Design Space Exploration of Automotive Platforms in Metropolis

Automotive control applications are implemented over distributed platforms consisting of a number of electronic control units (ECUs) connected by communication buses. During system development, the designer can explore a number of design alternatives: for example, software distribution, software architecture, hardware architecture, and network configuration. Exploring design alternatives efficiently and evaluating them to optimize metrics such as cost, time, resource utilization, and reliability provides an important competitive advantage to OEMs and helps minimize integration risks. We present a methodology (Platform-Based Design) and a framework (Metropolis) to support efficient architecture exploration. We have exercised the methodology and the capabilities of Metropolis for developing a library of automotive architecture components and performed design space exploration on a chassis control sub-system.