Vector and Absint Lead the Charge toward Autonomous Driving

Vector Informatik and Absint Team Up to Enhance Autonomous Driving Safety

Vector Informatik and Absint have joined forces to simplify the task of ensuring the correct timing in fail-operational systems, which are critical for autonomous driving and x-by-wire applications. By integrating their tools, the two companies are making it easier for ECU developers to analyze the worst-case execution time (WCET) for projects using Vector’s Microsar software.

This collaboration aims to verify that the timing behavior of autonomous driving systems adheres to stringent safety standards. Vector and Absint are leveraging their expertise in safety-related embedded systems to fine-tune Vector’s safety-certified Microsar platforms with Absint’s advanced timing analysis tools. The result is a predictable system that meets fail-operational criteria.

As vehicles move towards hands-free autonomous driving, control is increasingly given to advanced systems within specific scenarios. These systems must meet rigorous functional safety and timing demands. Accurate knowledge of the maximum runtime for functions, known as WCET, is crucial for demonstrating safety-related availability. However, determining WCET can be challenging and resource-intensive.

Vector and Absint’s partnership tackles this problem head-on, facilitating easier analysis of systems reliant on precise timing for functional safety. Fail-operational systems, such as those used in autonomous driving and x-by-wire setups, need to continue operating even when individual components fail. These systems need to be highly safe, reliable, and predictable.

Microsar, built on the Autosar standard with extra features, is designed for developing fail-operational systems. It supports adaptive and scalable software architectures. Absint’s timing analysis tools complement this by offering rigorous methods for determining WCET, ensuring that the system’s timing behavior is reliable and free from faults.

Falco Bapp, a manager at Vector, stated, “Our collaboration with Absint is crucial for enabling WCET analysis of complex automotive software. Together, we’re paving the way for safer fail-operational systems in autonomous driving.”

Vector’s TA tool suite and Absint’s timing analysis tools work together to provide a complete timing toolchain, applicable throughout all phases of a project’s lifecycle. Christian Ferdinand, managing director of Absint, added, “Through our cooperation, we gain a precise understanding of the underlying Vector software, which enhances our analysis precision. Our joint customers benefit from years of close collaboration.”

By uniting their strengths, Vector and Absint are not just meeting, but setting, the safety benchmarks for the autonomous vehicles of the future.