Electronic control units (ECUs) are small computers that manage functions within a car, from essentials like battery management systems to advanced driver assist systems and in-vehicle infotainment. Increasingly, how and where ECUs are deployed is coming under scrutiny as the shift to software-defined vehicles (SDVs) prompts automakers to reassess their architectures. For many, the biggest consideration is how to move from a complicated domain-oriented approach to the relative simplicity of zonal architectures.
However, developing and testing software for physical ECU hardware can be a time-intensive process for automotive as it strives to attain Big Tech agility. To address this problem, brands like BMW are championing virtual ECUs (vECUs) as an ideal method for accelerating the development cycle without sacrificing safety or quality in the final product. In March, the company announced a partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to create modular and flexible software architectures in simulation.
Céline Laurent-Winter, Vice President of Connected Vehicle Platforms at BMW Group, explains how vECUs work, why they could be an SDV gamechanger, and where they could take the automaker’s software strategy going forward.
What have been the deficiencies of in-vehicle software development so far?
One major issue has been the dependency on physical hardware for development, integration, and testing. This reliance on hardware creates significant constraints and can slow down the development process. Additionally, maintaining hardware adds another layer of complexity and requires careful resource allocation.
Since hardware resources are limited, developers often need to share them, which can lead to further inefficiencies and bottlenecks. Furthermore, challenges related to the availability and accessibility of development resources have emerged, particularly for globally distributed teams. These teams often struggle to coordinate their efforts and access the necessary tools and platforms across different locations.
How do vECUs address these issues?
They effectively tackle these challenges through scalability and global accessibility. Since vECUs are not tied to physical hardware, they can be deployed extensively without the constraints imposed by hardware availability. This scalability fosters a more flexible and dynamic development environment.
With vECUs, each developer can have dedicated testing benches—potentially even multiple ones—eliminating the need to share limited physical resources. BMW can utilise vECUs to test scenarios across various versions and configurations in parallel, a feat that is difficult to achieve with physical hardware due to the time required for reconfiguration and the costs associated with acquiring sufficient hardware. Moreover, vECUs can be accessed from anywhere in the world, facilitating seamless collaboration among distributed development teams, regardless of their geographical locations.
Were there any significant challenges that AWS helped you overcome?
AWS has played an instrumental role. Through its globally distributed network, AWS allows BMW to position vECUs closer to their users, thereby enhancing both performance and accessibility. Additionally, AWS has streamlined the procurement process for the necessary computing capacity for virtualisation, simplifying operations and reducing the complexity associated with acquiring and managing these resources.
A particularly significant advantage of scalable cloud resources is their decoupling from specific ECU hardware versions. This flexibility is extremely beneficial for regression testing, as it enables BMW to replicate older vECUs that are otherwise difficult to obtain and costly to archive and maintain. Furthermore, AWS’s extensive range of EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) instances, including those equipped with graphics processing units and Arm-based architectures, provides a robust foundation for accurate and efficient virtualisation.
What new software-related opportunities are now open to BMW?
BMW can now capitalise on several new opportunities in software development. One significant advantage is the adoption of the shift-left approach, which facilitates deeper integration and testing at earlier stages of development. This methodology enhances efficiency and can substantially reduce both quality issues and time-to-market for new software features.
Furthermore, BMW can customise its development processes by combining different vECUs tailored to specific developers’ needs. This flexibility fosters a more responsive and personalised development process, accommodating diverse requirements and preferences. The ability to test scenarios across various versions and configurations of vECUs in parallel further strengthens BMW’s capacity to innovate and optimise its software development efforts.
How does this contribute to other SDV trends?
By decoupling software from hardware, vECUs provide greater flexibility and modularity in development, which is essential for implementing zonal architectures in SDVs. Moreover, vECUs enhance upgradability through over-the-air updates, a feature that BMW utilises to refresh its vehicles frequently. This capability not only ensures that vehicles remain current with the latest features and improvements but also accelerates the time-to-market for these upgrades. The ability to deploy updates remotely and efficiently enhances BMW’s innovation cycle and responsiveness to market demands.
Overall, how will virtual ECUs shape BMW’s SDV strategy going forward?
Virtual ECUs will play a crucial role, becoming integral components in development and testing processes and effectively establishing themselves as ‘first-class citizens’ within these activities. Furthermore, virtual ECUs foster innovation across the entire company, making cutting-edge solutions more accessible from design to marketing.
By decoupling software from hardware, vECUs provide greater flexibility and modularity in development
By reducing dependency on physical hardware, BMW can allocate hardware resources more efficiently, directing them toward use cases that specifically require physical components. This strategic shift will enable BMW to optimise its development processes and drive innovation more effectively.
