Modern automotive electrical/electronic (E/E) architectures are evolving from distributed bus-centric topologies toward zonal, domain-controlled and centralized paradigms that must simultaneously address bandwidth growth, real-time determinism, cybersecurity, and functional safety (Stolz et al., 2010; Brunner et al., 2017; Kugele et al., 2017). Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) over Ethernet has been proposed to meet deterministic communication needs, while zonal controllers and cross-domain master units are proposed to reduce wiring and increase computational consolidation (Ashjaei et al., 2021; Tavella et al., 2022). At the same time, hardware and software fault modes — including soft errors induced by radiation and single-event upsets — demand architectural approaches such as lockstep dual-core designs and fault injection testing to provide automotive-grade resilience (Abdul Salam Abdul Karim, 2023; Oliveira et al., 2017; Nazar, 2012).

Methods: This article synthesizes the technical themes and empirical findings from the supplied literature to construct a coherent, publication-ready exposition. It develops an integrative conceptual architecture that couples TSN-enabled zonal networks with hypervisor-based consolidation, lockstep dual-core safety islands, intrusion-aware middleware tailored for SOME/IP, and fault-injection informed validation. The methodological narrative contrasts tradeoffs across timing, safety, and security dimensions while deriving design heuristics and verification flows from the referenced research corpus (Gehrmann & Duplys, 2020; Baic et al., 2018; Kugele et al., 2017).

Results: The analysis shows that a structured combination of zonal ECUs, TSN-backboned domain control units, and lockstep redundancy significantly reduces end-to-end latency variance, wiring complexity, and overall system cost while maintaining ASIL-compliant safety targets when paired with selective hardware redundancy and software partitioning (Brunner et al., 2017; Haas & Langjahr, 2016; Abdul Salam Abdul Karim, 2023). However, integrating intrusion detection for SOME/IP and addressing multi-vector attacks remain essential to guard aggregated, high-value centralized controllers (Gehrmann & Duplys, 2020). Fault injection and radiation studies underscore the non-negligible incidence of soft errors in consolidated controllers, demanding a combination of hardware redundancy, error detection/correction, and runtime monitoring (Normand, 2001; Oliveira et al., 2017).

Conclusions: A future-proof E/E architecture is hybrid: zonal consolidation for harness reduction, TSN for timing determinism, cross-domain master controllers for coordinated vehicle behavior, and selective lockstep hardware for safety-critical functions. Architectures must be designed holistically: safety, security, real-time, and validation strategies are interdependent and cannot be treated in isolation (Kugele et al., 2017; Saidi et al., 2018). The article concludes with prescriptive design patterns, a prioritized verification agenda, and research opportunities to close gaps identified in the literature.

Zonal E/E, Time-Sensitive Networking, Lockstep, Cross-Domain Control

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Gehrmann, T., Duplys, P.: Intrusion detection for SOME/IP: Challenges and opportunities. Paper presented at 2020 23rd Euromicro Conference on Digital System Design (DSD), Kranj, Slovenia, 26–28 August 2020.

Kugele, S., Cebotari, V., Gleirscher, M., et al.: Research challenges for a future-proof E/E architecture. Paper presented at 15th Workshop Automotive Software Engineering, Lecture Notes in Informatics (LNI), Gesellschaft für Informatik (GI), Bonn, 1 September 2017.

Ashjaei, M., Bello, L.L., Daneshtalab, M., et al.: Time-sensitive networking in automotive embedded systems: state of the art and research opportunities. J. Syst. Architect. 117, 102137 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sysarc.2021.102137

Stolz, W., Kornhaas, R., Krause, R., et al.: Domain control units — the solution for future E/E architectures? SAE Int. (2010). https://doi.org/10.4271/2010-01-0686

Haas, W., Langjahr, P.: Cross-domain vehicle control units in modern E/E architectures. Paper presented at 16 Internationales Stuttgarter Symposium: Automobil-und Motorentechnik, Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden, 2016.

Baic, D., Langjahr, P., Haas, W., et al.: Safe computing with central ECUs. Paper presented at 18 Internationales Stuttgarter Symposium: Automobil-und Motorentechnik, Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden, 2018.

Saidi, S., Steinhorst, S., Hamann, A., et al.: Special session: Future automotive systems design: Research challenges and opportunities. Paper presented at 2018 International Conference on Hardware/Software Codesign and System Synthesis (CODES+ISSS), Turin, Italy, 30 September 2018 — 05 October 2018.

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