Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - February 2021 - 4

TECHNICAL INNOVATIONS

So, we deliver both functionalities, but
with a different focus. "

Software mediator

ZF notes any mobility form
could benefit from such a
software architecture, including
the off-highway sector.

4 February 2021

The ZF ADOPT software platform for chassis control on automated commercial vehicles is one
example of advanced technology that such middleware systems can help coordinate.
" The concept of middleware is not
new, " said Hartmann. But for increasingly
software-dependent vehicles, he explained, having middleware will better
deal with today's and future E/E architectures and help to " future-proof " them for
years to come. " We have to start this
transformation right now, " added Walliser.

Benefits in time, effort and
security

The company's executives said ZF's
new middleware - with its " open "
hardware and software protocols - can
accelerate and enhance development
processes between ZF, automakers and
other suppliers. One prime benefit is

" Middleware is not
a cost-cutter. It's an
enabler. " - Dirk Walliser, ZF
the potential for perpetually updateable
software and even hardware functions
that will bring " an end to static lifecycles " for vehicles and their functions,
said Walliser. The company also said
that the presence of middleware will
reduce software development times
and allow all parties in the supply chain
to concentrate on their software or
hardware's specific functional goals.
The ZF executives speaking with the
media declined to speculate about development-time reduction but did say
they believe an optimized middleware
environment can allow one software
developer to handle the work of what
previously might require up to eight
individuals. And although that metric
seems to imply an intrinsic potential for
cost reduction, Walliser emphatically
stated, " Middleware is not a cost-cutter
- it's an enabler. "
Hartmann said that although ZF's
middleware is designed to be an " open "
architecture, it's not open in the traditional sense of being publicly accessible: partners will have to form a relationship with ZF before gaining insight
about the middleware platform's details
TRUCK & OFF-HIGHWAY ENGINEERING

BOTH IMAGES: ZF

Coinciding with the undertaking to create its middleware platform, ZF also
announced it is establishing a Global
Software Center to, according to a release, prepare for " new challenges in
the triad of software, functions and
smart systems " and to proactively pursue " numerous development processes. " Opening in 2021, the Global
Software Center will be headed by Nico
Hartmann, vice president, Software
Solutions & Global Software Center.
" Middleware is the mediator, " said
Hartmann, between key vehicle systems
and functions that often are created by
a list of disparate suppliers and typically
are controlled by software discrete from
most other aspects of vehicle operations. The company cited as one need
for middleware: contemporary vehicles
can have as many as 100 electronic
control units (ECUs) and each typically
has its own software.
Meanwhile, electrical/electronic (E/E)
architecture development trends are
moving toward a centralization strategy
in which the system consists of just a
few domain control units (DCUs).
According to ZF, these kinds of systems
will work better with middleware designed to collate their communications
and integrate system functions.

Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - February 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - February 2021