Automotive Architecture Framework: The experience of Volvo Cars

The automotive domain is living an extremely challenging historical moment shocked by many emerging business and technological needs. Electrification, autonomous driving, and connected cars are some of the driving needs in this changing world. Increasingly, vehicles are becoming software-intensive complex systems and most of the innovation within the automotive industry is based on electronics and software. Modern vehicles can have over 100 Electronic Control Units (ECUs), which are small computers, together executing gigabytes of software. ECUs are connected to each other through several networks within the car, and the car is increasingly connected with the outside world. These novelties ask for a change on how the software is engineered and produced and for a disruptive renovation of the electrical and software architecture of the car. In this paper we describe the current investigation of Volvo Cars to create an architecture framework able to cope with the complexity and needs of present and future vehicles. Specifically, we present scenarios that describe demands for the architectural framework and introduce three new viewpoints that need to be taken into account for future architectural decisions: Continuous Integration and Deployment, Ecosystem and Transparency, and car as a constituent of a System of Systems. Our results are based on a series of focus groups with experts in automotive engineering and architecture from different companies and universities.