Central computing unit, function execution method and device, storage medium and vehicle

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a central computing unit, a function execution method and device, a storage medium and a vehicle. The central computing unit is applied to a vehicle and comprises a plurality of chips. A part of or all of the plurality of chips are used for acquiring data information of a first function domain in a plurality of function domains of the vehicle and processing the data information so as to execute functions of the first function domain, and the first function domain is any one function domain in the plurality of function domains.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of vehicle technology, and in particular to a central computing unit, a function execution method, a device, a storage medium and a vehicle. Background Art

[0002] With the development of automobile electrification, the degree of intelligence is getting higher and higher. In order to adapt to the development of automobile electrification and cope with the increasing demand through distributed architecture, the vehicle will be divided into multiple functional domains according to its functions. Different functional domains will communicate through distributed architecture to realize intelligent control of the vehicle.

[0003] However, as the functions of electrical appliances continue to increase, the number of domain controllers in the vehicle is also gradually increasing, making the layout of controllers more difficult, resulting in a gradual increase in the cost of electronic appliances in the vehicle. Summary of the invention

[0004] The embodiments of the present application provide a central computing unit, a function execution method, a device, a storage medium and a vehicle. By setting multiple chips in the central computing unit, multiple functional domains of the vehicle are integrated across domains into the central computing unit for execution. There is no need to deploy a domain controller for each functional domain to implement the functions of multiple functional domains, thereby reducing the cost of electronic devices in the vehicle.

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a central computing unit, which is applied to a vehicle and includes a plurality of chips;

[0006] Some or all of the multiple chips are used to obtain data information of a first functional domain among multiple functional domains of the vehicle, and process the data information to execute the function of the first functional domain, which is any one of the multiple functional domains.

[0007] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a function execution method, the method is applied to a central computing unit of a vehicle, the central computing unit includes a plurality of chips; the method includes:

[0008] Some or all of the multiple chips obtain data information of a first functional domain among multiple functional domains of the vehicle, and process the data information to execute a function of the first functional domain, where the first functional domain is any one of the multiple functional domains.

[0009] In one embodiment of the present application, the plurality of functional domains are all functional domains of the vehicle.

[0010] In one embodiment of the present application, the structures of the multiple chips are different.

[0011] In one embodiment of the present application, the central computing unit communicates with other hardware on the vehicle via various types of buses.

[0012] In one embodiment of the present application, the multiple types of buses include one or more of the following: an Ethernet ETH bus, a general purpose input / output GPIO bus, a local area network LIN bus, and a controller area network CAN bus.

[0013] In one embodiment of the present application, when the other hardware is the regional controller of the vehicle, the central computing unit communicates with the regional controller of the vehicle through the ETH bus and the Ethernet ring network; when the other hardware is the electronic control unit of the vehicle, the central computing unit communicates with the electronic control unit through the GPIO bus, the local connection network LIN bus or the controller area network CAN bus.

[0014] In one embodiment of the present application, the plurality of chips perform status detection between each other via a preset interface, wherein the preset interface includes an integrated circuit bus I2C interface and / or an input / output IO interface.

[0015] In one embodiment of the present application, the plurality of chips include a microcontroller MCU, a system on chip SOC, and a field programmable gate array FPGA.

[0016] In one embodiment of the present application, the MCU and the SOC communicate via an Ethernet ETH bus; the SOC and the FPGA communicate via a high-speed serial computer extension PCIE bus; and the MCU and the FPGA communicate via a serial peripheral interface SPI bus.

[0017] In one embodiment of the present application, the multiple functional domains include at least one of the following: a body electronics domain, a central gateway domain, a chassis domain, an interactive display domain, a driving assistance domain, and a telematics T-BOX domain.

[0018] In one embodiment of the present application, the functions of the body electronic domain include at least one of the following: control of the lighting system, window system, air-conditioning system, seat system and anti-theft system; the functions of the central gateway domain include at least one of the following: communication through various types of buses, fault diagnosis, over-the-air download OTA management and network management; the functions of the chassis domain include at least one of the following: control of the braking system, steering system, suspension system and vehicle control unit VCU system; the functions of the interactive display domain include at least one of the following: display of AR-HUD, pixel lights, interior electronic rearview mirrors, exterior electronic rearview mirrors and night vision systems; the functions of the driving assistance domain include at least one of the following: driving assistance and automatic parking; the functions of the T-BOX domain include at least one of the following: data collection, vehicle diagnosis and scene customization.

[0019] In one embodiment of the present application, the functions of the body electronics domain, the functions of the central gateway domain, and the functions of the chassis domain are executed by the MCU; the functions of the interactive display domain are jointly executed by the SOC and the FPGA; the functions of the driving assistance domain and the functions of the T-BOX domain are executed by the SOC.

[0020] In one embodiment of the present application, the MCU communicates with other hardware of the vehicle through multiple types of buses to execute functions of the body electronics domain and functions of the chassis domain; the SOC and the FPGA communicate with each camera through the SERDES bus to acquire image data from each camera, and process and / or store the image data to execute functions of the driving assistance domain, functions of the interactive display domain, and functions of the T-BOX domain.

[0021] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an electronic device, comprising: a processor and a memory, wherein the processor is connected to the memory, the memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is used to execute the computer program stored in the memory, so that the electronic device executes the method described in the second aspect.

[0022] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and the computer program enables a computer to execute the method described in the second aspect.

[0023] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, which includes a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, and the computer is operable to cause the computer to execute the method described in the second aspect.

