Mercedes EQS – On the road with software expertise from Braunschweig

Nowadays, modern vehicles are far more than just a means of transport – they are electric and intelligent. In the luxury segment in particular, vehicles are not only equipped with service-orientated high-tech software that sets new technical standards, but also stand out from the mid-range thanks to their futuristic design. The use of innovative software architecture goes hand in hand with customised equipment and luxurious gadgets, but also with new development challenges. The driving computers are dependent on a robust programme in order to be able to react quickly at all times, for example when keeping the vehicle in lane during autonomous driving, or to be prepared for cyber attacks and other failures. For 10 years now, the Technology Transfer Centre (TTZ) ‘Embedded Systems’ at iTUBS has been working on the development of such software solutions under the leadership of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Rolf Ernst from the TU Braunschweig in a joint transfer project with Mercedes-Benz. The result of this work can be found in the new Mercedes flagship EQS and makes Mercedes the first vehicle manufacturer in the world to use this modern concept to master the development of so-called time-critical software in a series vehicle.

The electric drive | Image credit: Mercedes-Benz AG

The Stuttgart-based car manufacturer recognised the emerging problem of the growing complexity of time-critical software at an early stage. This is because the traditional implementation of such solutions is increasingly being replaced by agile methods, which place great demands on time-critical, closely networked software components – such as those required for drive technology, lane departure warning systems and automated driving. In collaboration with the scientists at the Institute of Data Technology and Communication Networks at TU Braunschweig, Mercedes is relying on ‘Logic Execution Time’ (LET) in its new all-electric luxury saloon and all new models in the EQ series and future hybrid models. Prof. Ernst, who is regarded as a pioneer in this field, explains: ‘LET describes a software architecture in which the active chains of time-critical software are stabilised by fixed communication times so that they are retained in the event of agile changes to the software. This robust process, which is based on a theoretical concept from UC Berkeley, was developed by Mercedes in cooperation with suppliers and iTUBS as a research partner and developed to series maturity, focussing on practical usability, high cost efficiency and safety.’

As a result, the Group is now increasingly focussing on electromobility, which is why Mercedes speaks of the ‘beginning of a new era’ for good reason. In this context, the involvement of the Braunschweig researchers in the evaluation and introduction of systematic software design and analysis methods was decisive, emphasises Prof. Ernst, who has been a professor at the Technical University of Braunschweig since 1990. ‘Conversely, this led to new research questions and results, which led to high-class publications at leading international conferences and in top journals. The collaboration was flanked by publicly funded projects,’ summarises the scientist. LET is still an isolated solution, i.e. it cannot yet be used in all system areas due to the specially customised problem solution for individual tasks, such as driving the EQS model. The project partners have long been working together on a comprehensive solution for the entire vehicle and its internal networking.

The electric drive | Image credit: Mercedes-Benz AG

With ‘System-Level LET’, the many tasks and services of future luxury-class vehicles are to be robustly and flexibly integrated and agilely modified using a standardised methodology. The foundations of this LET extension were jointly developed and have already been incorporated into AUTOSAR, the international software standard of the automotive industry. This means that the results will also be available to other vehicle manufacturers. Over the next few years, preparations will be made to implement the extension in series production. Rolf Ernst therefore sees the transfer of knowledge and technology as a clear success: ‘We have already achieved an important goal with the project and its further development. The further increase in software complexity due to automated driving and new services linked to the cloud will continue to demand systematic and secure methods for coupling with the diverse vehicle functions in the future.

In the luxury segment in particular, the rapid further development and integration of new services will be a key challenge.’ A challenge that the researchers in Braunschweig are only too happy to accept in order to do honour to Europe’s most research-intensive region.

Cover picture | Mercedes-Benz AG

Project profile

Description: Safeguarding agile methods in the design of complex time-critical software

Projectpartner: Mercedes-Benz AG and suppliers as well as the Institute for Data Technology and Communication Networks at TU Braunschweig (TTZ Embedded Systems of iTUBS)

Application: Mercedes EQ-Serie

Period: since 2012 – today

Contact us

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Rolf Ernst
Technische Universität Braunschweig

Institute for Data Technology and Communication Networks
Hans-Sommer-Straße 66
38106 Braunschweig
Tel.: 0531 391-3734

E-Mail: ernst@ida.ing.tu-bs.de
Website: www.ida.ing.tu-bs.de

iTUBS mbH

iTUBS looks forward to working with you to promote the transfer of knowledge and technology in our region and beyond.

Do you have any questions or require further information? Please get in touch with us: info@itubs.de.