Table of Contents:

• • About BOS Semiconductors
  • Target Markets
  • Eagle-N: A Breakthrough in Automotive AI
  • Why Hardware Security Matters
  • Rambus RT-640: ASIL-B Certified Security for Eagle-N
  • The Strategic Impact
  • Summary

About BOS Semiconductors

Founded in 2022, BOS Semiconductors—short for Best of Silicon—is a global fabless semiconductor company headquartered in South Korea. Its mission is to drive mobility innovation through differentiated semiconductor technology, focusing on:

• Technology Excellence: Advanced chiplet-based SoCs for automotive and robotics.
• Distinguished Creativity: Reimagining mobility with modular, scalable architectures.
• Safety and Reliability: Meeting stringent automotive standards for functional safety and cybersecurity.

Target Markets

BOS primarily serves:

• Automotive ADAS and IVI systems – enabling real-time AI processing for safety and immersive experiences.
• Autonomous driving platforms – delivering scalable compute for Level 2+ autonomy.
• Robotics and intelligent spaces – extending AI acceleration beyond vehicles into drones and industrial automation.

Eagle-N: A Breakthrough in Automotive AI

The Eagle-N chiplet SoC, is designed to meet the growing compute demands of modern vehicles:

• Performance: Up to 250 TOPS (INT8) NPU performance, scalable to 2,000+ TOPS.
• Architecture: Chiplet-based design for modularity and cost efficiency
• Interfaces: PCIe Gen5 and UCIe for seamless integration with existing ADAS and IVI processors.
• Safety: ISO 26262 ASIL-B compliance and AEC-Q100 Grade 2 qualification.
• Security: Built-in hardware virtualization and security engine.

This architecture allows OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers to add AI acceleration without redesigning entire systems, reducing cost and time-to-market.

Why Hardware Security Matters

As vehicles become software-defined and connected, cybersecurity is no longer optional—it’s a core safety requirement. Two critical standards govern this domain:

• ISO 26262: Functional safety for electrical/electronic systems, defining Automotive Safety Integrity Levels (ASILs).
• ISO/SAE 21434: Cybersecurity engineering for road vehicles, addressing threats across the entire lifecycle.

Failure to comply can lead to catastrophic risks—from system malfunctions to remote cyberattacks that compromise steering or braking. For chipmakers, this means embedding security by design at the silicon level.

Rambus RT-640: ASIL-B Certified Security for Eagle-N

To meet these stringent requirements, BOS integrates Rambus RT-640, an automotive-grade Embedded HSM that provides:

• Root-of-Trust security: providing system wide Root-of-Trust based security functionality such as secure boot, debug and firmware update, key management and protection, attestation, SKU and feature management, cryptographic acceleration.  
• ASIL-B Certification: TÜV-SGS certified per ISO 26262, ensuring functional safety.
• Cryptographic Strength: Hardware accelerators for AES, RSA, ECC, HMAC-SHA-2, and NIST-compliant random number generation.
• Fault Protection: Detects ≥90% single-point faults and ≥60% latent faults, meeting ASIL-B metrics.
• Secure Boot & Key Management: Guarantees that only authenticated software runs on the SoC.
• Anti-Tamper Mechanisms: Protects against physical and side-channel attacks.

This integration ensures Eagle-N delivers robust AI performance with uncompromising security, enabling OEMs to comply with global safety and cybersecurity regulations.

The Strategic Impact

The BOS-Rambus collaboration sets a new benchmark for automotive silicon:

• For OEMs and Tier-1s: Accelerates deployment of advanced AI features while meeting ISO 26262 and ISO/SAE 21434 compliance.
• For Consumers: Safer, smarter, and more secure vehicles—paving the way for autonomous mobility.
• For the Industry: Demonstrates how chiplet architectures and hardware-rooted security can coexist to deliver scalable, future-ready solutions.

Conclusion

As the automotive world continues toward autonomy and connectivity, performance without security is no longer acceptable. BOS Semiconductors’ Eagle-N, fortified by Rambus RT-640, exemplifies the fusion of high-performance AI and ASIL-B certified security—a critical foundation for the next generation of vehicles.

