Jaguar Land Rover To Utilize Elektrobit Software And Operating System For Next-Generation Vehicles

Most major automakers have come to the conclusion that they need to transition to more modern electrical/electronic (E/E) architectures and software stacks. This fundamental change in approach to vehicle design is necessary to enable the faster pace of development that customers increasingly expect, including the ability to add new and improved features features through over-the-air (OTA) software updates. Not to be left behind, Jaguar Land Rover will be launching its own new E/E architecture known as EVA Continuum with the help of Continental subsidiary Elektrobit for the software platform and operating system.

This concept of modern E/E architectures and software stacks was largely pioneered in the auto industry by Tesla when it launched the Model S in 2012. Electronic control systems have been used in vehicles since the 1970s when they were first applied to engines to help meet then new emissions standards as well as early generation safety systems like ABS.

In the nearly 50 years since, the E/E architecture evolved in a piecemeal fashion with each new feature added coming with its own electronic control unit (ECU) and embedded software written specifically for that hardware and task. Thus we now have vehicles that in some cases have more than 100 ECUs to manage everything from the powertrain to more mundane features like sequential turn signals and massaging seats.

As engineers and product planners keep devising new features to try to differentiate there vehicles from the competition, this approach is clearly not sustainable. Those dozens of lower powered ECUs need to be packaged somewhere in the car and wiring harnesses run to enable them. What Tesla did was utilize higher powered compute platforms that can run many features, thus reducing the total number of ECUs.

The JLR EVA Continuum architecture reduces the number of ECUs down to just a handful of higher performance domain controllers, including one that runs all driver assistance functions, another for all infotainment and another as the communications gateway. JLR is by no means the only automaker going down this path. Some are developing their own software platforms like GM’s Ultify, Volvo’s VolvoCar.OS and Mercedes-Benz MB.OS.

JLR has chosen to work with software specialist Elektrobit which is owned by tier 1 supplier Continental. Elektrobit will be providing JLR with a complete real time computing software platform that is part of its automotive OS offering. This includes a middleware layer with classic Autosar to manage safety critical real time operations, in-vehicle networking management, and security. Within these modern systems there are typically multiple operating systems running for various aspects of the vehicle. In the JLR applications this will include Linux, QNX and the aforementioned Autosar.

The middleware layer also provides abstraction between the applications and the hardware so that each can be developed independently. Unlike the applications that run on computers and mobile devices, those that run on a modern automotive platform like this include all of the functions that used to run in those discrete ECUs. Instead of directly reading data from sensors, a feature like electronic stability control or adaptive cruise control would call application programming interfaces (APIs) that provide the data. Similarly, control commands to actuators like brakes, steering or motors would go through APIs. In this way multiple applications can utilize the APIs they need and the hardware can be updated with just an update to the code within the API without necessarily changing the application.

With modern vehicles having so many wireless connections including cellular data, WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC and ultra-wide-band, security is a bigger issue than ever. There are more attack surfaces for bad actors to interfere with modern vehicles in a number of ways. Several years ago, Continental acquired an Israeli startup called Argus Cybersecurity that specializes in developing in-vehicle security solutions.

“We have security by design, basically that is built in our platform,” said Elektrobit CEO Maria Anhalt. “For that we use our own security development but also technology from Argus is already in the platform, and we are still in negotiations with JLR for additional security products, but we have integrated security in the platform.”

There is a dedicated team of engineers from Elektrobit working with JLR to integrate the software platform with the automaker’s EVA architecture. Elektrobit code will be running across each of the domain controllers that comprise the compute platform to help turn new JLR vehicles into the sort of software defined vehicles that consumers are increasingly coming to expect. This will allow JLR to use continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) processes to provide a regular cadence of bug fixes and updated and new functionality over the life of the car. Those OTA updates will also be managed by the Elektrobit platform.

The first JLR products featuring the EVA Continuum E/E architecture and Elektrobit software platform are expected to debut sometime in 2024. Elektrobit is also working with Afeela, the new EV brand that is debuting from the Sony Honda Mobility joint-venture in 2026.