Overview
ISO 24581:2024 - Road vehicles - General requirements and test methods of in-vehicle optical harnesses for up to 100 Gbit/s communication defines performance requirements and laboratory test methods for automotive optical harnesses carrying up to 100 Gbit/s per fibre channel. The standard covers cables and connectors used for in-vehicle data links, including cable-to-cable (in-line) connectors and electronic-device (header) connectors, and specifies mechanical reference planes (MRP) and optical reference planes (ORP) and relevant mechanical dimensions for header connectors.
Note: electrical safety, protection, fire and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) are explicitly outside the scope. The internal optical coupling system of a header connector and optoelectronic components are also beyond the standard’s scope.
Key Topics and Technical Requirements
ISO 24581:2024 addresses both optical and mechanical aspects of in-vehicle harnesses. Major technical topics include:
- Optical channel & harness definitions - structure and application examples for in-vehicle optical harnesses.
- Optical fibre and cable requirements - covered fibre types (e.g., GI-MMF), buffered fibre structure and cable construction.
- Attenuation and bending performance - cable attenuation, bending-induced attenuation, residual bending stress limits and minimum/maximum bending attenuation.
- Mechanical robustness tests - tensile strength, crush toughness, impact resistance, static torsion, cable retention and durability of repeated mating/un-mating.
- Connector specifications - header, plug and socket dimension criteria, mechanical coding, coupling attenuation, optical return loss, insertion forces, lock cancellation force and vibration resistance.
- Temperature and environmental exposures - high/low storage, operating temperature tests, sequential and combined environmental examinations.
- Measurement & test methods - substituted transmitter/receiver methods, measurement light source and equipment setup, measurement points and substitution method for optical performance verification.
- Safety and optical power - eye-safety considerations and requirements for in-vehicle optical links.
Practical Applications and Who Uses This Standard
ISO 24581:2024 is intended for organizations involved in designing, manufacturing, testing and integrating automotive high-speed optical data links:
- Automotive OEMs specifying in-vehicle networks for ADAS, autonomous-driving sensor backbones, domain controllers and high-bandwidth infotainment.
- Cable and connector suppliers developing automotive-grade optical harnesses, header connectors and in-line couplers.
- Component and transceiver manufacturers aligning mechanical interfaces (MRP/ORP) and verifying link performance.
- Test laboratories and certification bodies performing standardized mechanical, optical and environmental tests.
- System integrators validating harness performance in vehicle architectures.
Keywords: ISO 24581:2024, in-vehicle optical harnesses, 100 Gbit/s, optical connectors, optical fibre cable, automotive optical harness, header connector, test methods.
Related Standards
Refer to relevant standards on optical-fibre characterization, transceiver interfaces and automotive EMC/electrical safety (outside ISO 24581’s scope) when specifying complete vehicle-level requirements.