ZCU Research: Cross-domain integrated ZCUs are becoming the edge computing nodes of the next-generation zonal architecture
Currently, the mainstream zonal architecture is mainly the quasi-central + zonal architecture with multiple central computing platforms and 2~4 ZCUs. At this stage, the so-called body-oriented ZCU is predominantly tasked with body-related functions, while functions associated with the powertrain domain and chassis domain are not decoupled, and are implemented via dedicated separate functional domain controllers.
By the integration level of the central computing platform, two main EEA paths will emerge in the next stage:
Path 1 - Zonal architecture with cross-domain integration: Cockpit-driving integrated computer integration will be further improved to form a zonal architecture with cross-domain integration. In this architecture, the related functions of the body, powertrain and chassis are all disassembled and scattered, and integrated into their nearby ZCUs. ZCUs at this stage are dominated by cross-domain integrated ZCUs, which will be mainly deployed for L3+ scenarios. Featuring lightweight edge pre-processing capabilities, they require high performance multi-core MCUs with high computing power, high-capacity storage, robust communication capability and virtualization support.
Path 2 - Zonal architecture with highly integrated central computing: Central computing is further integrated and the architecture continues to be streamlined. ZCUs completely weaken the local computing power and develop in the direction of central cerebrum + intelligent control cerebellum + I/O zone control, further reducing costs and improving integration. ZCUs at this stage are positioned as pure edge I/O nodes. I/O oriented ZCUs no longer execute application logic, and only retain power distribution, protocol forwarding and driver functions. Their differentiation is reduced, imposing lower requirements on MCU computing power and storage, with emphasis placed on the richness of I/O interfaces.
Cross-domain integrated ZCU: the vehicle control strategy of the motion domain is moved up to HPC, while I/O execution is moved down to ZCUs
High-level intelligent driving functions require the intelligent driving domain to simultaneously invoke torque, brake, steering and suspension vertical control. They impose stringent requirements on the coordinated control of powertrain and chassis, and demand extremely low deterministic latency. In traditional motion domain control solutions, the powertrain domain controller and chassis domain controller perform control functions separately. They are concurrently responsible for vehicle control algorithms, mass I/O acquisition, solenoid valve driving, power distribution, gateway forwarding and other functions. The intelligent driving domain needs to connect two domain controllers across domains. There are many links, longer communication delays, and complex interfaces, which are not conducive to software-hardware decoupling and vehicle control function updates. Therefore, in high-end autonomous vehicles of L3 and above, the integration of the powertrain domain and the chassis domain is highly necessary.
The integration of the powertrain domain and the chassis domain into a ZCU essentially decouples the two core responsibilities of domain controllers: control strategies are uplifted, and I/O execution is offloaded downwards. The cross-domain integrated ZCU does not stuff all powertrain and chassis functions, but offloads the real-time I/O, local execution, sub-closed loop, power distribution, and gateway capabilities of the powertrain domain and the chassis domain to their nearby ZCUs. Sub-functions such as EPS, EPB, CDC, etc. are migrated to the ZCU software stack, canceling the separate chassis ECU, and moving the VMC logic up to the central HPC.
Actuators of the powertrain domain and the chassis domain are well?suited for integration into ZCUs. Motion?domain?related sensors and actuators such as wheel?speed sensors, brake motors and steering motors are mostly located close to wheels and chassis, featuring the shortest physical distance to ZCUs. The actuator of the motion domain is connected to its nearby ZCU, so that the extremely short communication link can ensure the high real-time performance required by high-level intelligent driving functions.
Therefore, the cross-domain integrated ZCU places relatively high requirements on MCUs in terms of processing capabilities, peripheral interfaces, virtualization mechanisms, and functional security.
At present, the cross-domain integrated ZCU integrating the motion domain is the main solution for EEAs in the next stage. Most of the domestic mainstream OEMs have planned the next-generation ZCU solutions integrating powertrain and chassis domain functions, and major Tier 1 suppliers have also launched cross-domain integrated ZCU system solutions.
