FAQs

AUTOSAR (AUTomotive Open System ARchitecture) is a worldwide development cooperation of car manufacturers, suppliers and other companies from the electronics, semiconductor and software industry. Since 2003 they have been working on the development and introduction of an open, standardized software architecture for the automotive industry.

Former hardware and component-driven development process had to be more and more replaced by a requirement- and function-driven process. New service-oriented architectures will also be supported by AUTOSAR. Engineering does not only aim at optimizing single components but optimizing on system level. This requires an open architecture as well as scalable and exchangeable software modules. Since these issues can hardly be handled by individual companies instead they constitute an industry-wide challenge, leading OEMs, suppliers and tool vendors jointly work on an open standard for automotive E/E architecture, within the AUTOSAR development cooperation. Basic idea is the re-use of software components so that the rising complexity can also be handled in the future.

The primary goal of the AUTOSAR development cooperation is the standardization of basic system functions and functional interfaces. This enables development partners to integrate, exchange and transfer functions within a car network and to substantially improve software updates and upgrades over the vehicle lifetime. Having this goal in mind, AUTOSAR pushes the paradigm shift from an ECU-based to a function-based system design attempt in automotive software development and enables the management of the growing E/E complexity with respect to technology and economics.

The AUTOSAR scope includes all vehicle domains besides the infotainment domain. AUTOSAR focuses on body, power train and chassis domains first. All vehicle control applications are addressed, particularly with respect to distributed functions (e.g. via busses).

The AUTOSAR development cooperation is an alliance of OEM manufacturers, Tier 1 automotive suppliers, automotive electronics, semiconductor and software companies working together to develop and establish an open industry standard for automotive E/E architecture. This standard serves as a basic infrastructure for the management of functions within both, applications and standard software modules. The AUTOSAR development cooperation is managed by its Core Partners who built up a distributed, virtual organization with decision processes based on unanimity. The actively contributing resources are provided by the globally distributed AUTOSAR Core, Premium and Development Partners. This places high demands on effective and efficient project and resource management, accurate reporting, quality assurance and transparent communication. Automotive OEMs and suppliers which are interested in AUTOSAR can apply for a Premium or Associate Partnership. The Development Partnership is especially suitable for specific contributions to the technological development of AUTOSAR specifications. For details on partnership levels, please see the website of the AUTOSAR development cooperation.

After having investigated the initial organizational and technical information on www.autosar.org, you can also request a more detailed set of information from request@autosar.org.

General benefits:

• Increased re-use of software
• Increased design flexibility
• Clear design rules for integration
• Reduction of costs for software development and service in the long term
• OEM overlapping re-use of non-competitive software modules
• Increase in software quality due to multiple companies using and testing same modules
• Focus on protected, innovative and competitive functions

Specific benefits for OEMs:

• Functions of competitive nature can be developed separately
• Later sharing of innovations is accessible
• Standardized acceptance tests

Specific benefits for suppliers:

• Reduction of version proliferation
• Development sharing among suppliers
• Increase of efficiency in functional development
• New business models
• Preparation for upcoming increase in software volume

Specific benefits for tool developers:

• Common interfaces with development processes
• Seamless, manageable, task-optimized (time-dependent) tool landscape

Specific benefits for new market entrants:

• Transparent and defined interfaces enable new business models
• Clear contractual task allocation and outsourcing of software implementation accessible

AUTOSAR is the basis for additional new functions and increases the speed of their introduction. AUTOSAR enables the development of systems with increased complexity at reasonable costs with high quality, e.g. new driver assistance systems and safety systems.

The standardization will result in a higher degree of re-use of components. This will basically increase the maturity and thus also the quality of these components. Furthermore, AUTOSAR will ease both, the ECU and the system integration, which means typical pitfalls during integration are avoided.

The AUTOSAR development cooperation standardizes software technologies for automotive use. Consequently it aims to comply with all relevant standards and is therefore in regular contact with other standardization bodies, like ISO, ASAM or GENIVI. If there are existing solutions available, they are integrated, referenced or adopted when this is adequate. In case of overlaps AUTOSAR cares about compatibility issues and clarification of responsibilities.

Many members of JasPar are partners of AUTOSAR and vice versa. These companies form the link and transfer the spirit of the cooperation. JasPar is concentrating on exploitation of AUTOSAR and FlexRay standards. JasPar revues, validates and implements AUTOSAR specifications. Within JasPar, a working group has been established that acts as a bridge function towards AUTOSAR. JasPar members that are not partners in AUTOSAR have access to the published AUTOSAR specifications only.

AUTOSAR does not approve or decline publication of derived AUTOSAR material, the author must make sure they respect applicable copywrite and IP regulations, additionally it is recommended that the author should refer to the necessity of an AUTOSAR partnership to exploit intellectual property rights.

If your company wants to exploit AUTOSAR Work, your company needs to become an AUTOSAR partner, e.g. if AUTOSAR Work is needed for the integration of components and/or for their further processing where AUTOSAR Work is not conclusively implemented into a component, an AUTOSAR partnership is required. For more information please visit our subpage for Partners or send an e-mail to partner@autosar.org.

AUTOSAR offers different types of partnership levels depending on your company´s type or size, your areas of expertise and your individual interest in becoming an AUTOSAR Partner. The AUTOSAR Administration can help you find the most suitable partnership level for your company/organization. Please send an email to partner@autosar.org.

To become AUTOSAR Partner you will have to go through a partnership application process where you will be requested to hand in various documents and details explaining know more about your company and your interest in AUTOSAR. For more information, get your Information Package by clicking on the “Join Us” button on the AUTOSAR page.

The annual AUTOSAR partnership fee and required FTE contribution depends on the different partnership levels (see AUTOSAR Partner).

Please send an e-mail to partner@autosar.org for more information.