He is currently observing a certain ambivalence, continues Dr. Rolf Zöller: “On the one hand, highly committed initiatives in areas such as the software-defined vehicle or open source are helping to trigger rapid, almost exponential development, while other technological topics are developing more incrementally. This includes autonomous driving, for example.” This trend is not only evident among OEMs, but also among suppliers and tech companies.
Fast Pace on the Way to the Software-Defined Vehicle
However, Dr. Zöller is also able to find some encouraging aspects in the current challenging situation: “It can be very healthy for the European automotive industry to focus on key projects and technologies. The path to the software-defined vehicle is definitely part of this, and AI applications are also increasing rapidly.”
Another trend: customers today expect applications to be available in the car just as quickly as users are used to from the consumer world, consumer electronics and media technology. “As car manufacturers, we are challenged like never before to continuously develop in step with the consumer industry. This requires a high degree of flexibility and agility,” emphasizes Dr. Rolf Zöller.
Until a few years ago, this pace of development would have been almost unthinkable, especially with the well-known high demands on security, quality and multi-year development cycles in the automotive segment. However, this argument is no longer valid today, the Congress Director of ELIV continues: “The customer expects not only good software, but also outstanding overall integration. The software must harmonize perfectly with the other components of the vehicle, such as driving dynamics and energy management.”
New Approaches of Homologation Required
The software in the vehicle is therefore becoming increasingly complex and should also be available as quickly as possible. Against this background, the question arises as to how the dynamization of development in approval, homologation and validation can be absorbed in the future. This is no longer possible with today's conventional basis; instead, it is necessary to talk about possibilities and approaches to homologation in the digital space. Dr Zöller: “Many presentations at ELIV 2024 will therefore deal with the topic of virtualization, so that the hardware installed in the car is not only simulated, but virtualized in twin representations.” This is a very important approach in order to test the software in the real environment and at the same time study long-term effects, observe aging effects and thus derive much more reliable statements about the behavior in the future.
Dr. Zöller continues: “This is a huge tool for becoming better and faster. This is only possible thanks to the rapid development of the cloud. As a consequence, our common interest must be to bring this into reality and development and homologation processes as quickly as possible and to gain acceptance for it from authorities and in approval procedures.” It is therefore crucial for the entire industry to address the issue at an early stage and to position itself, particularly with regard to regulation. “In my view, this is one of the key success factors for the further development of driver assistance systems and automated driving functions,” the long-standing industry insider continues.
Expert Exchange at the Highest Level
Hence, there is more than enough need for discussion at ELIV. Against this backdrop, participants at the two-day congress in Bonn can look forward to an in-depth, diverse and technically sound program. With over 300 well-founded topic submissions, the program committee did not find it easy to select the presentations, Dr. Zöller continues: “The quality, originality and uniqueness of the presentations are once again remarkable. ELIV is characterized in particular by not remaining on the surface, but going into depth in terms of content and giving the scientific topics plenty of space. Explaining and understanding, science and technology - we want to live up to this claim again this year.”
Lightning Talks: Fresh Impulses in Condensed Form
Almost 100 of the 300 proposed topics will be covered over two days – thanks in part to the new Lightning Talks, which will address innovative topics in a condensed format of two minutes each. “While the Automotive Trend Sessions, last year on the topic of open source, this year on digital homologation and artificial intelligence, allow a special focus on current key topics, the Lightning Talks can provide valuable impulses on new and unique topics. I am extremely excited about this, but I am sure that the Lightning Talks will convey an incredible amount – both in terms of ideas and highly condensed information as well as emotion,” explains the Congress Director.
In his view, ELIV is an excellent platform to facilitate the exchange of information on current requirements and to represent the entire diversity of the industry – not only with OEMs and suppliers, but also with the participation of technology developers, IT and software companies, from major global players to niche tech suppliers and start-ups. Dr. Rolf Zöller concludes: “If you want to get a precise picture of the situation in the mix of technologies and trends, but also of the challenges in the automotive environment, ELIV 2024 is the place to be.”
