From High-Speed Connectivity to Smart Power Distribution: Supporting the Evolution of Next-Generation Vehicle E/E Architecture

On August 12, the 2026 CIAIE Automotive Interiors, Exteriors and Smart Cockpit Technology Innovation Summit and “Smart Cockpit Award” Ceremony was held in Shanghai. HULANE received the “Apsoto Award - Technology Innovation Award” for its H-AME Automotive Ethernet technology.

The award, established by the CIAIE Organizing Committee together with Apsoto Automotive, the Society of Automotive Engineers of Shanghai, and other organizations, recognizes innovative technologies in automotive interior and exterior integration and smart cockpit applications. The recognition highlights HULANE’s continued technological advancements in high-speed automotive connectivity and reflects the growing importance of high-speed communication technologies in next-generation cockpit and vehicle E/E architectures.

During the summit, HULANE Product Manager Kai Lin was invited to deliver a technical presentation titled “Next-Generation Smart Power Distribution Control Technology – HSD Hybrid Architecture and eFuse Platform Applications.” Starting from the evolution of vehicle E/E architecture, he shared insights with industry partners on how automotive power distribution systems are evolving alongside the development of smart cockpits and advanced autonomous driving.

From Power Distribution to Smart Power Management

As advanced autonomous driving and smart cockpit functions continue to evolve, demand for greater computing power, high-speed communication, and real-time control is increasing. These trends are driving vehicle electrical/electronic (E/E) architectures from traditional distributed ECUs toward domain-based and zonal architectures.

Compared with traditional distributed architectures, zonal architectures integrate controllers and centralize computing, helping reduce wiring complexity and improve data transmission efficiency. At the same time, they also impose more stringent requirements on response speed, status monitoring, fault management, and functional safety within the vehicle power distribution system.

As a result, automotive power distribution is evolving beyond basic power delivery toward smart power management with enhanced monitoring, diagnostics, and configurability.

Traditional junction boxes primarily rely on fuses and relays for passive protection. In advanced autonomous driving applications, however, limitations such as one-time fuse operation requiring manual replacement, lack of real-time status monitoring, and limited protection response and fault management capabilities are increasingly unable to meet the requirements of next-generation vehicles for rapid response, system reliability, and smart power management.

From Passive Components to Smart Controllers: A Multi-Stage Smart Power Distribution Roadmap

In response to the evolution of vehicle E/E architecture, HULANE continues to develop technologies spanning traditional power distribution and smart power management, with next-generation smart electrical box solutions designed for different stages of vehicle electrification and intelligence.

Semi-Smart Platform (HSD + IC)

The Semi-Smart Platform adopts an HSD + IC architecture, providing overcurrent, overtemperature, and short-circuit protection while introducing intelligent protection capabilities on the basis of an existing hardware architecture.

Balancing compatibility with conventional architectures and implementation costs, the platform serves as an important transitional solution toward fully intelligent power distribution and supports the requirements of L0–L3 applications.

Smart eFuse Platform (MCU + eFuse)

The Smart eFuse Platform adopts an MCU + eFuse architecture, progressively replacing traditional fuses and relays with eFuses and transforming fixed hardware-based protection into an intelligent power management model through integrated hardware and software control.

The platform supports software-defined current management, precise current monitoring, automatic fault isolation and recovery, OTA updates, and fault diagnostics. Equipped with a dedicated MCU, it can monitor the electrical status of individual circuits in real time and rapidly report faults.

For advanced autonomous driving applications, the Smart eFuse Platform also supports redundant power architectures designed in line with ISO 26262 functional safety principles. Dual power supplies, redundant power paths, and fault isolation strategies can be configured according to vehicle-level ASIL targets, addressing power reliability and functional safety requirements for L3–L5 applications.

Simplifying Wiring Architecture and Improving Vehicle-Level System Integration

The value of smart power distribution goes beyond replacing traditional fuses. It also enables the restructuring and integration of vehicle power distribution systems in line with next-generation E/E architectures.

By combining zonal architectures with smart electrical box solutions, the following improvements can be achieved:

1. Up to 90% reduction in fuses
2. 40% reduction in wiring circuits
3. 50% reduction in inline connectors

Centralized and intelligent power distribution can further reduce wiring complexity and overall vehicle weight while freeing up additional design space for smart cockpits, body control systems, and other electronic systems.

From Hardware Integration to Software-Defined Power Management

In addition to upgrading the hardware architecture, HULANE is also developing software capabilities for smart power distribution.

Current capabilities include Power Distribution Control, I²t Overcurrent Protection, Load Protection, Diagnostic & Health Monitoring, Current Filtering, Power Management, as well as communication functions including CAN FD, UDS, and OTA.

A graphical configuration interface supports Parameter Read / Write, OVP / UVP Settings, I-T Protection Curve Settings, High-Temperature Derating Settings, and Protection Curve Display, enabling more flexible protection parameter configuration for different application scenarios.

Through the development approach of hardware integration, software layering, and closed-loop data management, the smart electrical box is evolving from a conventional power distribution product into a smart power management platform with monitoring, configuration, and diagnostic capabilities.

From High-Speed Connectivity to System-Level Solutions

HULANE’s H-AME Automotive Ethernet technology was recognized with the “Smart Cockpit Award – Technology Innovation Award,” demonstrating the company’s continued progress in high-speed automotive connectivity.

Meanwhile, the development of smart electrical boxes and smart power distribution platforms further expands HULANE’s technology portfolio in response to next-generation vehicle E/E architecture.

From high-frequency connectivity and high-voltage connectivity to smart electrical boxes and smart power distribution control, HULANE continues to strengthen its product development and system integration capabilities around the evolving requirements of vehicle E/E architectures.

Looking ahead, HULANE will continue investing in automotive connectivity and smart power distribution technologies, working together with customers and industry partners to explore next-generation vehicle solutions for Software-Defined Vehicles and zonal architectures, and supporting the automotive industry in advancing toward greater intelligence, efficiency, and reliability.

To request the full presentation deck or speak with our team about HULANE’s Smart Electrical Box and eFuse solutions, please submit your company information and contact details. Our team will be in touch shortly.