Automotive Ethernet” is not a new concept, with many solutions introduced as early as 2015 or even earlier. How does ethernet technology in the automotive industry differ from the usual ethernet technology we generally know about?
The main aspects that drove automotive companies to adopt Ethernet technology was a reduction in wiring, to a single balanced pair of wires, and reliability. Automotive Ethernet semiconductor products are built to withstand the stringent environmental requirements of the automotive industry and include the documentation necessary for system builders to be ISO 26262 Functional Safety compliant.
Above the physical layer connections, automotive Ethernet uses the same frame structure and communication mechanisms as standard Ethernet, including all security features offered by this mature technology. This is what makes automotive Ethernet attractive.
From your understanding, at what level/stage is automotive ethernet development currently at?
Like most automotive technologies, automotive Ethernet was first deployed in higher-end, feature-rich car models. It is now being deployed out to mass-market models and is seeing rapid adoption in the industry. Since Ethernet is very mature, and only the physical layer changed for use in the vehicle, carmakers can take advantage of the knowledge gained over the past 50 years that Ethernet has been used for a myriad of applications.
