Digital instrument clusters are becoming shared computing platforms where information from ADAS, drivetrain, infotainment, and other vehicle functions converges. This brings functions with different levels of safety criticality onto the same hardware, necessitating a clear distinction between safety-critical workloads and non-safety functions while maintaining reliable communication between them.
An ASIL-D brake failure alert and a QM infotainment application may use the same compute, memory, network, and GPU resources, but they cannot be given the same level of architectural treatment. Their different safety obligations must be reflected in how messages are classified, protected, scheduled, isolated, and monitored.
This whitepaper examines how digital cluster architecture can support this mixed-criticality environment, covering ASIL-driven design, message integrity, freedom from interference, runtime safety monitoring, and fail-operational behavior. It also explores the interaction between ISO 26262, SOTIF, and ISO/SAE 21434 as these requirements converge on a common computing platform.
Download this whitepaper to learn more and understand the key architectural considerations for next-generation digital instrument clusters.
