A groundbreaking partnership has been announced between Analog Devices, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADI) and the BMW Group (Nasdaq: BMWYY), marking an early adoption of ADI’s E²B™ 10BASE-T1S Ethernet to the Edge bus technology within the automotive industry. This significant move, which was officially announced on March 6, 2024, signifies a major leap forward in automotive Ethernet connectivity, a key driver of new, zonal architectures in automotive design and software-defined vehicles.
E²B™ 10BASE-T1S Ethernet in BMW Group Vehicles
The BMW Group is set to be a leading original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to implement this innovative technology, deploying ADI’s E²B for their future ambient lighting system design in BMW Group vehicles.
Since 2018, ADI has been collaborating closely with the BMW Group on a novel concept aimed at simplifying the integration of Ethernet to the Edge. Concurrently, the IEEE802.3cg Group was in the process of defining a new 10Mbps Ethernet standard, known as 10BASE-T1S. ADI and the BMW Group, among other companies, were actively involved in this process.
Enhanced Hardware Edge Node
By leveraging ADI’s 10BASE-T1S E²B technology to remove microcontrollers and reposition software from edge nodes to central processing units, the BMW Group has succeeded in enabling an all-hardware edge node while reducing software development and qualification tasks. This collaboration has facilitated the rapid transition to market with a zonal architecture solution for software-defined vehicles.
Future Collaboration
ADI is committed to engaging closely with the BMW Group to comprehend their next-generation needs and deliver further optimized products in support of next-generation architectures. In addition, ADI is dedicated to maintaining continued cooperation on standardization.
In-Cabin Experience and Lighting Solutions
The in-cabin experience remains a crucial focus for automakers, with driver and passenger expectations becoming increasingly sophisticated. This is particularly true for ambient lighting within the vehicle. Many of today’s lighting solutions are intricate to implement, employ legacy technologies, and are challenging to scale and update as the number of supported LEDs increases.
By adopting the 10BASE-T1S with E²B technology, OEMs can deliver a rich customer experience while also synchronizing lighting with other applications in the vehicle. Fully enabling a software-defined lighting system offers enhanced flexibility, ease of upgrade, and user-friendliness.
Open Standard Implementation
Such is the demand for this approach to edge connectivity, the automotive industry, under the umbrella of the Open Alliance, is now aiming to standardize a similar solution. ADI, together with the BMW Group and other companies, are actively collaborating with the industry to create an Open Standard implementation.
