NXP Semiconductors N.V. breaks through the integration barriers for next-generation software-defined vehicle (SDV) development with the introduction of its S32 CoreRide platform. Accordingly, the new industry-first vehicle software platform greatly simplifies complex vehicle architecture development and cuts costs for automakers and tier-1 suppliers.

Thus, the S32 CoreRide platform brings together NXP’s established S32 compute, networking, system power management and ready-to-deploy software from the company’s extensive software partner ecosystem.

Moreover, the company is also unveiling its first S32 CoreRide solution for central compute based on NXP’s new S32N family of vehicle super-integration processors. It offers safe and scalable combinations of real-time and applications processing as well as vehicle networking.

The rise of SDVs introduces promising yet challenging paths forward. A new software-defined approach is imminent as upgradable features and new revenue streams are in demand across vehicle fleets. The proliferation of hardware-defined variants across different vehicle classes has become impractical to maintain in the modern vehicle architecture development flow.

S32 CoreRide platform: integration and consolidation

NXP’s S32 CoreRide platform represents the next milestone in overcoming the software and hardware integration challenges blocking fast adoption of SDVs. In addition, automakers have struggled to move functions from the traditional multi-ECU to zoned or centralized processing due to software and architectural inconsistencies. The new platform integrates NXP’s broad hardware portfolio with software from the world’s leading automotive experts across a comprehensive ecosystem. They include Accenture ESR Labs, ArcherMind, Blackberry QNX, Elektrobit, ETAS, Green Hills Software, Sonatus, Synopsys, TTTech Auto, Vector Informatik GmbH, and Wind River as well as tier-1 suppliers like Valeo.

Leveraging the scalable S32 compute in the S32 CoreRide platform, OEMs can consolidate ECUs and develop flexible architectures. Particularly, from domain to zonal to centralized, that scale across vehicle classes and generations. The platform provides the ability to isolate vehicle functions. Thus, helping ensure freedom from interference between each application and dynamically re-allocate resources. For that reason, applications do not degrade in performance as they evolve over time.

This level of integration and flexibility advances carmakers and tier-1 suppliers to the next point in their development since they can now utilize the S32 CoreRide platform to put more focus on differentiation and the creation of application software for new business models.

“The automotive industry’s shift to software-defined vehicles presents unprecedented levels of disruption,” said Henri Ardevol, executive vice president and general manager, automotive embedded systems at NXP.

In addition, Ardevol said, “In the last decade, many industries have successfully adopted faster innovation cycles and effectively achieved higher performance at lower cost through tight integration of silicon and software. With NXP’s S32 CoreRide platform, automakers can now radically transform their approach to SDV development by adopting a much faster, open development path.”

First S32 CoreRide solutions for central compute based on new S32N family

NXP also introduces its first solutions in the S32 CoreRide platform: the central compute solution based on the new S32N family of vehicle super-integration processors, advanced vehicle networking. In addition, system power management, and pre-integrated software from the S32 CoreRide open partner ecosystem. The central compute solution allows automakers to safely and easily integrate many cross-vehicle functions running in isolation-ready execution environments enabled by the S32N family’s automotive-grade hardware isolation capabilities.

The scalable S32N family, purpose-built for the highest level of automotive functional safety, offers multiple combinations of real-time and applications processing cores to meet a wide range of automakers’ central compute needs. All S32N devices integrate an advanced hardware security engine and multi-port TSN Ethernet switch and CAN hub, with some also supporting Ethernet packet acceleration, AI/ML acceleration, and cost-effective, inter-compute PCI Express services.

The S32 CoreRide central compute solution is optimized to meet the network bandwidth, power delivery requirements and targets ISO 26262 ASIL D functional safety requirements. It can unlock the benefits of SDVs by providing vehicle data intelligence for streamlining deployment and monetization of enhanced capabilities and new services over a vehicle’s lifetime.

Learn more about the central compute solution and the new S32N family.