The trend towards environmentally friendly drives as well as increasing digitalization and automated driving are increasing the complexity of E/E systems and therefore also the requirements for in-vehicle communication in terms of higher bandwidths, lower latency times and error-free data transmission. High-performance, secure and cost-effective networking of electronic systems is therefore becoming increasingly important. Against this background, standardization in vehicle diagnostics is also gaining in importance in order to simplify development, production and service and to ensure interoperability and cost-effectiveness over the entire vehicle life cycle.
Standardized solutions are regarded as quality and efficiency drivers in numerous areas of the automotive industry, including vehicle diagnostics. By using standardized interfaces and interchangeable diagnostic tools, development times can be significantly shortened and central databases for diagnostic data can be set up uniformly. In addition, once data has been created, it can be used throughout the company, increasing quality and efficiency throughout the entire vehicle life cycle in development, production and service.
As an active member of various leading standardization committees in automotive electronics, such as ASMA, SAE and ISO, Softing Automotive is committed to actively helping shape the technological future. Our customers thus benefit directly from the further development and integration of international standards in our solutions.
Increase in quality thanks to standard processes and data structures
Shorter development times and increased efficiency by eliminating redundant work steps and minimising sources of error
Sustainability by reusing data already created in a number of projects and complete life cycles
Reduction of the manufacturing and engineering costs through shared tools and processes
Challenges
- Electric and alternative drives as well as increasing digitalization and automated driving require more and more processing power
- Increasing complexity of the E/E architectures require more powerful diagnostic communication
- Increasing energy and material costs are reducing the revenue structure in the entire automotive sector
Standardized Solutions
- Considerably shorter development and engineering times particularly due to the setup of a central database for diagnostic data
- Enormous simplification of the mostly heterogeneous tool world through reusability of data once created in engineering/development, production and service
- Availability of tools from different manufacturers which are all based on one data format and have standardized interfaces
- Possibility to set up modular diagnostic tools throughout the company, which enables a high degree of reusability of individual components in the various divisions: for example, standardised interfaces mean that the diagnostic hardware is largely interchangeable and can be obtained from different manufacturers for specific applications
- The diagnostic runtime system is not tied to one supplier; it can be purchased from different manufacturers depending on the requirements in terms of performance, standard conformity, flexibility and costs
Data Description
- Unambiguous description
- Executable specification
- Single source
A standardized description of data is essential if different applications are based on the same information and information is exchanged between several participants in different companies. It guarantees the varied further processing, use in specification systems and data documentation.
Programming interfaces (API)
- Unique runtime behavior
- Support of all use cases
- Developed for Plug & Play
Standardized programming interfaces are used to ensure consistent behavior of test and diagnostic systems across different applications. Furthermore, they facilitate the homogeneous integration of Vehicle Communication Interfaces (VCIs) in test environments regardless of the test system manufacturer.
Protocols
- Support of all use cases
- Wide range of analysis tools
Protocol standardization is used to facilitate the access of different test systems to vehicles and the integration of various ECUs to subsystems – a requirement that is increasingly relevant nowadays.
Bus Systems
- Wide range of VCIs
- Simple ECU integration
In addition to the legally regulated vehicle access via the diagnostic socket (CAN, legacy also K-line), other bus systems with specific requirements such as cost-effective implementation (e.g. LIN), high bandwidth (Ethernet) and use in real-time-critical control systems (e.g. FlexRay) have proven their worth.
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About Softing Automotive
We support our customers with solutions which facilitate the testing, diagnostics and monitoring of mechatronic systems, vehicles and entire fleets. We see our task as starting with communication with the vehicle, through data pre-processing and visualization, to storage – locally or in the cloud. We create the connection to the electronic systems of our customers worldwide!
Leading manufacturers of cars, motorcycles, commercial vehicles and their suppliers all rely on tried and tested tools and scalable solutions from Softing Automotive. But fleet operators and service suppliers also opt for Softing’s secure solutions and flexible services. The internationally binding standards implemented by Softing for programming interfaces, data descriptions, protocols and bus systems guarantee our customers the long-term safeguarding of their projects thanks to the reusability of data with consistently high quality. As an active member of numerous committees and associations (incl. ASAM, ISO, SAE), we take a leading role in defining industry standards.
Why Softing?
Highly efficient vehicle diagnostics – state-of-the-art performance with optimized data formats
>45 years of experience in vehicle diagnostics
>100,000 installations in the market of test and diagnostic systems
Detailed, in-depth data acquisition and analysis
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Discover more from Ed & Ted
In a world where vehicle electronics is constantly evolving, especially via software, engineers and technicians are constantly faced with new challenges. Ed & Ted, two experts in the fields of diagnostics and testing, take on the demanding tasks over the entire vehicle lifecycle.
But while Ed works with tried-and-tested methods and technologies, Ted is already relying on Softing's innovative solutions, which make his work much easier and more efficient.
Join them on their journey through the world of automotive electronics and discover new ways to increase efficiency and quality in development, production and service.
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