Key challenges in the development of automotive software-based electronic control systems : executive summary

This document is the executive summary of the author's Engineering Doctorate portfolio. It is entitled "Key Challenges in the Development of Automotive Software-based Electronic Control Systems", and presents the main results from two distinct but interrelated projects, each of which addresses a different challenge. It begins with an introduction to automotive software-based electronic control systems, and emphasises the problems associated with the use of software. The first project was concerned with using software in a safety-related control system, and addressed the issue of how to demonstrate that it was sufficiently safe, i.e. that there was sufficient confidence that the software would behave as expected, even under fault conditions. The second project was concerned with the investigation and introduction of a new simulation technology for developing electronic control systems. It sought to address the challenge presented by the need to develop ever more complex systems, whilst at the same time reducing dependence on prototype testing, and reducing the time available for development. The projects ran concurrently throughout, and both were perfonned within the ElectricallElectronic Engineering department at Jaguar Cars, who are responsible for the development of all the control systems within Jaguar's products. This summary concludes with a section which hypothesises on the future direction for automotive software-based electronic control system technology, against a context of the business environment in which the industry operates