The AutoTech Breakthrough Awards, now in a fifth year, is a globally recognized program that honors excellence and innovation in automotive and transportation technology. With thousands of nominations spanning over 15 countries, the awards are a testament to the advancements driving the future of the auto industry. Categories include areas such as Autonomous Driving, Artificial Intelligence, Electric Vehicles, Automotive Cybersecurity, and more. Rambus winning in the Automotive Cybersecurity category reflects the company’s success in addressing one of the most critical challenges in the automotive world today: ensuring the safety and security of modern vehicles against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.

Specifically recognized in this year’s AutoTech Breakthrough Award is the RT-64x Root of Trust family of hardware security IP cores providing embedded Hardware Security Module (HSM) functionality for automotive applications. These fully programmable, ISO 26262 ASIL-B and ASIL-D cores, complying with ISO 21434, provide “security by design,” safeguarding against various types of hardware and software attacks. The RT-64x cores protect automotive systems from faults, tampering, and other cyber threats through a multi-layered security architecture. They create a secure foundation for the automotive supply chain, and support multi-tenant deployments enabling secure applications to have unique keys and independent access permissions, ensuring that data and functionality remain compartmentalized and secure.

Rambus is also looking to the future of cybersecurity with our Quantum Safe Cryptography capabilities. As quantum computing becomes more advanced, the threat to current encryption methods grows. Rambus solutions are designed to offer resilience against the future capabilities of quantum computers, ensuring that automotive systems remain secure in the quantum era.

Winning the “Automotive Cybersecurity Innovation Of The Year” award at the 2024 AutoTech Breakthrough Awards is not just a milestone for Rambus; it is a testament to the company’s forward-thinking approach and leadership in automotive cybersecurity. As vehicles become more complex and connected, Rambus continues to deliver the solutions that the industry needs to stay ahead of ever-evolving cyber threats. With its focus on multi-layered security, quantum-safe cryptography, and robust hardware security, we’re  paving the way for a safer, more secure automotive future.

• Supports need for integrated software and hardware offerings providing faster time to market
• Reduces risk with pre-integrated, pre-validated, pre-certified full HSM stack solution
• Raises the bar for automotive safety and security for the software-defined vehicle

[Last updated: April 25, 2024] The automotive industry is undergoing an exciting transformation towards the software-defined vehicle (SDV) that will enable a new era of customer-centric mobility and create new business opportunities and revenue streams for automotive stakeholders. However, this transformation comes with its own set of challenges that demand revolutionary approaches to navigate the ever-increasing complexity, while at the same time meeting faster time to market (TTM) demands and regulatory safety and security compliance for market access.

One such approach is strategic collaborations within the automotive ecosystem, like the one ETAS and Rambus recently announced to co-develop and provide a bundled cybersecurity solution. We are excited to share more details about this unique, pre-integrated, and pre-validated solution that unites Rambus hardware and ETAS software expertise to create a secure enclave on next-generation automotive silicon designs.

Table of Contents:

• • Automotive System-on-Chip (SoC) Challenges
  • Hardware Security in the Automotive Industry
  • Integrated HSM Hardware and Software Stack – The Solution
  • Innovative iHSM Solution from ETAS and Rambus

Automotive System-on-Chip (SoC) Challenges

Automotive-grade SoCs have evolved significantly in the last decade from microcontroller-based chips to more advanced and complex microprocessor-based SoCs. This evolution is a response to the never-ending demands for greater computing to fulfill different use cases and enhance customer experiences. The progression in hardware architecture has enabled greatly increased functionality such as Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS), automation, E/E vehicle architecture transformation, and much more, to realize the software-defined vehicle (SDV). This technological evolution at the SoC level is opening a new era in the automotive industry, but it also comes with challenges. One of the critical challenges is the diverse and heterogenous architecture of these SoCs with multiple computing islands for different applications. This diversity in the hardware architecture is making security implementations more complex and integration more time consuming for automotive OEMs and Tier 1 system engineering teams.

Hardware Security in the Automotive Industry

Over the last decade, the automotive industry has increasingly relied on Hardware Security Modules (HSM) as the trusted hardware platform for secure tamper-resistant cryptographic operations and key management. HSMs offer various security services and capabilities, including secure communication channels, data integrity protection, message authentication, secure boot processes, and system security policies.

