Ethernet makes way from home to car

Future cars may contain an Ethernet backbone.

The increasing complexity of automotive systems, from diagnostic sensors to infotainment components, creates a need for more robust data networking. Two companies, Micrel and Marvell, recently announced a means of using Ethernet to address at least part of this issue.

Since the 1990s, cars have employed the CAN bus standard to send data between sensors and engine controllers. However, more airbags and the addition of safety technologies such as vehicle stability control tax the capabilities of the CAN bus standard's 1 megabit per second data rate.

To move forward, companies are looking at developing more robust networking capability in the car. The FlexRay consortium, now defunct, produced a specification that allows 10 megabits per second data to flow around the car. The FlexRay spec was designed for mission critical applications with minimal data lag, but its adoption has been slow. BMW currently uses it for the X5 M and X6 M performance vehicles.

Bigger pipes

Ethernet has the potential to move data at much higher rates, 1 gigabyte per second, similar to current home and office networks. In a conversation with CNET, Michael Jones, Senior Product Manager for Micrel, pointed out that economies of ... [Read more]