FlexRay - The Communication System for Future Control Systems in Vehicles

Future applications in the domain of chassis control and powertrain control require a level of availability and reliability of the communication system as well as an increased amount of data bandwidth and data size per message which can not be met with the current state of the art. The joint development of the “FlexRay” standard by BMW, DaimlerChrysler, General Motors, Motorola, Philips and Robert Bosch GmbH focuses on these needs. The consortium combines the necessary expertise and technical knowledge to establish this future protocol for in-vehicle communication. The paper describes the basic features of the protocol and their benefits for the system design of the automotive industry.