HSMs securely execute authenticated user applications with security mechanisms like tamper detection and protection, secure storage and handling of keys and security assets, and resistance to side-channel attacks. Access to cryptographic accelerator modules, keys, memory ranges, I/O, and other resources is enforced by hardware. Critical operations like encryption, signing, authenticating, key generation, derivation, and storage are performed in hardware without external software access.

Originally, HSMs were offered as standalone secure element chips or HSM-embedded automotive microcontrollers connected to host system buses. However, the HSM landscape has evolved to meet modern automotive systems’ increased complexity, stricter security requirements, and performance demands. Today, HSMs are siloed hardware blocks (IP) instantiated in automotive SoC ICs. In some SoCs, there are multiple HSM IP blocks to fulfill a variety of security use cases and demands.

This new trend in HSMs reflects the growing importance of cybersecurity in highly connected vehicles, and at the same time, it supports the need for pre-integrated, pre-validated, pre-certified, scalable solutions to help OEMs meet safety and security compliance. Synthesizable automotive-grade HSM silicon IP has emerged as a critical strategy for efficient and effective SoC development.

As with any silicon IP design, the synthesizable automotive-grade HSM IP provides greater flexibility for customization to meet specific performance requirements for critical use cases. The technology-agnostic nature of the HSM silicon IP offers a cost-effective and scalable solution for securing multiple SoCs. Safety and security certified HSM IP enhances the overall reliability and quality of the SoC, minimizing the risk of design and cybersecurity flaws, while ensuring faster compliance at the chip level.

Integrated HSM Hardware and Software Stack – The Solution

To further support OEMs and SoC developers manage design, safety, security, and cost challenges, an integration of the HSM hardware and software stack is required. Specifically, synthesizable HSM hardware IP should come with pre-integrated, pre-validated embedded HSM software (SW). This would enable a technology-node agnostic, full hardware IP-SW stack ready to be integrated into any SoC allowing the security SW integration development to start 18-24 months earlier at the automotive Tier 1 or OEM level. It would also avoid costly and lengthy porting, integration, and validation efforts typically needed for the HSM SW integration with standalone HSM chips or dedicated embedded HSM-based microcontrollers.

Innovative iHSM Solution from ETAS and Rambus

ETAS and Rambus are now offering a new integrated hardware security module (iHSM) product family that combines the Rambus RT-64x Root of Trust IP with the ETAS embedded cybersecurity software solution ESCRYPT CycurSoC.

The ETAS-Rambus iHSM-64x solution ports ESCRYPT CycurSoC on the RISC-V-based Rambus RT-64x hardware architecture. Designed for automotive security use cases, the pre-integrated security solution is CMOS node agnostic, highly secure, and optimized for efficiency with minimal impact on available system resources. It supports open and standardized interfaces like SHE+, AUTOSAR Classic, Adaptive, POSIX and Hypervisor to Host applications. The full HSM stack (hardware silicon IP and software) is a pre-validated, drop-in solution critical to creating a security enclave on next-generation automotive silicon designs requiring ISO 26262 ASIL-B and ISO 21434 CSMS compliance.

Pre-integrated, pre-validated, pre-certified HSM SW on synthesizable automotive-grade HSM silicon IP is a welcome new trend and an emerging strategy in the HSM space for safer and more secure mobility. To find out more, check out the latest episode of the ETAS podcast in which guests Adiel Bahrouch from Rambus and Omar Alshabibi from ETAS will explore how ecosystem solutions can reduce implementation complexity and risk while accelerating time to market.

Check out all our recent certification news below or head over to our Certifications page for a more detailed look at our many certified security IP solutions.

Rambus is Certified ISO/SAE 21434 Compliant

We are now ISO/SAE 21434 automotive cybersecurity compliant!

We are pleased to share that the Rambus automotive cybersecurity process is now certified as compliant with the ISO/SAE 21434 automotive cybersecurity standard. This further demonstrates our commitment to cybersecurity best practices and to supporting our automotive customers in their UN R155 compliance journey with secure-by-design IP developed in an ISO/SAE 21434 compliant development environment.

