Body Control Module


Automotive Body Control Module

As the electronics increasing in the vehicles, the electronic body control module (BCM) plays important role in control the vehicles body parts

  • Door Locks: Central door locking, Remote key entry
  • Wiper: Front and rear Wiper and Wash
  • Lamps: Head Lamps, Hazard lamps, Park lamps, Day time running lamp, Illumination Ring, Brake lamp
  • Mirror: Outer rear view mirror
  • Horn or Siren control
  • Ignition control
  • HVAC Control
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BCM also provides safety alerts (Hand brake reminders, Seat belt indicator) and diagnosis (e.g. Lamp Failures) which improves the driver's safety and reduces maintenance costs.




BCM System Architecture

ALTEN Global Technologies has designed and developed Hardware and basic software for Body Control Module.

The following are the key features ALTEN Global Technologies developed BCM:

  • Fully automotive grade components used in the design
  • Low sleep current achieved
  • Senses the input triggers from various sources such as internal and external lighting, parking brake sensor, 4WD sensor, wheel etc. either through digital inputs, analog inputs or through the CAN bus
  • Drives the load (external lighting, interior lighting, wipers washer, climate control, operator safety, remote start and PTO system) either directly or through relays
  • Bluetooth support for remote control operations
  • Secure key storage (SHE 1.1)
  • Secure communication
  • Scalable and Flexible basic software
  • Diagnosis
  • Program loading through UDS
  • Compliance to ISO 26262 functional safety standard
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BCM Software Architecture

Number of functions in BCM are growing day by day, software shall be capable to add new functions with less or no impact on existing functions, keeping this in mind, the basic software is designed as layered AUTOSAR like architecture, where the signal interface to the application is simple and easy to integrate, also the basic software supports variant configurable inputs, outputs and diagnostic thresholds, this allows the OEM to change the BCM configuration as per the vehicle variants.

  • Micro controller abstraction layer: This layer contains driver components for all the hardware devices (I2C, DIO, SPI, UART, CAN, PWM, ADC and LIN) and Micro controller (System Control Register Initialization, Watchdog, Timer).
  • ECU abstraction layer: This layer gives device location abstraction to service layer, it contains driver components for external devices (External watchdog, RF, External NVM, Switch detection, H-Bridge).
  • Service layer: This layer contains API components (Communication manager, Memory Manager, Watchdog manager, Timer manager) for accessing both external and internal devices.
  • Signal layer: This layer contains read and write data to and from devices and Application software.
  • Scheduler: Pre-emptive real time scheduler to execute tasks in both basic software and Application software.
  • Configuration/Calibration data: support the following two types of configuration:
    • Development configuration (Configuration data)
    • User configuration (Calibration data)
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BCM Functional Safety

Functional safety is very important is for power train and body control systems in automotive industry. ALTEN Global Technologies applies functional safety standards (ISO 26262, ISO 25119) for developing safety critical applications for electrical and/or electronic (E/E) systems in automotive domain. Functional safety team closely works with OEMs to prepare item definition, Hazard analysis and risk assessment, Safety goals and safety attributes (Safe state, Fault tolerance time interval and warnings) and functional safety concept.

Engineering team derives technical safety concept including system design from the functional safety concept, budget SPFM, LFM and PMHF values for each sub system in the system. Hardware and Software component implements the system design as per technical safety concept. The BCM safety goals are developed to the ISO 26262 safety standard.

The following safety analysis performed to check system meet its safety requirements:

  • System design FMEA: Analyse and check system design meets the system safety requirements.
  • Hardware FMEA: Evaluation of hardware architectural metrics (SPFM-Single point fault metric, LFM- Latent fault metric)
  • Hardware FMEDA: Evaluation of probability of safety goal violation due to random Hardware Failures (PMHF)
  • Software design FMEA: Analyse and check the efficiency of safety mechanisms

The BCM safety goals are developed to the ISO 26262 safety standard.

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BCM Security

Connectivity is important in the modern vehicles; the BCM supports connectivity via Bluetooth and CAN. Other ECUs (Telematic unit, Diagnostic tool) in the vehicle can communicate to BCM via CAN , so secure key storage and secure communication (encryption and decryption) is developed using secure hardware extension modules. So the following security features are important in BCM:

Hardware security protection:

  • Secure Boot
  • Secure key storage (SHE)

Software security protection:

  • Develop software to secure coding standards (CERT)
  • Stack overflow checks
  • Secure communication using Encryption and Decryption
  • Data and Control Coupling testing
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Verification and Validation

Hardware:

  • Hardware design verification (Simulation, Prototype)
  • Evaluation of hardware architectural metrics (SPFM, LFM)
  • Evaluation of probability of safety goal violation due to random Hardware Failures (PMHF)
  • Hardware integration testing

Validation ensures the system requirements are correct and fit for the purpose and checks functional safety concepts are appropriate for the functional safety of the item. ALTEN Global Technologies team works with OEM validation team in vehicle level validation.


Software:

  • Hardware software integration testing in Hard in loop (HIL) environment
  • Software integration testing in Processor in loop (PIL) environment
  • Unit testing in Processor in loop (PIL) environment.
  • Data and control coupling testing
  • Fault injection testing
  • Worst case timing analysis
  • Worst cases stack analysis
  • Tool qualification

ALTEN Global Technologies Services in BCM

ALTEN Global Technologies design and developed both Hardware and Software for body control modules, our rich experience in Avionics systems design and development is an added advantage for our customers.

ALTEN Global Technologies provides services in design and develops BCM including Hardware, Software, Communication stacks, Functional safety, Certification, Security, Verification and Validation, Tool qualification and Automatic test equipment.

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