Master Thesis - Frame replication and elimination for automotive network reliability i Lund

Thesis Worker at Volvo Cars

Welcome to explore the world of Volvo Cars by writing your thesis with us! As a thesis worker in our organization you are supported by a supervisor who follows you during your project. All thesis projects are arranged in business critical areas and therefore you will be able to contribute to our company purpose – providing freedom to move in a safe, sustainable and personal way – from day one! 

Background 

Automotive companies deal increasingly with time sensitive networks (TSN) that involve safety functions. TSN do not have a time redundancy on layer 2, and thus a strategy is needed to tolerate temporary faults. 

For safety-critical applications, reliability is an important feature for safety relevant data delivered from source to destination. A delay of an ethernet frame containing safety relevant data could have adverse effects on the vehicle's safety. Faults in any parts of the system must be reported timely and reliably since they can otherwise cause hazardous side effects. 

A mechanism to tolerate such faults was defined as part of IEEE 802.1CB-2017 standard called FRER (Frame replication and elimination for reliability). FRER adds fault-tolerance via sending the same frames via redundant paths. Although its core functions are defined by the standard, its efficacy depends on the actual deployment scenario and the path selection strategy. Different topologies may affect reliability and the overall network resilience differently and are part of what we are interested to investigate. 

Scope 

As part of this thesis, we want to develop a simulation model that reflects different vehicle ethernet topologies running some standardized traffic flows and generate faults on these topologies. Using this simulation model, together with the fault model, we want to understand how the overall communication reliability, uptime, and performance is impacted by utilizing FRER. 

We want to do so by using modern open-source network simulators such as OMNeT++ or ns3. 

Relevant technical domains 

System verification and validation, system safety, system network topology design and optimizations, system reliability, networking systems, modelling real systems, fault modelling 

Your contribution is our future 

• You should love to hack and explore new areas while looking at the big picture.  
• You should have some experience with software development (C/C++, git, scripting).  
• You should have a background in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, electronics, or other relevant fields. 
• Interest in containerization is helpful (e.g., docker, kubernetes, etc.) 
• We believe in excellence through collaboration and thus we would like to have at least two people collaborating for this thesis. Parts of the thesis could be split out as summer work, and/or part time work at Volvo Cars in case you are interested. 

Students may work at the Lund site (Delta 3, Scheelevägen 23, 223 63 Lund / Ideon Park) or at the Göteborg site (PV3B / Gunnar Engellaus väg 21, 418 78 / Torslanda).  

Duration  

• The work to start in 2023  
• The duration for this thesis work is 20-24 weeks.  
• 15-30 ECTS (academic credits) if in agreement with your Thesis Advisor in University  
• This thesis is to be conducted by 2 Students working in pairs. 

Be part of the change – apply today!

Selection will be ongoing during the application period, so do not hesitate to send in your application. Attach your resume and cover letter and copies of grades. You may provide a reference if you would like. Please note that due to GDPR, applications via email will not be accepted.

Please apply no later than by January 15th, 2023.

The thesis will be mentored/supervised by Korkakakis Nikolaos. The hiring manager is Philippe Burlion. For any recruitment inquiries feel free to contact us at student-work.lund@volvocars.com. 

We are Volvo Cars 
Volvo Cars is a company on a mission to bring traditional car manufacturing into a connected, sustainable and smart future. Since 1927, we've been known for our commitment to safety and for creating innovative cars that make life less complicated. In 2010, we decided to radically redefine our business, resulting in a totally new generation of cars and technology, as well as steady growth and record sales - and we're only getting started. By 2025, we aim to have yearly sales of 1.2 million cars, 50% of which will be electric vehicles and sold directly to customers through digital channels. We also intend to strengthen our position as a modern, progressive employer committed to diversity and gender and racial equality. We believe in the power of people. Join us and be part of Volvo Cars' transformation.