Rambus RT-130 Root of Trust IP: SESIP & PSA Certified

Our RT-130 Root of Trust IP has received not just one, but two new certifications!
This hardware Root of Trust core for IoT servers, gateways and edge devices, has been awarded SESIP2 certification from SESIP (Security Evaluation Standard for IoT Platforms) and is also now a PSA (Platform Security Architecture) Certified Level 2 RoT component.

Rambus Public Key Accelerator (PKE) IP: Common Criteria Certified

Our PKE4 IP is now Common Criteria (CC) Certified!

We are excited to expand our offering of Common Criteria certified solutions with our PKE4 IP core with DPA and FIA protection. Our PKE core achieved EAL4+ level certification, meaning it is certified for the baseline EAL4 (Evaluation Assurance Level) with additional elements: AVA_VAN.5 for vulnerability analysis, ALC_DVS.2 for the development environment, and ATE_DPT.2 for the depth of testing performed. We look forward to continuing our work with the CC community to further advance the certification of soft IP cores and deliver solutions that enable our customer to achieve the highest security certification levels.

Complexity is the enemy of security, for as complexity increases, the number of vulnerabilities that an adversary can potentially exploit increase exponentially. And the vehicle of tomorrow is becoming highly complex indeed as it undergoes a revolutionary transformation from a relatively simple mechanical system toward a highly interconnected system of compute, mechanical, and connectivity resources including dozens of ADAS/AD sensor technologies and billions of lines of code.

The next-generation vehicle will be a sum of service-oriented software built on a centralized electrical/electronic (E/E) architecture powered by highly advanced computing units. Emerging technologies like chiplet architectures will be harnessed to enable the high-performance SoCs required for advanced automotive systems. But these innovative new technologies will themselves introduce new attack vectors to compromise the safety and security of the vehicle.

Protecting automotive systems requires a defense-in-depth strategy, from silicon IP to software. Through this new collaboration, Rambus and ETAS will offer customers a bundled solution that combines the Rambus next-generation RT-640 eHSM IP with ETAS’s market-leading embedded cybersecurity software solution ESCRYPT CycurSoC. This solution will address the challenges of the ever-advancing automotive SoCs, strengthen overall security, and provide a solid trust foundation for the defense-in-depth strategy from the chip to the cloud. With this solution, customers will realize greater scalability, lower implementation risk, and faster time to market.

“The rapidly expanding cyberthreat environment, and increasingly sophisticated adversaries targeting highly complex and connected vehicles, make strategic collaborations for integrated security solutions mission critical,” says Neeraj Paliwal, general manager of Silicon IP at Rambus. “This collaboration unites hardware and software security expertise and maximizes protection of next-generation SoCs for a safer and more secure future mobility.”

“With advancing software capabilities, the automotive industry is undergoing a rapid transformation to software-defined-vehicle ecosystems,” says Dr. Frederic Stumpf, Cybersecurity Portfolio Manager at ETAS. “This strategic collaboration will bring together best-in-class security solutions that support these advanced software features with robust defense-in-depth protection.”

Stay tuned for more details about the ETAS and Rambus security solution in the months ahead. In the meantime, the Rambus and ETAS teams are taking this new collaboration on the road at CES this week. Please contact us if you’d like to learn more about this powerful combination of software and hardware security for your next SoC design.

With the increasing sophistication of Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS), cars sport a growing array of cameras and sensors to enable functions including automated parking, adaptive cruise control, enhanced night vision, and more. Data from lidar (light detection and ranging), radar and traditional global shutter cameras are combined to create and update the digital twin of the world the car traverses. All this converged sensor data takes tremendous bandwidth, and the MIPI® Camera Serial Interface 2 (MIPI CSI-2®) is a great solution for efficiently transporting this volume of data.

To make way for even greater adoption of CSI-2 in the automotive market, the MIPI Alliance and the Automotive SerDes Alliance (ASA) have announced an agreement that will ultimately enable MIPI CSI-2 controllers to interface directly with ASA Motion Link (ASA-ML) PHYs. Supporting specifications, such as MIPI Camera Service Extensions (MIPI CSE^SM) providing protocol-layer security and additional functional safety support, will be made available as well.

