Figure 1: Overview

Advancing Next-Generation Radar Networks for Autonomous Driving

KPIT Technologies is proud to be a key contributor to the VERANO research project, an initiative supported by the German Federal Government. The project focuses on unlocking the potential of distributed, cooperative, and scalable radar sensor networks for autonomous driving—an essential enabler for safer and more reliable mobility systems.

As the automotive industry transitions towards software-defined vehicles and centralised compute architectures, VERANO addresses the fundamental need for high-performance, real-time communication and intelligent sensor collaboration across complex vehicle systems.

VERANO: A System-Level Innovation Programme

VERANO aims to redefine how radar sensor networks function in autonomous systems, with three overarching innovation pillars:

  • Digitalisation of radar systems: Enabling fully digitised, synchronised, and self-monitoring sensor networks with advanced modulation techniques for improved configurability and performance.
  • Optimised compute distribution: Balancing processing across edge nodes, network layers, and central systems to maximise accuracy, efficiency, and real-time responsiveness.
  • Integration of AI into radar networks: Enhancing efficiency, reliability, and autonomous decision-making through intelligent, adaptive algorithms.

Together, these innovations enable high-fidelity environment mapping, lower latency, and robust system behaviour—critical for highly automated driving scenarios.

KPIT’s Role: Enabling Reliable, Deterministic In-Vehicle Networking

Within VERANO, KPIT leads key aspects of Networking and Zonal Architecture, which focuses on building the backbone for real-time communication within distributed automotive systems.

Key Objectives

  • Establish a lab-based “breadboard” test environment to validate networked radar systems
  • Enable high-speed, deterministic Ethernet communication using Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN)
  • Achieve high-precision time synchronisation across radar sensor nodes

Enhance reliability and safety through functional safety concepts

Engineering the Software Foundations of Future Vehicle Architectures

KPIT’s work in VERANO goes beyond system integration to address the foundational software and architecture challenges of next-generation vehicles.

Deep Analysis of Automotive E/E Architectures

KPIT evaluated evolving automotive electrical/electronic (E/E) architectures—from distributed systems to zonal and centralised software-defined architectures—to identify the optimal foundation for high-performance radar networks.

This analysis highlights the industry shift towards:

  • Reduced ECU complexity through centralisation
  • Increased reliance on high-performance computing platforms
  • Demand for high-bandwidth, low-latency communication enabled by Ethernet TSN


Figure 2: Centralized & Software-defined E/E Architecture

Real-Time Software and Middleware Analysis

KPIT conducted in-depth evaluations of:

  • AUTOSAR Classic and Adaptive platforms
  • Real-time operating systems (RTOS)
  • Communication middleware such as DDS, ROS, and service-oriented architectures

This work ensures that:

  • Automotive software stacks can support deterministic, real-time communication
  • Systems can handle high data throughput required by radar and perception workloads
  • Architectures remain scalable, flexible, and future-ready

Concept Development for Ethernet TSN Integration

A major contribution from KPIT is the development of a reference concept for integrating Ethernet Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) into automotive middleware stacks.

The concept contains:

  • Precise time synchronisation across distributed nodes
  • Traffic scheduling and prioritisation for mission-critical data
  • Fault tolerance through redundancy mechanisms
  • Deterministic, low-latency communication for real-time applications

This is essential for:

  • Coordinating distributed radar sensors
  • Enabling real-time decision-making
  • Ensuring safety and reliability in autonomous driving systems

Funding body: Federal Ministry of Education and Research – Electronics
Framework programme: Microelectronics. Trustworthy and sustainable.
Funding reference: 16ME0789

Fördergeber Bundesministerium: für Bildung und Forschung Elektronik
Rahmenprogram: Mikroelektronik. Vertrauenswürdig und nachhaltig.
Förderkennzeichen: 16ME0789

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