DDS: The Data Backbone of SDV Interoperability

Guest author: Neil Puthuff, Staff Application Engineer, Real-Time Innovations (RTI) and member of the COVESA Technical Steering Committee and VSS Working Group.

The paradigm shift to software-defined vehicles (SDVs) is underway, yet the initial promise of rapid development has not materialized largely due to the complexity of integrating data among all vehicle subsystems.

SDVs require massive amounts of data from countless sources to be sent exactly where and when it’s needed. This requires a more data-centric approach to vehicle communication.

DDS, or Data Distribution ServiceTM, is an open Object Management Group (OMG®) standard for data-centric communications. With DDS, the data is the interface between system components, enabling interoperability.

DDS processes data via a global data space using a publish-subscribe pattern with QoS that is independent of the underlying transport. DDS excels as a highly capable real-time data connectivity framework. When paired with a common data model as the ‘data language’ that all applications ‘speak’, DDS creates a comprehensive Data Architecture for SDVs that avoids many of the integration problems that plague modern vehicles.

COVESA is leading the way in building and incorporating open source, common data-centric models for present and future vehicle design through its Vehicle Signal Specification [VSS] model. VSS with DDS can enable drop-in plug-and-play interoperability of components between suppliers and vehicles.

This paper expands on the Data-Centric Interoperability session held during the September 2024 COVESA All Members Meeting in Detroit. It provides an introduction and in-depth overview of DDS for modern automotive systems and discusses its applicability within the VSS framework and with other automotive architectures, including ROS 2 and AUTOSAR Adaptive.

Download the paper: DDS: The Data Backbone of SDV Interoperability | RTI

Resources:

• COVESA Vehicle Signal Specification
• Data Distribution Service Standard
• RTI Automotive Solutions