[0024] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a vehicle, comprising a central computing unit as described in any of the above aspects.

[0025] Implementing the embodiments of the present application has the following beneficial effects:

[0026] It can be seen that in the embodiment of the present application, through the mutual cooperation between the multiple chips of the central computing unit, the functions of any one of the multiple functional domains of the vehicle can be executed by the multiple chips, that is, the multiple functional domains of the vehicle are cross-domain integrated to the central computing unit for execution, so that the central computing unit can obtain data information under the multiple functional domains, thereby being able to control the vehicle more intelligently; and after the multiple functional domains are integrated, the functions of the multiple functional domains are uniformly executed by the central computing unit, and there is no need to separately deploy domain controllers for each functional domain to implement the functions of each functional domain, thereby reducing the cost of electronic devices in the vehicle. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0028] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a central computing unit provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0029] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of another internal communication method of a chip in a central computing unit provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0030] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a communication method between a chip and other hardware in a central computing unit provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0031] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a functional domain of a vehicle and the functions of the functional domain provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0032] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of executing the functions of each functional domain provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0033] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the underlying structure of each chip provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0034] Figure 7 A flowchart of a function execution method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0035] Figure 8A schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0037] The terms "first", "second", "third" and "fourth" etc. in the specification and claims of the present application and the drawings are used to distinguish different objects, rather than to describe a specific order. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product or device that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but optionally includes steps or units that are not listed, or optionally includes other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices.

[0038] Reference to "embodiments" herein means that a particular feature, result, or characteristic described in conjunction with the embodiments may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearance of the phrase in various locations in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it an independent or alternative embodiment that is mutually exclusive with other embodiments. It is explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein may be combined with other embodiments.

[0039] In order to facilitate understanding of the technical solution of the present application, the characteristics of several chips involved in the present application are first introduced.

[0040] Microcontroller Unit (MCU): MCU chips usually only contain a basic processor core and necessary peripheral interfaces, and have limited processing capabilities. However, MCUs usually have real-time performance and can respond quickly to inputs and outputs, making them suitable for applications that require high timeliness.

[0041] System On Chip (SOC): SOC integrates many functional modules, such as processor, memory, graphics processor, communication interface, etc., supports the storage of large amounts of data, and can meet the needs of more complex applications. SOC is equipped with a powerful processor that can handle complex algorithms and large amounts of data, such as image processing and AI computing.

[0042] Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA): FPGA is programmable and can implement different logic function interface expansions as needed, enabling fast image display.

[0043] See also Figure 1 , Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a central computing unit provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 As shown, the central computing unit includes multiple chips, and this application mainly describes the chips 1, 2, and 3 as examples. The central computing unit is located on the vehicle and is used to execute the functions of any functional domain of the vehicle.

[0044] It should be noted that the structures of the above-mentioned multiple chips are different, and the functions implemented by chips of different structures are different. Therefore, when executing the functions of different functional domains of the vehicle, the chips involved in executing the functions in the central computing unit may also be different. Exemplarily, the functions of certain functional domains may only require the participation of some chips among multiple chips, or may require the participation of all chips among multiple chips. When multiple chips are involved, the multiple chips coordinate with each other to execute the functions of the functional domain. For example, when executing the functions of the body electronics domain, it is mainly to control the lighting system, window system, air conditioning system, etc. These systems are mainly based on the general purpose input / output (GPIO) protocol for communication. Therefore, the functions of the body electronics domain can be executed through a chip with a large number of GPIO interfaces in the central computing unit.

[0045] like Figure 1 As shown, for the function of the first functional domain among multiple functional domains of the vehicle, when the central computing unit implements the function of the first functional domain, data information of the first functional domain is obtained through part or all of the multiple chips, that is, the chip used to execute the function among the multiple chips, and the data information is processed to execute the function of the first functional domain, wherein the first functional domain is any one of the multiple functional domains.

[0046] It can be seen that in the embodiment of the present application, through the mutual cooperation between the multiple chips of the central computing unit, the functions of any one of the multiple functional domains of the vehicle can be executed by the multiple chips, that is, the multiple functional domains of the vehicle are integrated across domains, thereby reducing the cost of the electronic devices of the vehicle; moreover, after the multiple functional domains are integrated across domains and executed on a central computing unit, the cross-domain communication between the multiple functional domains is converted into inter-board communication, thereby improving the communication efficiency between the functional domains; moreover, by integrating the multiple functional domains across domains, the central computing unit can obtain data information under the multiple functional domains, thereby being able to control the vehicle more intelligently.

[0047] In one embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned multiple functional domains are all functional domains of the vehicle, that is, all functional domains of the vehicle are integrated across domains into the central computing unit for execution, thereby further reducing the cost of electronic devices of the vehicle.

[0048] In one embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned multiple chips are chips with different structures. Therefore, the cross-domain fusion of the present application can also be understood as realizing the cross-domain fusion of vehicles through heterogeneous chips.

[0049] For the convenience of description, this application mainly uses the above-mentioned multiple chips as microcontrollers (Microcontroller Unit, MCU), system-on-chips (System On Chip, SOC) and field programmable gate arrays (Field Programmable Gate Array, FPGA) as examples for illustration, but does not limit the structure of the multiple chips.

[0050] In one embodiment of the present application, after the different functional domains of the vehicle are integrated into the central computing unit across domains, the present application also improves the communication method of the central computing unit relative to the existing communication method between domain controllers, wherein the communication method includes the external communication method with other hardware and the internal communication method between chips.

