Ethernet TSN: A Boon for Automotive AVB Applications

Autonomous cars, vehicle communication and infotainment electronic systems are prevalent in today’s automobiles and everyday life. But, what does this mean for SoCs today?

Growing consumer requirements for today’s mainstream car models include the need for high end cameras, advanced safety features, advanced infotainment systems, smartphone connectivity, etc. Making easy–to-use, precise, reliable systems for safety and comfort is both a challenge and an opportunity for the automotive industry. Recent developments in Ethernet technology have made it the preferred technology of choice for helping to build dependable automotive features.

Ethernet Audio Video Bridging / Time Sensitive Networking (AVB/TSN) is a common name for the set of IEEE 802 Ethernet sub-standards developed by AVB Task Group of the IEEE 802.1 standards committee. These standards aim to address determinism and quality of service without compromising the strengths of Ethernet such as interoperability.

Advantages of using Ethernet for Automotive

• Full compatibility with the existing standard Ethernet technology along with legacy upper layer protocols (TCP/UDP, IPv4/v6, etc).
• It is an open standard which allows devices of different manufacturers to operate with each other. This results in low equipment and system costs because all chip manufacturers will be adopting the same technical specification.
• It makes it possible to deliver deterministic, time-synchronized, low latency data to multiple stations with guaranteed bandwidth.
• Combined with prioritization, it is a light-weight cost-effective solution with guaranteed Quality of Services (QoS) that is needed for audio/video traffic.

Evolution of AVB-TSN Standards

The graph below summarizes the different versions and status of various IEEE AVB-TSN specifications as of today: