AUTOSAR in the Smart Cities Era: Current Developments and Research Trends

As technology advances and more complex systems are developed, it has become increasingly frequent for these systems to be expected to adhere to a growing number of requirements. This is exceptionally significant in safety-critical automotive-related systems, particularly when the inherent challenges of highly interconnected Smart Cities are considered. Although the AUTomative Open System ARchitecture (AUTOSAR) was created two decades ago to support the growing embedding of technologies in vehicles, in a combined effort to standardize the software and methodology of this industry, it is reasonable to wonder if it still complies with the demands of the rising scenario of autonomous smart vehicles which are expected to behave as active urban agents. In this context, this paper surveys the state-of-the-art in this area, focusing on some of the key concepts associated with AUTOSAR and how they relate to the most critical challenges of our age. Essential topics for smart mobility were addressed, notably common implementation issues, emerging use case scenarios, and security questions when bringing AUTOSAR to brighter interconnected urban scenarios.