Family of Special Operations Vehicles (FOSOV)

Modern vehicle systems are highly dependent on electronics and software. In some cases, the amount of software in a modern vehicle is larger than in complex military ystems. This complexity makes building or modifying an existing vehicle difficult. Most modern subsystems from engine to transmission to braking use electronic, networked interfaces to perform theirs functions. These subsystems either contain or interface to an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) providing the computing functions for control and safety of the subsystem. Building and/or modifying a modern vehicle can require significant software changes for proper functionality and performance. Many vehicle Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) use closed, proprietary ECUs a developer cannot easily modify. As a result, automotive component vendors have begun selling “open-source” ECUs to enable a system developer to build custom vehicle software applications and adapt the hardware platform as needed. This process can be complex and time consuming. Like other open-source hardware/software solutions found in different applications, these systems rely on the developer to resolve issues with limited support from the open-source community.