FlexRay References...
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FlexRay Automotive Communication Bus
The FlexRay communications network is a
new deterministic, fault-tolerant and high-speed bus system developed in
conjunction with automobile manufacturers and leading suppliers. FlexRay
delivers the error tolerance and time-determinism performance
requirements for x-by-wire applications (i.e. drive-by-wire,
steer-by-wire, brake-by-wire, etc.), and National Instruments has
created the FlexRay library for LabVIEW to test devices on a FlexRay
communications bus.
FlexRay Solutions by NEC Electronics
Network standards like CAN tend to act
as a limiting factor when it comes to reliability, availability and
bandwidth. To break this impasse, the FlexRay protocol has been
specified as a route to a new network standard that offers high
bandwidth, fault-tolerant operation and deterministic behaviour as a
basis for advanced future automotive applications, such as steer-by-wire
and brake-by-wire. The FlexRay baud rates of up to 10 Mbps open up new
dimensions of automotive communication. Two redundant communication
channels support fault-tolerant operation. Unlike event-triggered
systems such as CAN, FlexRay is based on a time-triggered architecture
where communication is organized in predefined time slots on the FlexRay
bus. This ensures deterministic behaviour with predefined latencies and
avoids bus overloads. NEC Electronics has accumulated substantial
experience in time-triggered communication protocols. Before the CAN
protocol was becoming widely accepted, NEC was already generating the
ideas necessary to establish a global time system in a distributed
network, granting free access to its patent on global time
synchronization later on for the ISO standardization of TTCAN. As an
associate member of the FlexRay consortium since February 2003, NEC
Electronics is now turning FlexRay theory into reality with first
silicon implementations.
e Verification Environment for FlexRay Advanced Automotive Networks
FlexRay is the vehicle networking standard being
backed by all major automotive manufacturers because it is fast and
flexible while being reliable and deterministic. NXP (formerly Philips)
Semiconductor is a founding member of the FlexRay Consortium and has
invested heavily in a comprehensive e verification environment for
FlexRay, which IPextreme is taking to market. This paper will explore
how this recently announced environment can validate modifications to a
FlexRay core and confirm correct operation of an SoC within a simulated
FlexRay network. This eVC Kit has validated the FlexRay executable
reference model that also serves as the basis for the FlexRay
conformance test.
FlexRay hits the road
Over the last few years, automotive electronics have increasingly
defined the driving experience of modern vehicles. Starting in engine
management and car audio, electronics have now penetrated all major
systems in the vehicle ranging from power train, body, chassis, driver
assistance systems, and active and passive safety systems. The trend to network these systems started in the mid-80s with the
introduction of the controller area network (CAN). At that time every
electronic control unit (ECU) still represented an autonomous functional
unit in the vehicle. As the number of ECUs has increased along with the
technical abilities that electronic control can provide, the trend has
shifted from networked ECUs to distributed systems where functions are
spread across multiple ECUs.