[0051] The communication method of the central processing unit of the present application is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0052] Exemplarily, when internal chips (ie, the above-mentioned multiple chips) of the central computing unit communicate with each other, different chips communicate with each other using different buses.

[0053] Specifically, Figure 2 As shown, the MCU and the SOC communicate through the Ethernet (ETH) bus, that is, the MCU and the SOC communicate through Ethernet; the SOC and the FPGA communicate through the high-speed serial computer expansion (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express, PCIE) bus, that is, the SOC and the FPGA communicate through PCIE; the MCU and the FPGA communicate through the serial peripheral interface (Serial Peripheral Interface, SPI) bus, that is, the MCU and the FPGA communicate through SPI.

[0054] It should be understood that there will be a large amount of data information and signaling (with different transmission formats) interaction between MCU and SOC. For example, MCU will send a series of control instructions to SOC to adjust the angle and direction of each camera, etc.; for another example, SOC will transmit a series of data collected by sensors to MCU. Therefore, Ethernet communication is used between MCU and SOC to ensure high bandwidth transmission and meet the transmission requirements of high bandwidth data volume. At the same time, Ethernet communication also supports the transmission of information in various data formats; and a large amount of image and / or video data will be transmitted between SOC and FPGA. Therefore, SOC and FPGA communicate through PCIE bus to meet the transmission requirements of video signals between SOC and FPGA. MCU and FPGA communicate through SPI bus. Since SPI is a simple and efficient serial communication method, when the system starts, MCU can send startup instructions to FPGA through SPI bus, so as to realize the rapid startup and initialization of FPGA, so that FPGA can be used for rapid display of content, such as rapid display of vehicle interface, etc.

[0055] Exemplarily, when the central computing unit performs external communication, the central computing unit communicates with other hardware on the vehicle through various types of buses.

[0056] For example, Figure 3 As shown, the multiple types of buses include one or more of the following: Ethernet ETH bus, general purpose input / output GPIO bus, local interconnect network (LIN) bus and controller area network (CAN) bus. Among them, for the CAN bus, this application mainly takes the CAN FD bus as an example for explanation.

[0057] Alternatively, if Figure 3 As shown, when the other hardware is a regional controller of the vehicle, the central computing unit communicates with the regional controller of the vehicle through Ethernet via the ETH bus, and the Ethernet between the central computing unit and the regional controller constitutes an Ethernet ring network. The regional controller includes regional controller 1, regional controller 2 and regional controller 3, namely the left regional controller, the rear regional controller and the right regional controller of the vehicle.

[0058] Optionally, when the central computing unit communicates with the regional controller of the vehicle via Ethernet, the Ethernet ring network between the computing unit and the regional controller passes through a time sensitive network (TSN) protocol cluster to ensure synchronization and reliability of signal time between the central computing unit and the regional controller.

[0059] Alternatively, if Figure 3 As shown, when the other hardware is the electronic control unit (Electronic Control Unit, ECU) of the vehicle (it can also be other systems of the vehicle, or subsystems of the vehicle), the central computing unit communicates with the electronic control unit through the GPIO bus, the local connection network LIN bus or the controller area network CAN bus. In other words, the central computing unit has multiple types of communication interfaces, and the central computing unit is mounted on multiple buses through the multiple types of communication interfaces, so that the central computing unit can communicate through multiple buses. For the convenience of description, the central computing unit mounted on multiple types of buses is referred to as the central computing unit including multiple types of buses in this application.

[0060] Furthermore, the number of each type of communication interface can be multiple. For example, for the ETH bus, the central computing unit can have multiple communication interfaces corresponding to the ETH bus, so that the central computing unit can be mounted on multiple ETH buses, and then the central computing unit can communicate with other hardware devices through different ETH buses. Figure 3 As shown, the central computing unit can communicate with the regional controller 1 and the regional controller 2 respectively through two ETH buses. It should be noted that as to which ETH bus the central computing unit uses for communication, the central computing unit can switch the ETH bus through the ETHSWICTH switch.

[0061] Among them, some ETH buses of the central computing unit may be reserved to facilitate subsequent function expansion.

[0062] It should be noted that compared with the existing cross-domain integration, all domain controllers communicate and transmit data through gateways. In this application, various types of buses are designed for the central computing unit, so that the central computing unit can communicate with other hardware through various communication methods. In this way, when the central computing unit needs to transmit non-timely system signals, the Ethernet main bus can be used to transmit system signals, thereby making full use of the advantages of Ethernet's high bandwidth to transmit a large number of system signals; and for system signals with higher timeliness requirements, communication can be carried out through the CAN bus. Moreover, since most system signals do not have such high timeliness requirements, most system signals can be sent on the Ethernet, and the CAN bus is dedicated to the communication of high-timeliness system signals, which greatly reduces the load of the CAN bus, so the signal transmission cycle on the CAN bus can be shortened and the communication rate of the CAN bus can be increased.

[0063] Optionally, in the present application, the CAN bus may be a CANFD bus, and the two may not be differentiated in essence.

[0064] Therefore, the bus on which each electronic control unit ECU is mounted can be determined according to the transmission requirements of the electronic control unit. For example, for the lighting system, the timeliness requirement is not very high and the data transmission is relatively simple, so the lighting system can be mounted on the GPIO bus; while for the braking system, the timeliness requirement is high, so the lighting system needs to be mounted on the CAN bus to ensure the timeliness of the braking system.

