An AUTOSAR Based Approach to Time Synchronize In-Vehicle ECUs in Mixed Network Architecture

Time-critical applications in automotive are distributed across multiple Electronic control units (ECUs) that are connected through different in-vehicle networks. The ECUs on network protocols (CAN, Ethernet, FlexRay) operating at different source clocks needs to be synchronized to achieve time sensitive functionalities. Currently CAN and Ethernet have their own synchronization mechanisms. In a mixed architecture, challenge is to synchronize nodes on different protocols connected via gateway. AUTOSAR describes concept called Time gateway for such applications. This paper describes how time gateway can be configured for synchronizing nodes on CAN and Ethernet Networks. The approach is evaluated using bench simulation configured through Vector/Elektrobit software. The outcome of the method is to measure accuracy of synchronization between two nodes.