The core idea behind AUTOSAR (Automotive Open System Architecture) is to help you master the increasing complexity of the software in modern vehicles through standardization.
AUTOSAR is an initiative by leading automobile manufacturers and suppliers that was established in Fall 2003 with the goal, among other things, of defining a reference architecture for the automotive software.
The basic elements of the AUTOSAR architecture are formally defined software components with precisely specified interfaces. Basic functions in automobiles will first be specified formally via software components and then implemented in the next step. The Virtual Functional Bus (VFB) specified by AUTOSAR delivers the conceptual foundation for the communication of software components among each other and with the base software of an AUTOSAR ECU. For the distribution of software components to real ECUs in vehicles, a specific instance of the VFB is implemented using the Runtime Environment (RTE).
Thanks to the RTE and the existing AUTOSAR base software, the software infrastructure of an AUTOSAR ECU is abstracted with respect to the AUTOSAR software components.