[0065] Furthermore, which electronic control units on the vehicle need to be mounted on the bus included in the central computing unit can be determined based on the distance between the ECU and the central computing unit, that is, the electronic control unit is mounted on the central computing unit or regional controller closest to the electronic control unit.

[0066] Furthermore, in order to enable the central computing unit to directly control the electronic control unit mounted on the CAN bus of the regional controller through the CAN bus, the CAN bus of the central computing unit can be connected to the CAN bus of the regional controller in a ring network, so that when the central computing unit needs to control the ECU mounted on the regional controller, it can directly communicate with the electronic control unit through the CAN bus of the ring network. Figure 3 As shown, the CAN bus of the central computing unit is connected to the CAN bus of the regional controller 1 in a ring network, so that when the central computing unit needs to control the electronic control unit on the CAN bus of the regional controller 1, the central computing unit directly controls the electronic control unit through the CAN bus, further improving the timeliness of the control of the electronic control unit. For example, the electronic control unit mounted on the CAN bus of the regional controller 1 is the brake system of the left area, and the central control unit can directly control the brake system through the CAN bus, which can brake the vehicle in a timely and effective manner.

[0067] In one embodiment of the present application, each chip also includes a preset interface, so that status detection can be performed between multiple chips through the preset interface, that is, the MCU can detect whether the working status of the SOC and the FPGA is abnormal through the preset interface, the SOC can also detect whether the working status of the MCU and the FPGA is abnormal through the preset interface, and the FPGA can also detect whether the working status of the MCU and the SOC is abnormal through the preset interface, wherein the preset interface includes an integrated circuit bus I2C interface and / or an input and output IO interface.

[0068] The following introduces the functional domains of the vehicle involved in this application and the functions of each functional domain in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0069] like Figure 4As shown, the multiple functional domains of the vehicle involved in this application include a body electronics domain, a central gateway domain, a chassis domain, an interactive display domain, a driving assistance domain, and a telematics BOX (T-BOX) domain.

[0070] For example, Figure 4 As shown, the functions of the body electronics domain include at least one of the following: control of the lighting system, window system, air conditioning system, seat system and anti-theft system; among them, the control of the lighting system mainly refers to the control of turning on and off the lights in the vehicle, adjusting the brightness of the lights, adjusting the color and brightness of the ambient lights, etc.; the control of the window system mainly controls the closing and opening of the windows, etc.; the control of the seat system mainly adjusts the height and position of the seats, etc.; the air conditioning system mainly adjusts the temperature of the vehicle's air conditioning. It can be seen that the central control unit executes the functions of the body electronics domain, making the control and adjustment of the vehicle's lighting system, window system, air conditioning system, seat system and anti-theft system more intelligent.

[0071] Optionally, the functions of the central gateway domain include at least one of the following: communication, fault diagnosis, over-the-air OTA management and network management through various types of buses, wherein the various buses include CAN bus, ETH bus, LIN bus and GPIO bus, etc.; wherein, over-the-air OTA management mainly refers to whether the MCU, as a gateway, starts the OTA technology to realize the update of vehicle software and hardware; wherein, network management mainly refers to the communication management between the central computing unit and other hardware of the vehicle; and fault diagnosis mainly refers to the diagnosis of various networks of the central computing unit.

[0072] Optionally, the functions of the chassis domain include at least one of the following: control of a braking system, a steering system, a suspension system, and a vehicle control unit (VCU) system;

[0073] Optionally, the functions of the interactive display domain include at least one of the following: display of an AR-HUD, a pixel light, an interior electronic rearview mirror, an exterior electronic rearview mirror, and a night vision system;

[0074] Optionally, the functions of the driving assistance domain include at least one of the following: driving assistance and automatic parking;

[0075] Optionally, the functions of the T-BOX domain include at least one of the following: data collection, vehicle diagnosis, and scene customization.

[0076] Specifically, the MCU communicates with other hardware of the vehicle through various types of buses to execute the functions of the body electronics domain and the chassis domain; the SOC and the FPGA communicate with each camera through the SERDES bus to acquire image data from each camera, and process and / or store the image data to execute the functions of the driving assistance domain, the interactive display domain, and the T-BOX domain.

[0077] The following introduces the functional characteristics of each functional domain and details the chips that perform the functions of each functional domain.

[0078] For example, for the body electronics domain, there are many control systems under this functional domain, and most systems use a general-purpose input / output GPIO bus for communication. Moreover, many systems under the body electronics domain (e.g., lighting system, window system, etc.) enable the system through a high-side driver (HSD) or a low-side driver (LSD). For example, the window system can be enabled by a low-side driver. Moreover, the control of many systems under the body electronics domain requires ADC sampling to enable the system. For example, for the lighting system, the analog signal collected by the light sensor can be obtained, and then the analog signal is sampled by ADC to obtain the ambient light intensity, so as to decide whether to turn on the vehicle's lighting system. For example, the analog signal collected by the raindrop sensor can also be sampled by ADC to decide whether to turn on the fog lights or automatically switch between high and low beams. Therefore, the computing power required to execute the functions of the body electronics domain is not much, the control timeliness is high, and there are many GPIO interfaces, so the functions of the body electronics domain can be executed by the MCU chip.

