols for autonomous driving in passenger cars has already created an avenue for the commercial vehicles space to address their own new trends.

Ethernet is much faster than CAN. The 100 BASE-T1 and 1000 BASE-T1 Ethernet protocols can transmit 1 GB/s via UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair), compared to only 500 kB with CAN and 1 MB/s with CAN-FD. Ethernet allows for a significant increase in the number of devices that can be supported in the network while enabling much higher speeds.

From a mere electrical standpoint, there is not much difference between Ethernet for passenger cars and Ethernet for industrial and commercial vehicles. However, application-wise, there are two key performance needs Ethernet must comply with within the harsher environments of commercial vehicles.

Mechanical resilience and higher vibration require larger component parts and larger pins. The larger the component, the more features can be put in to ensure high reliability in extreme environments. Larger components are also required for better serviceability. The service teams of commercial vehicles do not want to handle smaller and sometimes more fragile parts. These requirements compete with the need for more miniaturization and the integration of ever more devices, at ever-increasing high-speed performance.

To ensure high corrosion, temperature, dirt and vibration robustness as well as high speed performance, we have been developing completely new, advanced data connectivity systems for the Ethernet in industrial and commercial vehicles. For this application, we bring long expertise in automotive protocols and requirements for autonomous driving to new products that meet Ethernet protocol needs for increased bandwidth and increased speed, while maintaining a high level of reliability, especially in the harsh environment of the industrial vehicle space, where vehicles have to operate many miles and years in demanding operating environments without failure, or, if they fail, with fast and easy repair protocols. We have a range of product that supports Ethernet protocols while leveraging important connector families in the commercial industry.