Under the announced agreement, ASA will develop an Application Stream Encapsulation Protocol (ASEP) to enable native CSI-2 transport over the ASA-ML PHY. Then, once MIPI has approved ASEP, ASA will include the CSI-2 ASEP in its next specification release as the only recommended camera protocol interface. The agreement also engenders further collaboration opportunities between the two organizations such as the use of MIPI Display Serial Interface 2 (MIPI DSI-2^SM) with ASA technology for automotive display-centric applications.

This is great news for makers of automotive chips and systems as it expands the choice of technologies and lowers the costs of ASA solutions by eliminating the need for a MIPI-compatible bridge chip. Rambus has been a leading provider of MIPI CSI-2 and DSI-2 controller IP for over a decade having enabled over 250 ASIC and FPGA MIPI designs.

If you’re designing a chip for the rapidly accelerating ADAS market, we have automotive-specific MIPI solutions with expert technical support, a full suite of customization and integration services, and applicable safety manual, FMEDA and DFMEA. As the MIPI CSI-2 standard continues to evolve its solution set for the automotive market, Rambus will be there to enable the latest capabilities for your designs.

Read on for Steven’s full interview and don’t forget to register for Rambus Design Summit, happening tomorrow!

Question: Can you tell us a bit about your background?
Steven: My background is in computer architecture, and I’ve done research work in multiprocessor architectures, parallel programming, and neural networks. I’ve always been interested in improving the performance of computer systems, and memory systems are critical to faster computing. I’ve led and worked on several projects here at Rambus pushing DRAM and memory performance in PCs and servers, domain-specific architectures for applications like machine learning, and advanced architectures for near-data processing.

Question: What are you working on at Rambus these days?
Steven:I’m currently working in Rambus Labs, the research organization within Rambus, where I lead a team of senior architects chartered with developing innovations for future DRAMs and memory systems. We get to work on longer-term research projects as well as with our business units on nearer-term programs. There are a lot of interesting challenges for future memory systems, and we’re working on solutions that apply to data centers, mobile computing, and high-performance systems.>

Question: CXL is such an exciting emerging technology – how do you see that impacting the future of data center architecture?
Steven: CXL is one of the most disruptive technologies that’s happened over the last 20 years. It will support emerging datacenter usage models by providing a cache-coherent interconnect for processors and accelerators, we well as memory expansion for applications that process large amounts of data. CXL will ultimately enable higher performance and improved resource sharing, reducing overall cost of ownership.

Question: What do you think are the biggest challenges for computing in the years ahead?
Steven: As the world’s digital data continues to increase, new innovations are needed so that processing can keep up.  With performance increasingly limited by data movement, the industry must focus on faster and more power-efficient interconnects and memory systems. Applications and usage models are changing, so system architectures must continue to evolve as well. Accelerators offer new ways to process data more quickly, and resource disaggregation enables higher resource utilization and improved cost of ownership that will influence the direction of computing architectures in the coming years.

Ahead of the show, we talked to Ann about autonomous driving, what she loves to do in her free time, and growth drivers for the Siemens EDA business. Read on for the full interview below, and join us next week to see Ann’s presentation as well as other sessions covering chip and IP solutions for the data center, edge, automotive and IoT devices including the acceleration and security of AI/ML applications!

Question: Tell us a bit about yourself and your career path. 

Ann: I started my career at Hewlett Packard working in R&D as a software developer for their proprietary operating system after graduating with a BS in computer science and math. I moved into management and held management positions in several business units. In 2012 I was recruited to Galil Motion Control, who manufactures motion controllers and PLCs,  as head of Product Management and Marketing reporting to the President. In 2014 I joined the robot manufacturer Adept Technology, now part of Omron, as Director of Product Management and Marketing reporting to the CSO where we launch Adepts first autonomous robot. In 2016 I was hired by Cadence Design Systems as a Marketing Director in their IP group and after a year moved to the verification group as Director of Product Management for functional safety. In 2019 I joined Siemens to work in product management for a newly acquired copy called Austemper who developed tools for functional safety verification which is where I am now!

For fun I like to run and cycle and my hobbies include sculpting and drawing!

Question: What do you see as the big growth drivers for the Siemens EDA business? 

Ann: The automotive market is a big one for sure. But big growth areas are AI/ML, cloud, 5G are other big growth areas.

Question: What’s the biggest challenge your customers face? 

