A brief analysis of automotive service-oriented software architecture SOA

--Collect the "Automotive Driving Automation Classification" (GB/T 40429-2021)--

Friends asked whether the Internet software architecture will have an impact on the system architecture of the traditional embedded field of automotive software. Let's talk today about what automotive service-oriented software architecture SOA is and what changes it will bring to the automotive industry.

What is soa architecture

Service-oriented architecture SOA concepts

Service-oriented architecture SOA, or Service-OrientedArchitecture, was proposed by Gartner and is widely used in Internet software architecture. At present, the Internet service protocol Http is developed based on the SOA architecture, which provides transparent service interfaces for each layer of the protocol and reduces the influence of the outside world on the protocols at each layer.

The two main characteristics of soa architecture are flexibility and business relevance. Flexibility is reflected in the soa architecture where one service can be replaced with another, only the service interface needs to be considered, without worrying about its underlying technical implementation. Business relevance is reflected in the SOA architecture where services are closely linked to the business, and each service corresponds to a task in the business process.

Features of the SOA architecture

The difference between the traditional software architecture (left) and the adaptive platform SOA architecture (right).

In simple terms, the service-oriented SOA software architecture has the following characteristics and characteristics:

1) Reusable: A service can be used for multiple applications and business processes after creation.

2) Loose coupling: The upper layer of the software does not need to know the details of the technical implementation, and the services are loosely coupled.

3) Clearly defined interface: The explicit definition of the interface based on the service description language is the basis of service interaction.

4) Based on open standards: For example, in the automotive industry, SOA software is usually developed based on the AUTOSAR open standard.

The AUTOSAR adaptive platform based on SOA architecture will be more flexible and closely related to the business than the traditional software architecture, and the implementation of services and interfaces will be loosely coupled with the implementation of the underlying technology.

Application of SOA architecture in automobiles

Traditional automotive electrical architecture (left) and software center architecture (right)

The driving force behind the application of SOA architecture in automobiles is that as vehicle functions are diversified, more and more information needs to be shared across domains. And even though there are nearly a hundred discrete controllers, they still can't keep up with the growth rate of functionality. Architectures based on intelligent cockpit, active safety, chassis, body, and secure domain controllers can reduce costs, weight, and power consumption from the system, and can also rely on innovation in chips and software to evolve rapidly. Therefore, the domain controller architecture based on service-oriented SOA has become an inevitable trend in the development of intelligent vehicles.

Automotive Domain Controller Architecture for Service-Oriented SOA

Specifically, smart car systems are evolving towards a service-oriented domain controller architecture. Domain controllers are oriented to services such as power, active safety, infotainment, intelligent interconnection, energy management, comfort functions, etc., and through software and digital platforms, they can operate the electronic components composed of chips across domains to personalize the underlying chassis, body, power and suspension and other mechanical components. The architectural change here is based on high-computing chips, low-level firmware, the highest-privilege monitoring system, and the upper-level service-oriented various operating systems. Efficient functioning has led to the sharing of information based on domain controller architectures.

What exactly is the transformation that the SOA architecture brings to the automotive industry

The transformation of the SOA architecture for the automotive industry

As the automotive revolution develops in depth, the changes brought by soA architecture to the automotive industry include more and more abundant service software, and the intelligent car has gradually become a mobile intelligent terminal that determines the experience of data and defines the car. Ethernet-based and high-speed CAN buses through service-oriented gateways closely connect autonomous driving, body comfort, in-vehicle user experience, vehicle-cloud interconnection, powertrain, and vehicle dynamic domain controllers. Sensors and actuators are managed based on open standards and loosely coupled service-oriented SOA architectures.

SoA-based automotive electrical architecture reconstruction

Chen Qingtai, chairman of the China Electric Vehicle 100 Association, mentioned in the high-level forum of the 2022 China Electric Vehicle 100 Forum with the theme of "Greeting a New Stage of Market-oriented Development of New Energy Vehicles": "An important feature of the software-defined car is that it makes the car have the ability to evolve itself, and it is transforming from a dead object that has been left behind since it was bought into a new species that can continue to evolve, driving the evolution of automobile functions is data, and it is software that guarantees data collection and processing, in this sense. Data determines the experience, and software-defined cars are not an exaggeration. That is to say, the same car, the same chip, the same computing power, but the data is rich, the software iteration has progressed, not only can continue to provide users with safe, heart-warming, pleasant new services, new experiences, and according to the user's preferences, the car can also become a thousand personalized product performance. ”

Software over-the-air upgrade OTA based on SOA architecture

The current status of implementation of the SOA architecture

McKinsey & Company has reported that the SOA architecture has played an important role in the implementation of core automotive components. Vehicles are rapidly evolving from the original hardware-based sensors, engine or motor power units and body industrial designs to new business models such as software-led user experience entertainment platforms, autonomous driving operating systems, cloud-based big data analysis, application software APP and services, and vehicle sharing.

Implementation of the SOA architecture in the core components of the automotive

McKinsey also mentioned in the report that the new forces of science and technology do not have the confinement of traditional car-making concepts and the drag of asset stocks, and they integrate the concept of Internet thinking terminals as service carriers into the definition and marketing model of automotive products. Compared with the 8.5% proportion of software engineers in the world's mainstream traditional car companies, the proportion of software engineers in new scientific and technological forces has reached 62.2%, which is absolutely dominant. Their allocation and investment in software engineers is 28 times that of the average of traditional car companies. The great importance attached to software experience has made the new scientific and technological forces show stronger competitiveness in the stage of entering the stage of networking and intelligent deep competition.

Comparison of soA implementation between traditional car companies (top) and new scientific and technological forces (bottom).

In summary, we introduce the widely used service-oriented SOA architecture in the Internet software architecture, the domain controller architecture based on service-oriented SOA becoming an inevitable trend in the development of intelligent vehicles, and the various changes and implementation status of SOA architecture to the automotive industry. Hopefully, today's introduction will give you a better understanding of the new trend of data-determining experiences in the automotive industry.

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