[0079] Specifically, when the MCU executes the functions of the body electronics domain, the MCU will communicate with the hardware (subsystem) under the body electronics domain through the corresponding bus (generally the GPIO bus). Therefore, when the MCU obtains the data information corresponding to the body electronics domain (which can also be understood as a control instruction), it can send the data information to the corresponding subsystem through the corresponding bus, so that the subsystem executes the function corresponding to the data information, that is, executes the function of the body electronics domain. For example, the data information is a headlight off instruction. Since the headlight system is mounted on the GPIO bus of the central computing unit, the MCU can send the headlight off instruction to the headlight system through the GPIO bus, and the headlight system turns off the headlights based on the headlight off instruction.

[0080] Of course, if the MCU needs the participation of the SOC when executing the functions of the body electronics domain, for example, if it needs to store or cache data, the MCU will interact with the SOC through the ETH bus to jointly execute the functions of the body electronics domain.

[0081] For example, with respect to the functions of the central gateway domain, since the communication interfaces of various types of buses of the central computing unit are arranged on the MCU, that is, the central computing unit communicates with other hardware of the vehicle through the MCU, the functions of the central gateway domain are executed through the MCU.

[0082] Specifically, when the central computing unit needs to communicate with other hardware, the MCU will decide the currently required bus, and the MCU will control the communication with other hardware through the bus. For example, when the MCU needs to communicate with the regional controller, it will switch the ETH bus corresponding to the regional controller through the ETH SWITCH, and communicate with the regional controller through the ETH bus. For another example, when the MCU decides that it needs to communicate with the headlight system, it will communicate with the headlight system through the GPIO bus.

[0083] Similarly, if the MCU requires the participation of the SOC when executing the functions of the central gateway domain, the MCU will interact with the SOC through the ETH bus to jointly execute the functions of the central gateway domain.

[0084] For example, for the chassis domain, the security requirements under this functional domain are relatively high, so the timeliness requirements are also relatively high, but the calculation complexity is not particularly high, and the CAN bus of the central computing unit is directly connected to the MCU. Therefore, in order to meet the requirements of security and timeliness, the functions of the chassis domain can be executed through the MCU.

[0085] Specifically, when the MCU executes the functions of the chassis domain, the MCU will communicate with the hardware (subsystem) under the chassis domain through the corresponding bus. After the MCU obtains the data information under the chassis domain, it can send the data information to each subsystem under the chassis domain through the corresponding bus (generally the CAN bus), thereby executing the functions of the chassis domain. For example, when the data information obtained by the central computing unit is a brake command, the MCU will send the brake command to the brake system through the CAN bus, and the brake system will brake the vehicle in response to the brake command.

[0086] In addition, the chassis domain has a relatively high security requirement. When executing the functions of the chassis domain, the MCU can also send data information to the system under the chassis domain through at least two buses to execute the functions of the chassis domain. The transmission of data information through dual buses can achieve backup of data information transmission, thereby enabling the functions of the chassis domain to be successfully executed.

[0087] The at least two buses may be an ETH bus and a CAN bus.

[0088] For example, for the interactive display domain, the function of this functional domain is mainly to interact with the user and display images. Therefore, executing the functions of this functional domain requires a certain amount of CPU power and AI computing power, and the functions of this functional domain need to be displayed quickly, and the timeliness of the transmission of image data is relatively high. Therefore, the functions of the interactive display domain can be jointly executed by SOC and FPGA.

[0089] In addition, in order to execute the functions of the interactive display domain, the SOC and FPGA need to be connected to each camera, that is, to obtain image data from each camera and process the image data, so as to execute the functions of the interactive display domain.

[0090] For example, Figure 5 As shown, for AR-HUD display, the SOC is connected to the input interface of the AR-HUD through the serializer (SERDES) bus, so that the SOC can obtain the content to be displayed (i.e., the above-mentioned data information) from the input interface, and then render the content to be displayed into a format supported by the AR-HUD. Finally, the SOC projects the rendered content to the corresponding area through the SERDES bus for AR-HUD display, thereby executing the AR-HUD display under the interactive display domain.

[0091] For example, Figure 5 As shown, for the display of pixel lights, the SOC is connected to the input interface of the pixel lights through the SERDES bus, so that the SCO can obtain the content to be displayed (i.e., the data information mentioned above) from the input interface, and then divide and render the content to be displayed into the content required by the pixel lights, and send the rendered content to the pixel lights through the SERDES bus for display. More specifically, the pixel lights of the vehicle include left pixel lights and right pixel lights, then the content required to be displayed by the left pixel lights and the right pixel lights can be rendered, and then the content required to be displayed by each pixel can be sent to the left pixel lights and the right pixel lights through the SERDES bus for display.

[0092] For example, Figure 5As shown, for the display of the internal electronic rearview mirror (Camera Monitor System, CMS), the FPGA is connected to the camera in the CMS through the SERDES bus, then the FPGA can obtain image data (i.e. the above data information) from the camera in the CMS, and then process the image data. Of course, the image data can also be sent to the SOC for processing through the PCIE bus, and then the processed image data can be obtained from the SOC. Finally, the FPGA sends the processed image data to the display screen in the CMS through the SERDES bus for display.

[0093] For example, Figure 5 As shown, for the display of the external electronic rearview mirror (Camera Monitor System, CMS), the FPGA is connected to the CMS left camera and CMS right camera of the vehicle through the SERDES bus. In this way, the FPGA obtains image data (i.e., the above-mentioned data information) from the CMS left camera and the CMS right camera respectively through the SERDES bus, and then processes the image data. Of course, the image data can also be sent to the SOC for processing through the PCIE bus, and then the processed image data is obtained from the SOC. Finally, the FPGA sends the processed image data to the CMS left display screen and the CMS right display screen respectively through the SERDES bus.

