#hadn’t thought about how car ethernet would be deployed

[kenyatta]

In a zonal architecture, the ECUs are categorized based on their location within the vehicle. The controller is closer to the ECUs, reducing the needed cabling, simplifying the wiring harness, and reducing harness weight by up to 50% with a corresponding reduction in vehicle weight. A zonal architecture can improve data and power distribution.

Developing time-sensitive networking (TSN) in automotive Ethernet is an enabling technology for zonal architectures. It allows efficient communication between ECUs that were in the same domain but are now separated into different zones.

A zonal architecture also supports implementing software-defined vehicle (SDV) functionality. Instead of adding new hardware (ECUs) to add new functions, SDV enables new functions to be downloaded using over-the-air updates into the powerful central vehicle controller. This enables what’s termed continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) of new vehicle functions in near real-time.