The Synthesis of Dependable Communication Networks for Automotive Systems

Embedded automotive applications such as drive-by-wire in cars require dependable interaction between various sensors, processors, and actuators. This paper addresses the design of low-cost communication networks guaranteeing to meet both the performance and fault-tolerance requirements of such distributed applications. We develop a fault-tolerant allocation and scheduling method which maps messages on to a low-cost multiple-bus system to ensure predictable interprocessor communication. The proposed method targets time-division multiple access (TDMA) communication protocols. Finally, we present a case study using some advanced automotive control applications to show that our approach uses the available network bandwidth efficiently to guarantee message deadlines.