As automotive electronics evolve, the collaboration among chip companies, Tier-1 suppliers, and OEMs is undergoing significant changes. The AUTOSAR standards have become a crucial infrastructure for OEMs to decouple software and hardware and enhance development efficiency. On March 18, Minnan Zheng, Head of Software R&D from Calterah, was invited to speak at the 6th AUTOSAR China Day Forum. In his keynote speech titled "Calterah AUTOSAR Software Collaboration Platform—Creating a New Model for Efficient Chip Deployment with Customers", Zheng elaborated on Calterah's approach to efficient automotive chip deployment through standardized, collaborative, and intelligent technologies.

The traditional serial development of automotive chips and software involves lengthy cycles. Also, the lack of efficient channels for cross-team collaboration leads to resource redundancy, while delayed validation and testing by Tier-1 suppliers and OEMs cause slow responses. "Chip companies need a more open and efficient collaboration model to address the demand of OEMs for rapid iteration and high reliability of chip products," Zheng stated during his speech, "Calterah adopts the strategy of 'optimizing internal processes before empowering external software collaboration', combining internal process optimization with the Calterah AUTOSAR Software Collaboration Platform to facilitate the efficient delivery and adaptation of automotive mmWave radar chips.”

Optimization of Internal Processes for Flexibility and Efficiency

• First, Calterah uses a unified requirement management platform, Codebeamer, to standardize and streamline requirements, while also ensuring transparency.
• Second, to ensure the unity and efficiency of internal and external interfaces, Calterah employs a three-layer architecture consisting of an Integrated Verification and Delivery Layer, an IP Function Layer, and a Hardware Layer. This architecture encompasses module-level AUTOSAR standard interfaces and AUTOSAR extension interfaces for flexible design, significantly streamlining technical communications.
• The unified testing solution based on Calterah AUTOSAR interfaces can achieve the in-depth integration of delivery and validation processes for software and hardware. The solution also covers validations in all module-level and system-level scenarios, greatly shortening the validation cycles. Concurrently, resource reuse rates are increased, thereby greatly reducing development costs.

Software Collaboration Platform for Efficient Product Deployment

The Calterah AUTOSAR Software Collaboration Platform is divided into three main parts: a resource pool, a user interaction layer, and an execution and management layer for security isolation. It covers the full lifecycle of vehicle and chip projects from design to testing. Through the platform, Calterah enables real-time collaboration and development for multiple users. It also uses encryption, authentication, and isolation methods to protect user data. With security ensured, the platform effectively promotes early intervention of OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers in validation testing and allows flexible plan adjustments.

Unlike the Virtual SoC approach, the Calterah AUTOSAR Software Collaboration Platform reconstructs development and testing processes based on real or near-real chip environments, emphasizing real-time, secure, and in-depth collaborations among multiple parties. The platform acts as a tool supporting the ecosystem of chip development and collaboration, with a focus on OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers,  and helps to drive the evolution of software and hardware collaboration across the industry.

Through internal optimization and external collaboration, the Calterah AUTOSAR Software Collaboration Platform has enabled the transition from "serial development" to "parallel development", making the development processes more efficient, secure, open, and economical. Calterah has achieved significant results in multiple projects, with substantial improvements in aspects such as human resources, workload, response time, and project cycles, laying a solid foundation for rapid mass production.

Looking forward, Calterah aims to strengthen the cooperation with Tier-1 suppliers and OEMs to build a more open and unified platform, on which resources and technologies can be shared to enhance collaboration efficiency. Additionally, with an interest in deepening the application of AI technology throughout the lifecycles of vehicle and chip projects, Calterah hopes to work with partners to advance higher-level intelligence for the automotive industry.