Ann: The complexities of achieving safety and security on large designs targeted for AV/EVs!   It’s a challenging task and it’s a new market that I predict will realize changes that may increase the complexity of achieving safeness. Time-to-certification is definitely a challenge as making chips/SoCs safe and secure can add many months to the development cycle of a chip.

Question: As we move more towards autonomous driving, what impact are you seeing in the design of automotive electronics? 

Ann: The challenge of getting safety and security certified to the specification of all of the standards we talked about in our presentation!

Question: We’re excited to have you at RDS this year! What key takeaways do you want your audience to walk away with? 

Ann: Thank you so much for inviting me, I am honored to be at RDS!! Key takeaway is this:

Addressing the intersection of safety and security is a challenge, and together, Rambus and Siemens made certain the RT-640 achieved the necessary security and safety levels to allow any automotive SoC design using this IP to fulfill it’s required use cases.

Check out the full interview below, and don’t forget to register for Rambus Design Summit to see Justin and our other amazing speakers!

Question: Can you tell us about your background and how you came to leading sales and marketing at Mixel? 

Justin: Sure, I actually earned my MBA from the University of Melbourne-Melbourne Business School. After graduating, I joined a startup ad agency specializing in the Japanese market. While this experience was not in the semiconductor business, I am able to apply what I learned to drive our global customer engagement and marketing strategy at Mixel.

Question: Beyond mobile phones, which markets or industries have you seen the MIPI standards gaining the most traction?

Justin: Well, you should attend our talk! Automotive is one of the key drivers we see for MIPI. We see an increase in the number of sensors and cameras for various applications, with a significant number of them leveraging MIPI CSI-2 and a MIPI PHY (either MIPI D-PHY or MIPI C-PHY). Displays have also increased in number of screens and resolution for various automotive applications, both safety and infotainment. We are seeing MIPI DSI-2 and DSC being used to address the higher and higher bandwidth requirements.

Question: I3C was developed by MIPI and now that’s being incorporated in server platforms. What do you think is one of the most unexpected places we’ll find MIPI technology addressing?

Justin: MIPI has already proliferated far beyond mobile. I think one that is the most surprising in an operating room—certain kinds of medical devices may require a sensor with a small footprint, low EMI, and low power consumption… actually, maybe it shouldn’t be too surprising to find MIPI in healthcare!

Question: What are the big trends in the IP industry that you think we should be watching?

Justin: If the chiplet model becomes widely adopted and more affordable, I think it will really reinvigorate the IP business.

Question: We’re excited to have you at RDS this year! What key takeaways do you want your audience to walk away with?

Justin: Mixel and Rambus have been partners for many years and we have been the leading provider of MIPI solutions, providing a fully verified and integrated PHY + controller with over 75 joint tape outs, all with first time silicon success. Come to our talk to learn more!

• • Level 0: No driving automation 
  • Level 1: Driver assistance 
  • Level 2: Partial driving automation 
  • Level 3: Conditional driving automation
  • Level 4: High driving automation 
  • Level 5: Full driving automation 
  • Infographic
  • What level of autonomy do most vehicles have now?
  • Additional resources

Autonomous vehicle technology leverages a combination of AI-powered algorithms, specialized cameras, and sensors to navigate and drive. These typically include lidar, radar, sonar, GPS, and inertial navigation systems. Self-driving cars analyze the data generated by these sensors to plot navigational paths and react in real-time by stopping, speeding up, slowing down, and avoiding objects.

Level 0: No driving automation 

At Level 0, vehicles completely lack any driving automation technology. The driver is always engaged, and entirely responsible for operating the vehicle. This includes steering, accelerating, braking, parking, and any other necessary maneuverers or actions to drive or halt the vehicle.

Some Level 0 vehicles may offer limited or momentary driver assistance features, such as warnings and alerts, or even emergency safety interventions. However, these are not considered autonomous functions—so drivers must remain fully attentive and engaged. Examples of limited or momentary driver assistance include automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning, and lane departure warning. 

Level 1: Driver assistance 

At Level 1, automotive systems provide continuous assistance with acceleration, braking, or steering.  Specific examples of Level 1 driver assistance technologies include adaptive cruise control and lane keeping assistance.

