Multi-criticality Hypervisor for Automotive Domain

Abstract

xLuna is a real-time kernel technology that enables concurrent mixed-criticality applications running simultaneously on the same hardware platform, bridging a safety critical application, hard-real-time task set and certifiable real-time operating system alongside a feature rich, nonsecure, non-critical, non-real-time general purpose operating system. The xLuna program, an hypervisor originally developed by Critical Software for space applications, has now a new development focused on the automotive domain extending the principles of its predecessor to new, multi-core hardware. To showcase this new approach, a certifiable real-time operating system is responsible to handle an eCall application, which is an European in-vehicle emergency call service, while running simultaneously with the general purpose operating system Android OS on the same hardware platform. This is done by sandboxing Android into a hardware enforced container. Space and time resource constrains are predefined, such as core affinity and static memory allocation. The motivation of xLuna for automotive domain is to reduce the number of Electronic Control Units present in cars without reducing the number of features that they offer, by using a multi-core platform, allowing both critical and non-critical systems to run together in the same hardware platform. This work focused on the solutions presented by the hardware used, and how xLuna takes advantage of the technologies it brings to enforce software and resource partitioning. It was accomplished to have Android running simultaneously alongside the real-time operating system FreeRTOS, each one running on only one core. While Android is responsible to offer an automotive infotainment experience, one FreeRTOS’s task is responsible to simulate the eCall system, sending a SMS to a pre-determined mobile phone number when high acceleration values are detected. The use of a modern multi-core platform running a mixed-criticality system is a emerging need for today’s automotive domain. Integrating the eCall system with a system like this makes xLuna for automotive domain a great solution for this market