Open Engine Management System for Future Engine Concepts Using the Example of the PowerSAR - Powertrain Manager 2011-01-0209

For the world's challenge of sustainability in individual mass mobility a wide range of solutions has been proposed to the community. But besides all progress in the electrification of the drive train, the combustion engine will continue to play a dominant role for individual travel and privately owned cars for the next 10 to 20 years. The challenges for car makers and engine designers become even higher, since future demands concerning emissions and fuel consumption have to be met.

Consequently, with the proposed innovations and the combinations of several individual improvements the Engine Management System will become more and more complex in terms of technical solution and players involved during the development. Hence, support of improved or even alternative system architectures, including alternative function deployment between the electrical units needs to be supported. Once more it becomes obvious that the electronics with its demands for performance, flexibility and scalability is the key component of the future power train.

Using the example of Continental AG's Engine Management System Platform EMS3, we will discuss how an open electronic and software architecture provides solutions for these future needs of combustion, hybrid and electric propulsion. Utilizing an open architecture approach based on the AUTOSAR 4.0 standard, which allows much higher flexibility, the new platform's scalability supports more efficient setups of shared development, including new players on the automotive markets. As an example the newly introduced Powertrain Manager as the core element for supporting various Powertrain topologies is used here for demonstrating how this open architecture approach is delivering the benefits in mastering the already visible complexity of future Powertrain configurations.