[0094] Exemplarily, for the display of the night vision system, the SOC is connected to the far infrared camera and the near infrared camera of the vehicle through the SERDES bus. In this way, the SOC obtains image data (i.e., the above data information) from the night vision far infrared camera and the night vision near infrared camera through the SERDES bus, and then processes the image data to obtain the night vision video. Finally, the SOC outputs the night vision video through the SERDES bus for display, for example, outputs it to the vehicle display screen for display.

[0095] For example, for the driving assistance domain, the images captured by the camera are mainly used to assist the driving of the vehicle. Therefore, this functional domain requires a large CPU capacity and AI computing power, so the functions under driving assistance are performed by the SOC. It should be noted that since the SOC needs to obtain images when executing the driving assistance domain, the SOC is connected to each camera through the serializer SERDES bus to obtain image data from each camera to perform the functions of the assisted driving domain.

[0096] Specifically, Figure 5 As shown, for the driving assistance functions under the driving assistance domain, it can also include ADAS, road preview and panoramic video acquisition.

[0097] For example, for an advanced assisted driving system (ADAS), the SOC is connected to an ADAS camera (lidar) via a SERDES bus, and the SOC can obtain image data from the ADAS camera, and then the SOC implements advanced assisted driving on the image data.

[0098] For example, for road preview, the SOC is connected to the road preview camera through the SERDES bus, and can obtain corresponding image data from the road preview camera, and then the SCO analyzes and processes the image data to achieve road preview.

[0099] Exemplarily, for panoramic video, SOC is connected to the panoramic front camera, panoramic rear camera, panoramic left camera, and panoramic right camera through the SERDES bus, and SOC can obtain the front image data, rear image data, left image data, and right image data of the vehicle from the panoramic front camera, panoramic rear camera, panoramic left camera, and panoramic right camera, respectively. Then, SOC analyzes and processes (for example, splicing) the front image data, rear image data, left image data, and right image data, and then the front panoramic video (panoramic video one) and the rear panoramic video (i.e., panoramic video two) can be obtained. Compared with the existing functional domain, if the rear panoramic video is obtained, the image data can only be obtained through the panoramic rear camera, but the rear area controller cannot obtain the left image data and the right image data taken by the panoramic left camera and the panoramic right camera, because the left image data and the right image data are stored in the left area controller and the right area controller, respectively, and the two areas are not fused. Therefore, it is impossible to obtain the rear panoramic video with an ultra-wide viewing angle. However, the present application can obtain the rear panoramic video with an ultra-wide angle because of the cross-domain fusion.

[0100] Finally, for the T-BOX domain, the realization of the functions of this functional domain requires storage resources, edge computing capabilities and service-oriented architecture (SOA). Therefore, the functions of the T-BOX domain are executed through SOC.

[0101] For example, for data collection, the SOC can be connected to various sensors through a bus, and then obtain vehicle data through various sensors to achieve data collection; alternatively, the SOC can obtain input data through an input interface to achieve data collection; for vehicle diagnosis, the SOC can diagnose the vehicle through the collected data to determine whether the vehicle has a fault; for scene customization, the SOC can support user-defined scenes and provide users with atomic services.

[0102] Exemplarily, the SOC may store the image data acquired from the camera, for example, the image data may be stored in a digital video recorder (DVR), and output to the DVR.

[0103] The above describes the functions performed by each chip from the perspective of the upper-layer characteristics of each chip and the characteristics of each function. The following describes how each chip performs each function from the perspective of the underlying characteristics of each chip in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0104] For example, Figure 6 As shown in FIG. 1 , SOC includes an application layer, a middleware, and an interface layer. The interface layer mainly provides underlying drivers and hardware for the application layer. Specifically, the interface layer of SOC includes drivers required for various communications and memories required for storage. Figure 6 As shown, the drivers include: serializer and deserializer drivers (Serializer / Deserializer) drivers, ETH drivers, PCIE drivers, I2C drivers, SPI drivers, IO drivers, etc.; the memories include: EMMC memory and DDR memory.

[0105] The middleware of SOC mainly provides communication services for the application layer and the interface layer, as well as the services required by the application layer of SOC to perform various functions. Figure 6 As shown, the SOC middleware includes: communication services, time synchronization, security management, data bus, memory management, state management, ETH services, CAN services, signal services, logging system, data storage management, functional safety, execution management, and diagnostic system.

[0106] The application layer of SOC is mainly used to realize the functions of the corresponding functional domain. For example, the application layer of SOC can realize AR-HUD display, pixel light display, interior electronic rearview mirror display, exterior electronic rearview mirror display, night vision system display, road preview, T-BOX display and ADAS display.

[0107] Therefore, the application layer of the SOC can execute the functions of the interactive display domain, the driving assistance domain, and the T-BOX domain by calling the hardware resources of the interface layer and the software resources (services) in the middleware.

[0108] Furthermore, if Figure 6 As shown in FIG, FPGA includes an interface layer and an application layer, wherein the interface layer of FPGA mainly provides underlying drivers and hardware for the application layer. Specifically, the interface layer of FPGA includes drivers required for various communications and memories required for storage. Figure 6As shown, the drivers include: FLASH driver, SPI driver, I2C driver, GPIO driver, PCIE driver, MIPI driver and OLDI driver; the memory is DDR memory. The functions performed by the application layer include the display of the inner electronic rearview mirror, the display of the outer electronic rearview mirror, the display of the pixel light and the display of the night vision system.