For example, Jingwei Hirain exhibited its Re-ZCU at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition in 2026. This is a "chassis domain + body domain" integrated ZCU that uses a single MCU. On the basis of retaining chassis control functions such as single-channel EPB, dual-chamber air springs, and dual-valve CDC shock absorbers, it also integrates common body control functions like rear tailgate switch, rear seat adjustment, rear air conditioning adjustment, rear light adjustment, etc.
Re-ZCU integrates chassis functions and some body functions in the rear compartment, breaking the functional boundaries of traditional separate ECUs. This design eliminates the need for separate chassis domain controllers and body controllers in the rear compartment, helping to simplify the vehicle's circuit layout and reduce vehicle weight and cost.
ZCUs support distributed audio architectures and transmit audio streams based on AVB+TSN Ethernet
In addition to integrating the motion domain, ZCUs in the next stage will also integrate audio power amplifiers to achieve separate audio partition management. Traditional audio solutions centrally deploy power amplifier modules in a separate power amplifier ECU or cockpit domain controller. All speaker and microphone signals are aggregated to a dedicated power amplifier or cockpit domain controller for DAC conversion, power amplification and audio?effect processing. The A2B dedicated audio bus is adopted for daisy-chained cross-zone wiring, which brings challenges such as excessively long wire harnesses, complicated routing and signal attenuation.
With the development of the zonal architecture and higher user requirements for cockpit audio experience, the distributed audio architecture decentralizes power amplifier functions into ZCUs and eliminates separate power amplifier ECUs, with speakers connected to nearby ZCUs. It has become a direction for the industry to explore collectively. In the distributed audio architecture, power amplifier circuits are embedded within ZCUs. The cockpit SoC undertakes audio algorithm decoding, and digital audio is transmitted to ZCUs in each zone via AVB?TSN Ethernet. Speakers are driven in proximity to realize flexible management, synchronous transmission and personalized experience of multi-zone audio.
Hardware integration: ZCUs integrate multi-channel audio codecs, AVB/TSN Ethernet audio bridging, local storage (for pre-loading audio effect algorithms) and DSP?based power amplifiers. They directly sample and process audio?node signals from local microphones, speakers and power amplifiers, and exchange data with the central domain controller via the backbone network.
Software decoupling: Through a SOA, audio functions are abstracted into separate services (such as "volume adjustment service" and "sound effect mode service"). Each ZCU is invoked on demand, while the central domain controller is only responsible for strategy orchestration.
Wiring harness simplification: ZCUs connect local zone audio nodes via local power supply and audio buses, which effectively shortens speaker harness length and greatly reduces in-vehicle harness weight and routing complexity. While guaranteeing system functions, it cuts hardware BOM cost and lowers vehicle manufacturing cost as well as curb weight. At the same time, they enable software-defined audio and realize flexible platform iteration of different vehicle models.
Infineon's ZCU-based AVB distributed audio solution as an example: through the design of "central computing + distributed ZCUs", combined with the high bandwidth and low latency of Ethernet as well as automotive zone audio requirements, flexible management and control, synchronous transmission and personalized experience of multi-zone audio are achieved.
Central computing unit and Ethernet switch: they are responsible for audio data processing, network management and traffic scheduling. They connect each zone audio controller through Ethernet to build a "backbone network" for automotive audio and video transmission. At the same time, the time synchronization (gPTP) and quality of service (QoS) mechanisms based on the AVB protocol ensure low-latency, lag-free synchronous transmission of multi-zone audio streams;
Distributed ZCU:
Zone audio function: Each physical ZCU receives AVTP audio data through Ethernet and independently controls audio output to achieve zone-based personalized audio experience.
Audio Codec: It is the "local processing center" of zone audio, responsible for the encoding (analog → digital), decoding (digital → analog), mixing, amplification and other operations of audio signals. Wherein, I2S is an automotive-grade serial audio bus, suitable for short-distance, high-reliability audio transmission; TDM supports multi-channel audio transmission on the same link, improving bandwidth utilization.
MCU: Infineon AURIXTM TC4x is used. This chip is designed with specialized hardware peripheral support for AVB. It can support AVB protocols such as IEE802.1AS, IEEE802.1Qav, and TSN protocols like IEEE802.1 Qbu, IEEE802.1 Qbv, and IEE802.1 CB.
