Automotive manufacturer Continental has successfully implemented a cross-domain high-performance computer (HPC) in a car. The system is capable of hosting cockpit functionalities and additional vehicle functions, such as driving safety and automated parking, as well as holistic motion control.
The implementation, Continental says, serves as a “showcase for what the development of software-defined vehicles (SDVs) can look like for automotive engineers”.
Features of the SDV include automated parking functions with holistic motion control, ultrasonic sensors, an integrated brake system and surround view cameras, all within the cross-domain HPC architecture.
Jean-François Tarabbia, head of business area architecture and networking at Continental, explained, “The goal is not only to show how well functions work, but to validate how well multiple technologies can be integrated and work alongside each other in HPC-based vehicle architectures within a software-defined vehicle.”
Continental’s demonstration SDV technology car uses the cloud-based Continental Automotive Edge Framework (CAEdge), which facilitates connectivity between the vehicle and the cloud. This framework features a virtual workbench to simplify the development, supply and maintenance of software-intensive system functions.
“With the SDV technology car, we are able to demonstrate Continental’s ecosystem: from road to cloud, from virtual to real,” said Gilles Mabire, CTO at Continental Automotive.
The implementation of the cross-domain HPC was made possible through a technical collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies, leveraging the company’s Snapdragon Ride Flex system-on-chip (SoC) with pre-integrated Snapdragon Ride Vision perception stack.
The Snapdragon Ride Flex SoC supports multi-modal critical workloads on a single chip which, Qualcomm says, provides auto makers with an adaptable approach to designing their vehicles, with passengers benefiting from a driving experience characterized by added assistance, safety and comfort.
Enrico Salvatori, SVP and president of Qualcomm Europe/MEA at Qualcomm Europe, added, “It is very exciting to see the Flex SoC realized in Continental’s HPC and new SDV technology car. The Flex SoC provides a more integrated and adaptable approach to designing and developing vehicle architectures.”
“The concept of the software-defined vehicle relies heavily on high-performance hardware that can handle the amount of data,” Tarabbia added. “With Qualcomm Technologies, we have the strong technical collaborator by our side, who shares our ambitious approach to bring the software-defined vehicle onto the road.”