Level 1 driver assistance systems operating individually aren’t considered autonomous technology by either the SAE or US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). However, adaptive cruise control and lane keeping assistance systems operating simultaneously qualify as Level 2 automation.

Both Level 1 and Level 2 technology require drivers to remain attentive and fully engaged when operating a motor vehicle. 

Level 2: Partial driving automation

At Level 2, vehicles provide partial automation by continuously helping drivers with acceleration, braking, and steering. Level 2 vehicles are typically equipped with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) that can take control—in specific scenarios—over the above-mentioned functions.

In 2014, Tesla Motors announced its first version of Autopilot, which later expanded to support autonomous steering, braking, speed adjustment, and parking capabilities. In October 2020, Tesla rolled out the first version of its full self-driving beta (FSD Beta) software and continues to release updates at a steady cadence. Despite the introduction of additional features, Tesla’s Autopilot is still classified as Level 2 partial driving automation technology.

The Highway Driving Assist system is another example of real-world Level 2 partial driving automation. Highway Driving Assist systems are installed in vehicles manufactured by Genesis, Hyundai, and Kia. Although these cars require drivers to keep their hands on the steering wheel, the driving assist systems actively steer, accelerate, and brake when traveling on highways.

BlueCruise—a new hands-free partial driving system from Ford—is a third example of real-world Level 2 partial driving automation. BlueCruise allows drivers to take their hands off the steering wheel on certain approved highways in the United States and Canada.

Level 3: Conditional driving automation

At Level 3, vehicles autonomously handle all driving tasks. However, drivers must always be available to take the wheel if ADAS requires assistance or suddenly stops functioning effectively. Level 3 conditional driving automation systems have been developed by several major automotive companies, including Audi.

Although Audi never received approval for its traffic assistance technology, Honda managed to successfully sell a Level 3 traffic jam assistance system. Limited to Japanese roads and the Legend flagship sedan, the system was rolled out to drivers as an optional and paid upgrade.

In early 2022, Mercedes-Benz announced plans to introduce Level 3 autonomous driving capabilities in the U.S. Dubbed Drive Pilot, the technology—which was recently approved for use on certain German highways—supports speeds up to 60 kph (37 mph) and can be used to semi-autonomously navigate in heavy traffic or traffic jams. If approved, drivers will be able to take their hands off the steering wheel and stream videos, send e-mails, and communicate with colleagues.

Level 4: High driving automation

At Level 4, autonomous vehicle systems are completely responsible for all driving and navigational tasks. These self-driving cars can autonomously transport passengers who do not need to be engaged or ready to take control of the vehicle.

However, Level 4 high driving automation systems are typically limited to specific geographic locations—and cannot travel outside of designated service areas or during dangerous weather conditions. Level 4 high driving automation is particularly well suited for driverless taxis and buses on designated routes, trucks transporting goods within specific geographic boundaries, as well as airport passenger and cargo (luggage) shuttles.

Level 5: Full driving automation

At Level 5, autonomous vehicles take full control of all driving and navigational tasks. Passengers simply set a destination and can work, sleep, watch movies, and play games. In the future, vehicles equipped with Level 5 full driving automation systems will operate independently and universally in all weather conditions and roadways.

Infographic

What level of autonomy do most vehicles have now?

Most cars and trucks on the road today feature limited levels of autonomy that span Levels 0 to 2. However, automakers have already announced Level 3 autonomous driving cars—and are working to develop and deploy Level 4 self-driving trucks as well as commercial robotaxis. According to Accenture, vehicles with full-on self-driving capabilities could start hitting highways as early as 2030.

Self-driving cars reduce the risk of accidents and collisions by implementing safeguards, alerting drivers, and taking full control of a vehicle if necessary. Moreover, self-driving cars automatically detect and react to other vehicles, bicyclists, pedestrians, construction zones, potholes, traffic accidents, and traffic jams. Perhaps most importantly, self-driving cars enforce safety standards that may be deliberately or accidentally ignored by human drivers.

Additional Resources:

– Other blogs around automotive & security:

1. Automotive Security: Protecting vehicle electronic systems
2. Connected vehicles face cyber terrorism threat
3. Autonomous Vehicles: Everything about self-driving cars explained
4. AI Requires Tailored DRAM Solutions: Part 2