Cross-domain integrated ZCU reconstructs business model: hardware standardization, OEM-led software differentiation
In the SDV era, automotive electronic architectures achieve rapid multiplexing across vehicle models and classes through modular design and software configuration. ZCUs serve as the core carrier for "standardized hardware + software differentiation".
The cross-domain integrated ZCU is no longer a simple unit for body I/O, power distribution and gateway functions. Instead, it is a local edge-computing unit integrating body, gateway, power distribution, partial chassis/powertrain actuation, audio power amplifiers and multiple other functions. It should comply with both ASIL-B and ASIL-D, with safety isolation implemented via Hypervisor. Therefore, the traditional Tier1 black box model will gradually phase out, while the new model will move towards in-depth multi-party research, software-hardware decoupling and hierarchical collaboration, platform-based pre-research, and OEMs’ mastery of upper-layer SOA and vehicle architecture definition.
Currently, all parties in the ZCU industry chain are exploring more flexible cooperation modes. Chip vendors extend upward to the underlying software and reference platforms, basic software vendors improve their status, OEMs upwardly master the vehicle architecture/SOA/application layer, and Tier1 suppliers or EMS providers undertake system integration and hardware implementation. For example, Flex, Infineon, and Vector collaborated to launch a scalable ZCU development kit; ST and AutoCore jointly released an Ethernet-based ZCU distributed audio solution, and UAES launched a "building block"-style platform solution, allowing OEMs to flexibly choose different supply levels from hardware to complete solutions.
For example, Flex, Infineon, and Vector collaborated to launch a scalable ZCU development kit at CES 2026. The core of this solution lies in its modular design and scalable architecture. It consists of about 30 modules internally. Developers can flexibly combine configurations according to specific vehicle models and functional requirements. It provides a clear path for subsequent mass production, quickly adapting to various vehicle models from entry-level to luxury segments, from traditional fuel models to high-end autonomous models. The solution is a one-stop turnkey model of "chip + software + EMS". Infineon provides core semiconductor solutions covering MCUs, power semiconductors and security chips, Vector provides high-performance embedded software and development tools, and Flex is responsible for the hardware design, manufacturing and mass production of ZCUs.
The highest configuration version of the development kit adopts a dual-MCU redundant architecture to ensure fail-safe operation. It uses Infineon's TC4x MCU with a real-time performance of 2 × 6,810 DMIPS. It is also equipped with 2 × 10MB memory and 2 × 21MB non-volatile memory, leaving sufficient margin for L4 autonomous driving and high-security-level applications. This design guarantees functional safety and provides a solid hardware foundation for "software-defined vehicles". OEMs can continuously unlock new features or optimize existing performance through software updates and configurations on standardized hardware, greatly shortening the development cycle of new vehicle models.
A single-MCU version is also available. Developers can flexibly choose the solution according to the actual projects and costs, fully embodying the core concept of "scalability and multiplexing".
In terms of communication interfaces, this ZCU solution covers almost all mainstream protocols of the current automotive network. Ethernet interfaces include two 1000BASE-T1 ports (one upgradable to 2500BASE-T1), two 100BASE-T1 ports and two 10BASE-T1S ports. For CAN, two 5 Mbit/s CAN-FD ports supporting partial networking are provided, together with eighteen 5Mbit/s CAN-FD ports without partial networking support for general body and chassis communication. In addition, it integrates 16 LIN interfaces, one 10 Mbit/s FlexRay interface, two 125 kbit/s bi-directional PSI5 interfaces, four DSI3 interfaces (supporting up to 12 ultrasonic sensors), two SENT interfaces (upgradable to master triggered SPC protocol), and four 3-wire WSS (wheel-speed-sensor) interfaces (upgradable to a 2-wire solution).
At the signal and power supply control level, this ZCU solution provides four pull-down digital inputs, 10 pull-up digital inputs, 24 pull-up analog inputs and two 5V analog-output interfaces, enabling direct connection to various automotive sensors and actuators.
For power control, it incorporates eight electronic fuses with hardware-based i2t protection, 42 high-side switches, four low-side switches, eight motor half-bridges and one brushed motor full-bridge. It can supply power to up to 63 ECUs or actuators, with a continuous current conversion capability of 85A and a total distributed current up to 688A.
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