Demonstration of Automotive Steering Column Lock using Multicore AutoSAR® Operating System

The migration of many vehicle security features from mechanical solutions (lock and key) to electronic-based systems (transponder and RF transceiver) has led to the need for purely electrically operated locking mechanisms. One such example is a steering column lock, which locks and unlocks the steering wheel movement via a reversible electric motor. The safety case for this system (in respect to ISO26262) is highly complex, as there is no single safe state of the steering column lock hardware because there is a wider system-level interlock required. The employed control platform uses ASIL D capable multicore microcontroller hardware, together with the first implementation of AutoSAR® version 4.0 operating system to demonstrate a real-world usage of the newly specified encapsulation and monitoring mechanisms using the multicore extensions of AutoSAR and those of PharOS. This paper describes a brief outline of the example steering column lock, the main safety goals, the safety case, the safety architecture employed (hardware and software), and the verification and validation of the mechanisms employed. Finally, a short summary will be made of the issues discovered and the workarounds employed to be able to achieve the defined safety goals and reaction times.