AUTOSAR releases new specifications: Release 3.1 with on-board diagnostics

On August 15th, 2008, the AUTOSAR development partnership released new specifications that for the first time define rules for integrating the on-board diagnostics according to the OBD II standard. For the new Release 3.1, engineers modified 11 specifications of the previous Release 3.0. “This new Release is important for Europe and Japan, but especially for the U.S. market. The regulations governing OBD there are the most extensive in the world. From now on, AUTOSAR can be applied worldwide,” says Dr. Juergen Moessinger, AUTOSAR spokesperson and Vice President Automotive Systems Integration at Bosch.

On-board diagnostics was introduced for the first time in California at the end of the 1980’s. Its main task is to monitor all exhaust gas-relevant data while the vehicle is in motion and to inform the driver of any deviations from the standards. On-board diagnostics therefore plays a significant role in helping a vehicle complying with emission regulations over its entire service life. Similar regulations now also exist in Europe and Japan.

The current release of AUTOSAR now comprises 140 specifications and will be accessible to all in the internet at www.autosar.org. Members of the initiative are allowed to use AUTOSAR specifications free of charge to develop their ECU software.

AUTOSAR (AUTomotive Open System ARchitecture) is a worldwide development partnership 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. By simplifying the exchange and update options for software and hardware with the AUTOSAR approach, it forms the basis for reliably controlling the growing complexity of the electrical and electronic systems in motor vehicles. AUTOSAR also improves cost efficiency without compromising quality. The “core partners” of AUTOSAR are the BMW Group, Bosch, Continental, Daimler, Ford, Opel, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Toyota and Volkswagen. In addition to these companies, approximately 50 “premium members” play an important role in the success of the partnership.