As the number of electronic functions in a vehicle increase, so do the number of electronic control units (ECUs) required. That’s unavoidable in some cases, but in others, it’s possible and beneficial to reduce the total number of ECUs by controlling multiple functions from a single location. To that end, Robert Bosch LLC is developing what it calls a domain control unit (DCU). Kay Stepper, marketing manager for Bosch’s Chassis Systems Control Division, says the DCU is based on a 32-bit, 130nm multi-core microcontroller that’s optimized for advanced safety applications. In its current iteration the DCU will scale to 180MHz and come with up to 4MB of flash with error correction code. It will include a floating point unit, implement AUTOSAR, and include a FlexRay interface as well as CAN and LIN interfaces.