?? Rethinking AUTOSAR Classic: The Essential Building Blocks (Part 3)

?? Headline: From Concept to Architecture: What Must a Real-Time Control Platform Contain?

(This article builds on [Part 1: What Must Stay](Link) and [Part 2: Key Design Considerations](Link). If you haven’t read them yet, check them out!)

We’ve explored why AUTOSAR Classic was created and what a next-gen platform must preserve. We’ve also discussed the design considerations needed to avoid repeating past mistakes.

Now, we’re moving from principles to architecture: ?? What are the essential building blocks of a real-time control platform?

A modern real-time control platform must balance performance, modularity, and safety while supporting scalability, flexibility, and future-proofing.

?? The Essential Building Blocks

1?? Real-Time Operating System (RTOS)

?? Why it matters: The OS is the foundation of determinism, ensuring strict timing guarantees for real-time workloads. ?? What we need:

• Deterministic scheduling and execution for hard real-time tasks.
• Memory protection and isolation to support mixed-criticality applications.
• Scalability across simple MCUs and high-end zonal ECUs.
• ASIL-D readiness to support safety-critical applications.

?? Key takeaway: The OS must offer hard real-time guarantees while scaling efficiently across different vehicle architectures.

2?? Standardized Communication Stack

?? Why it matters: Every ECU must exchange real-time data with other components to ensure seamless operation. ?? What we need:

• Support for CAN, LIN, Ethernet, and future networking protocols.
• Deterministic and low-latency communication for safety-critical functions.
• Coexistence of service-oriented and signal-based communication.
• Scalable architecture that adapts to legacy and SDV-oriented needs.

?? Key takeaway: Communication must be flexible and future-proof, while retaining strict real-time guarantees.

3?? Diagnostics & Fault Management

?? Why it matters: Health monitoring and fault handling are essential for system reliability and safety. ?? What we need:

• Real-time health monitoring and failure detection.
• Integrated fault management system with UDS support.
• Cloud-based extensibility for predictive maintenance and remote diagnostics.

?? Key takeaway: The system must self-diagnose issues in real time and provide actionable fault recovery mechanisms.

4?? Memory & Storage Management

?? Why it matters: Modern ECUs must efficiently handle flash, RAM, and persistent logging, all while meeting safety constraints. ?? What we need:

• Efficient non-volatile memory management for safety-critical logging.
• Fault-tolerant storage mechanisms that prevent corruption.
• Partitioning strategies that enable secure updates and rollback.

?? Key takeaway: Memory must be optimized for real-time performance, fault tolerance, and long-term reliability.

5?? Security & Cryptographic Services

?? Why it matters: Vehicles are increasingly connected and require robust cybersecurity to prevent attacks. ?? What we need:

• Secure boot and cryptographic integrity validation.
• Runtime integrity monitoring to detect unauthorized modifications.
• End-to-end encryption for vehicle-to-cloud and inter-ECU communication.

?? Key takeaway: Security must be deeply embedded into the platform to protect against cyber threats.

6?? Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL)

?? Why it matters: A real-time control platform must be hardware-agnostic, enabling software portability across different MCUs and architectures. ?? How AUTOSAR Classic does it:

• MCAL (Microcontroller Abstraction Layer): Provides a standardized interface between hardware and software for peripherals like timers, ADCs, communication controllers, and watchdogs.
• CDD (Complex Device Drivers): Allows custom hardware access beyond what MCAL provides, typically vendor-specific implementations.

?? What we need in a modern platform:

• A modular and extensible HAL that allows for portability across silicon vendors.
• Runtime adaptability instead of static, compile-time bindings.
• A standardized API for peripheral interaction, reducing vendor lock-in.
• Support for virtualized environments, where hardware resources may be dynamically allocated.

?? Key takeaway: Decoupling hardware from software is essential to ensure longevity, portability, and flexibility in an evolving automotive landscape.

7?? Application & Middleware Separation

?? Why it matters: A clear separation between applications, middleware, and OS ensures modularity and maintainability. ?? What we need:

• Well-defined APIs between software layers.
• Middleware abstraction for portability across different hardware.
• Runtime application lifecycle management to allow OTA updates without disrupting execution.

?? Key takeaway: Decoupling application logic from the OS enables modularity and faster development cycles.

8?? OTA & Software Update Mechanisms

?? Why it matters: Future ECUs must be updatable without requiring full system reflashing. ?? What we need:

• Incremental updates to reduce downtime and data size.
• Fail-safe rollback mechanisms to prevent bricking.
• Secure update pipelines with cryptographic verification.

?? Key takeaway: A modern control platform must be built for continuous software evolution.

9?? Developer Tooling & Configuration

?? Why it matters: Configurability must be simplified—without sacrificing traceability and standardization. ?? What we need:

• Move away from static XML configurations toward API-driven approaches.
• Human-readable, version-control-friendly formats for configurations.
• Seamless integration with CI/CD pipelines to enable faster iterations.

?? Key takeaway: Tooling should empower developers, not slow them down.

?? Recap: What We’ve Covered So Far

?? Part 1: What Must Stay?

We examined why AUTOSAR Classic was created and what must be preserved in a next-gen platform:

• Standardized software interfaces.
• Hardware abstraction.
• Real-time determinism.
• Functional safety support.
• Scalability across different vehicle architectures.

?? Part 2: Key Design Considerations

We explored the major challenges when designing an alternative:

• Balancing modularity with real-time constraints.
• Avoiding rigid, XML-heavy configurations.
• Making safety certification manageable without adding unnecessary complexity.
• Creating a future-proof communication model.

?? Part 3: The Essential Building Blocks

We translated concepts into architecture, identifying the core components needed to make an alternative viable.

?? What’s Missing? Your Feedback Matters!

We’ve covered a lot, but no framework is perfect in its first iteration.

• Did we miss any critical building blocks?
• Are there pain points in current platforms that we haven’t addressed?
• Which of these aspects is the most urgent for future development?

Your feedback will shape the final article in this series, where I’ll propose how to bring all these ideas together into a structured, scalable solution.

Let’s discuss! ??

#AUTOSAR #SoftwareDefinedVehicles #RTOS #AutomotiveSoftware #SoftwareArchitecture #FutureOfMobility