The rapid evolution of automotive electronics has pushed traditional vehicle electrical and electronic (E/E) architectures to their limits. Conventional designs, characterized by point-to-point wiring harnesses, distributed domain-specific ECUs, and communication buses such as LIN, CAN, and Ethernet, impose significant drawbacks in terms of vehicle weight, integration complexity, and long-term scalability. As the industry moves toward the Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) paradigm, there is a compelling need to rethink the foundational principles governing in-vehicle connectivity.
This paper proposes a wireless-centric SDV architecture in which non-functional-safety-relevant sensors and actuators communicate over standardized wireless protocols, eliminating the need for their associated physical wiring. By decoupling these peripheral nodes from the wired backbone, the proposed architecture reduces harness bulk, lowers vehicle mass, minimizes redundant compute hardware, and significantly reduces integration cost. Safety-critical systems including those governing powertrain, braking, and steering are explicitly retained on hardwired, deterministic communication channels in compliance with ISO 26262 functional safety requirements. This paper additionally defines explicit assumptions and fallback behavior governing that wired/wireless boundary.
The architectural framework is evaluated against key SDV design objectives such as modularity, over-the-air (OTA) updateability, and feature scalability, assessed qualitatively against published engineering precedent, with a structured validation roadmap defined to quantify latency, reliability, and coexistence performance in follow-on work. The analysis demonstrates that a hybrid wired-wireless topology can substantially simplify vehicle E/E architecture while maintaining the reliability and latency guarantees demanded by automotive-grade systems. This work contributes to a structured transition roadmap for OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers seeking to adopt SDV principles without compromising vehicle safety or regulatory compliance, together with an explicit protocol-selection framework and a functional-safety argument for the wired/wireless boundary.