IEEE-1451-based smart module for in-vehicle networking systems of intelligent vehicles

As vehicles become intelligent for the convenience and safety of drivers, in-vehicle networking (IVN) systems and smart modules are essential components of intelligent vehicles. However, there are obstacles for the wide acceptance of smart modules. First, there exist numerous IVN protocols that a smart module should be able to support. Second, the whole smart module has to be replaced when only the sensor of the module fails. In order to overcome these obstacles, a smart module is implemented as two units; one responsible for network communication and the other for sensor/actuator operations. In addition, the modules use an interface between the two units as defined by the IEEE 1451 standard. This paper presents a design of the smart module based on the IEEE 1451 standard along with the experimental evaluation for time delays.