[0109] Furthermore, if Figure 6 As shown, MCU includes an application layer, a service layer and an interface layer. Among them, the interface layer mainly provides underlying drivers and hardware for the application layer. Specifically, the interface layer includes ETH driver, CAN driver, LIN driver, SPI driver, Ethernet driver, IO driver, as well as ETH service, CAN service, LIN service, SPI service, IO service, and protocol stack. The service layer mainly provides bus services and signal services. The functions performed by the application layer include: display of AR-HUD, display of T-BOX, display of interior electronic rearview mirror, display of exterior electronic rearview mirror, body electronics, chassis, central gateway and intelligent power distribution.

[0110] It can be seen that compared with the existing distributed architecture, different suppliers have different software architectures, the scope of function changes is large, the communication cost is high, the internal signals and services of each system are not shared, and the function expansion and integration are difficult. This application deeply decouples the software and hardware of each chip to make application transplantation easy to adapt; the middleware has rich components to meet all system functions; SOC and MCU have the same signal services, function fusion signal calls are easier, and system integration has inherent advantages.

[0111] In one embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned MCU may be an MCU of ASIL-D level, and the SOC may be an SOC of a preset interval for AI computing power processing, for example, the preset interval is [16, 24].

[0112] In combination with the cross-domain integration involved in this application, the advantages of this application in the following scenarios are explained.

[0113] Scenario 1: Perception fusion display reuse:

[0114] The central processing unit can fuse and reuse the internal and external CMS cameras with the intelligent driving camera (ADAS camera), that is, by fusing and stitching the images taken by the internal CMS camera, the external CMS camera (including the CMS left camera and the CMS right camera) and the intelligent driving camera, a panoramic image of the entire surroundings of the vehicle can be obtained. In this way, for each camera system, the perception range of the camera system can be expanded to improve the system safety and reliability.

[0115] Scenario 2: Perception fusion function expansion:

[0116] If both the inner CMS camera and the outer CMS camera are connected to the SOC, the SOC can obtain the images taken by the CMS camera and the outer CMS camera. In this way, before displaying the image taken by the inner CMS camera, the image taken by the inner CMS camera and the image taken by the outer CMS camera can be fused and spliced ​​to form a panoramic rear field of view image, and then the panoramic rear field of view image is displayed on the display screens corresponding to the inner CMS camera and the outer CMS camera respectively.

[0117] Scenario 3: Perception-enhanced performance optimization:

[0118] When SOC uses the images captured by the ADAS camera for intelligent driving, ADAS mainly scans the road ahead and has difficulty perceiving the rear view. Therefore, when SOC performs ADAS functions, it can combine the images captured by the external CMS camera to timely identify vehicles and pedestrians behind the vehicle, improve the perception accuracy of ADAS, and improve the detection accuracy of door opening warning.

[0119] Scenario 4: Perception fusion reduces sensors:

[0120] Since both the road preview camera and the ADSA camera scan the road ahead to achieve road preview and ADAS, the road preview camera and the ADSA camera can share one camera, and the images captured by the camera can be used for road preview and ADAS at the same time, thereby reducing the number of cameras.

[0121] Scenario 5: Braking system and ADAS integration:

[0122] When the SOC implements ADAS driving through the ADAS camera, if it decides that braking is needed, the SOC can send a braking signal to the MCU, and the MCU controls the braking system to brake. Since the braking signal is communicated within the central computing unit, the delay is relatively short, so that braking can be performed more efficiently.

[0123] See also Figure 7 , Figure 7 A flowchart of a function execution method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method applies the central computing unit described in any of the above embodiments. The method includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0124] 701: Some or all of the multiple chips obtain data information of a first functional domain among multiple functional domains of the vehicle, wherein the first functional domain is any one of the multiple functional domains.

[0125] 702: Some or all of the multiple chips process the data information to execute the function of the first functional domain.

[0126] It should be noted that how some or all of the multiple chips obtain data information under the functional domain and how to process the data information can be referred to the contents in the above embodiments and will not be described in detail.

[0127] See also Figure 8 , Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 8 As shown, the electronic device 800 includes a transceiver 801, a processor 802 and a memory 803. They are connected via a bus 804. The memory 803 is used to store computer programs and data, and can transmit the data stored in the memory 803 to the processor 802.

[0128] The processor 802 is used to read the computer program in the memory 803 and perform the following operations:

[0129] Acquiring data information of a first functional domain among multiple functional domains of the vehicle, wherein the first functional domain is any one of the multiple functional domains;

[0130] The data information is processed to execute the function of the first functional domain.

[0131] The functions of the processor 802 may refer to the functions of the above-mentioned chips and will not be described again.

[0132] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program. The computer program is executed by a processor to implement part or all of the steps of any function execution method recorded in the above method embodiments.

[0133] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product, which includes a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, and the computer program is operable to cause a computer to execute part or all of the steps of any function execution method recorded in the above method embodiments.

[0134] It should be noted that, for the aforementioned method embodiments, for the sake of simplicity, they are all expressed as a series of action combinations, but those skilled in the art should be aware that the present application is not limited by the described order of actions, because according to the present application, certain steps can be performed in other orders or simultaneously. Secondly, those skilled in the art should also be aware that the embodiments described in the specification are all optional embodiments, and the actions and modules involved are not necessarily required by the present application.

[0135] In the above embodiments, the description of each embodiment has its own emphasis. For parts that are not described in detail in a certain embodiment, reference can be made to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments.

