DDS: Proven Connectivity Solutions for Autonomous Vehicles

While the inner workings of autonomous vehicle systems remain proprietary, real‑world deployments in adjacent industries illuminate how DDS resolves the toughest connectivity challenges.

Autonomous vehicles demand excellence in three pillars: performance, safety, and integration. Systems must deliver blazing speed to link components, enforce safety at every layer, and streamline the integration of diverse software modules.

Performance: Modernizing Automotive System Testing

Industry leaders such as Audi and Volkswagen have adopted RTI Connext DDS to achieve high‑performance connectivity for testing and enhancing next‑generation smart cars.

• Audi replaced a proprietary fiber network and test rig with a DDS databus, creating a flexible way to connect multiple simulation vendors’ systems. RTI middleware enables a modular test environment that can handle the data flow from all electronic subsystems during simulation. A New Architecture for Hardware‑in‑the‑Loop Test via ATZ Elektronik
• Volkswagen integrates autonomous‑vehicle algorithms to advance driver assistance and safety. By combining radar, lidar, and video feeds, RTI Connext DDS links all components—obstacle detection, lane‑departure warning, eye‑tracking, and turn negotiation—into a single intelligent system. Read more…
• Volkswagen also leveraged DDS in an electric vehicle capable of autonomously navigating to and from a charging station after dropping off passengers.

Resilience & Safety: Unmanned Aircraft

Engineers in aerospace and defense have long trusted RTI’s award‑winning infrastructure to develop unmanned aircraft and land‑based unmanned vehicles.

DDS aligns with open‑architecture initiatives such as the Future Airborne Capability Environment, UAS Control Segment Architecture, and Open Mission Systems. Connext DDS Cert assists developers in meeting National Airspace System integration requirements while minimizing custom code.

The safety standards in this sector closely mirror automotive compliance. The certification journey relies on collaboration between vendors and solution designers—a partnership RTI already forged with vehicle manufacturers. These joint efforts ensure that the rigorous certifications and safety levels required for autonomous cars are met.

System Integration: Healthcare

Advanced device connectivity is transforming medical practice, reducing costs, and improving outcomes. DDS exemplifies how to integrate complex distributed subsystems while maintaining required performance.

RTI Connext DDS delivers precise, distributed control for subsystems within cutting‑edge CT imagers. In hospital settings, DDS connects myriad technologies for patient monitoring and diagnostics, powering modern medical equipment.

If you want to learn how Connext DDS can give your autonomous‑car design a decisive competitive edge, download our latest white paper.