Internet Protocol - a world standard becomes automotive

Munich. The engineers of BMW Group Research and Technology call it a "vision"
of in-vehicle network technology what they are currently working on. They have
this creative freedom to think about the onboard network of cars as if there
were no status quo and they could start anew without established
specifications. What they came up with is a revolution in automotive
electronics.

The in-vehicle network - yesterday and today

One needn't go back more than a few decades to find electrics in passenger cars
decidedly thin on the ground and car electronics to be something of a rarity.
In the engine compartment there was the battery, alternator, control unit,
starter motor and ignition; on the dashboard the controls, warning lights,
indicator controls and locks. But between the dashboard and the rear of the
vehicle there were only a small number of lights and the requisite cables. The
radio was about as good as it got in terms of in-car electronics up to the
mid-1970s.

Today up to 90 % of a vehicle's innovations involve the use of electronics and
software, and the number of control units (e.g. for engine control or Dynamic
Stability Control) has increased significantly over recent years as a result.
Up to 70 control units are fitted in premium-class cars nowadays. Indeed, the
latest models boast several hundred electric and electronic functions, and up
to 115 MByte of program code and data on board. Up to five different bus
systems, such as CAN, LIN, MOST and FlexRay, work side-by-side to transport
electronic data around today's vehicles. All are perfectly equipped to meet the
demands of their individual areas of application, but all speak their own
automotive languages, which - to continue the metaphor - have to be translated
every time information needs to be used by various different systems.

The revolution: Internet Protocol

It is the privilege and the working manner of researchers to disengage from
given facts and to "think ahead". In quest for a standard language for the
"networked car" they came up with Internet Protocol (IP) - the language of the
World Wide Web as well as of many consumer electronic tools such as MP3-players
or laptops.

In short, digital data communication - in wired and wireless form - is now an
integral element of our everyday lives. Indeed, modern life has long been
shaped by the fast and uncomplicated exchange of information regardless of
location. E-mails can now be sent to anywhere you care to mention and at any
time of any day - using a mobile phone, notebook computer or smartphone. The
data, in the form of speech or e-mail, for example, is digitalised and
transmitted in Internet Protocol packages - the language of the global
Internet. This standard has provided the key to limitless freedom and
independence, making data such as music, pictures, e-mails, documents,
addresses and so on accessible and thus available anytime, anywhere.

The challenge for the engineers was to prove that IP is applicable in a vehicle
and to show which opportunities this technology offers.

The prototype: one command fits all

In test set-ups and integrated in a series-production vehicle BMW Group
Research and Technology demonstrates what is prototypically possible by using
Internet Protocol in a car's on-board network.

The setup of the prototype uses standard components from PC and embedded areas
where possible. Also current vehicle ECUs (electronic control units) such as
engine control (DME) and the chassis control system DSC (Dynamic Stability
Control), as well as the so-called Head-Unit, the ECU that controls for example
the radio, are integrated in the IP-network. Gateways built by the research
engineers connect the vehicle's bus communication with the vehicle-IP-network
in real-time. A multimedia server and a camera can be connected to the
efficient IP-net. With this setup it could be proved that an Internet Protocol
based network can manage safety-relevant chassis control systems in real-time
along with high data volume multimedia applications.

The opportunities: practical examples

The innovative, IP-based on-board network makes the infrastructure inside the
vehicle more flexible. In the future, it will be easier for workshops to
integrate control units including new functions into vehicles or for customers
to use and operate their new electronic devices in the car thanks to Plug&Play.
Not all applications will have to be fitted "permanently" in the vehicle, since
the IP-based on-board network will link it up to the Internet.

The engineers are also looking into a range of other possibilities which come
into view if a vehicle's electronics all speak a single language. As a
prototype has already shown, this makes it simple to listen to entire MP3
collections online or to download videos from the Internet on board and watch
them from the back row. The on-board network of the future means vehicles will
no longer be tied to the entertainment industry's short development cycles, as
the latest developments (Blue Ray, HDTV, IPTV, IP Radio etc.) can be used
simply via Plug&Play and no longer need plug connectors with special
infrastructure requirements.

It is also much easier for passengers and service engineers alike to see into
the vehicle's on-board network and control units. A service engineer can even
contact the driver via visual telephone and give "visible" advice to solve for
example a operation problem. As far as driver assistance systems are concerned,
this innovative on-board network technology opens up totally new opportunities,
in particular for complex systems which access various types of information
from sensors, cameras etc. All these systems and information providers will
then speak the same language.