[0136] In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed device can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic, such as the division of the units, which is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, and the indirect coupling or communication connection of the device or unit can be electrical or other forms.

[0137] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0138] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. The above integrated unit may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of a software program module.

[0139] If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software program module and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable memory. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product is stored in a memory, including a number of instructions to enable a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server or network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned memory includes: U disk, read-only memory (ROM, Read-Only Memory), random access memory (RAM, Random Access Memory), mobile hard disk, disk or CD-ROM and other media that can store program codes.

[0140] A person skilled in the art can understand that all or part of the steps in the various methods of the above embodiments can be completed by instructing related hardware through a program, and the program can be stored in a computer-readable memory, and the memory can include: a flash drive, a read-only memory (English: Read-Only Memory, abbreviated as: ROM), a random access memory (English: Random Access Memory, abbreviated as: RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, etc.

[0141] The embodiments of the present application are introduced in detail above. Specific examples are used in this article to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of the present application. The description of the above embodiments is only used to help understand the method and core idea of ​​the present application. At the same time, for general technical personnel in this field, according to the idea of ​​the present application, there will be changes in the specific implementation method and application scope. In summary, the content of this specification should not be understood as a limitation on the present application.

Claims

1. A central computing unit, characterized in that: The central computing unit is applied to a vehicle, and the central computing unit includes a plurality of chips; Some or all of the multiple chips are used to obtain data information of a first functional domain among multiple functional domains of the vehicle, and process the data information to execute the function of the first functional domain, where the first functional domain is any one of the multiple functional domains.

2. A function execution method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a central computing unit of a vehicle, wherein the central computing unit includes a plurality of chips; the method includes: Some or all of the multiple chips obtain data information of a first functional domain among multiple functional domains of the vehicle, and process the data information to execute a function of the first functional domain, where the first functional domain is any one of the multiple functional domains.

3. The calculation unit according to claim 1 or the method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The plurality of functional domains are all functional domains of the vehicle.

4. The computing unit according to claim 1 or the method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The multiple chips have different structures.

5. The computing unit according to claim 1 or the method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The central computing unit communicates with other hardware on the vehicle via various types of buses.

6. The calculation unit or method according to claim 4, characterized in that: The multiple types of buses include one or more of the following: an Ethernet ETH bus, a general purpose input / output GPIO bus, a local area network LIN bus, and a controller area network CAN bus.

7. The calculation unit or method according to claim 6, characterized in that: When the other hardware is a regional controller of the vehicle, the central computing unit communicates with the regional controller of the vehicle via an ETH bus and via an Ethernet ring network; When the other hardware is an electronic control unit of the vehicle, the central computing unit communicates with the electronic control unit via the GPIO bus, the local area network LIN bus or the controller area network CAN bus.

8. The computing unit according to claim 1 or the method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The plurality of chips perform status detection between each other via a preset interface, wherein the preset interface includes an integrated circuit bus I2C interface and / or an input / output IO interface.

9. The computing unit according to claim 1 or the method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The multiple chips include a microcontroller MCU, a system-on-chip SOC and a field programmable gate array FPGA.

10. The calculation unit or method according to claim 9, characterized in that: The MCU and the SOC communicate with each other via an Ethernet bus. The SOC and FPGA communicate with each other via a high-speed serial computer expansion PCIE bus; The MCU and the FPGA communicate with each other via a serial peripheral interface SPI bus.

11. The computing unit according to claim 1 or the method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The multiple functional domains include at least one of the following: a body electronics domain, a central gateway domain, a chassis domain, an interactive display domain, a driving assistance domain, and a telematics T-BOX domain.

12. The calculation unit or method according to claim 11, characterized in that: The functions of the vehicle body electronic domain include at least one of the following: control of the lighting system, window system, air conditioning system, seat system and anti-theft system; The functions of the central gateway domain include at least one of the following: communication through various types of buses, fault diagnosis, over-the-air download OTA management, and network management; The functions of the chassis domain include at least one of the following: control of a braking system, a steering system, a suspension system, and a vehicle control unit VCU system; The functions of the interactive display domain include at least one of the following: display of AR-HUD, pixel lights, interior electronic rearview mirror, exterior electronic rearview mirror, and night vision system; The functions of the driving assistance domain include at least one of the following: driving assistance and automatic parking; The functions of the T-BOX domain include at least one of the following: data collection, vehicle diagnosis, and scene customization.

13. The calculation unit or method according to claim 12, characterized in that: The functions of the body electronics domain, the functions of the central gateway domain, and the functions of the chassis domain are executed by the MCU; The functions of the interactive display domain are jointly performed by the SOC and the FPGA; The functions of the driving assistance domain and the functions of the T-BOX domain are performed by the SOC.

14. The calculation unit or method according to claim 13, characterized in that: The MCU communicates with other hardware of the vehicle through various types of buses to execute functions of the body electronics domain, the chassis domain, and the central gateway domain; The SOC and the FPGA communicate with each camera through a serializer SERDES bus to obtain image data from each camera, and process the image data to execute the functions of the driving assistance domain, the interactive display domain, and the T-BOX domain.

15. An electronic device, characterized in that: include: A processor and a memory, the processor is connected to the memory, the memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is used to execute the computer program stored in the memory so that the electronic device executes the method as claimed in claim 2.

16. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and the computer program is executed by a processor to implement the method according to claim 2.

17. A vehicle, characterized in that: The vehicle comprises a central computing unit as claimed in any one of claims 1-14.

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