More Development Efficiency and Shorter Time-to-Market with the Software Defined Vehicle

The SDV is essentially based on the concept that vehicles are increasingly controlled by software. At the same time, the complexity of software development through to integration in the vehicle is constantly increasing. “This requires new concepts for the development process and new forms of cooperation between OEMs and suppliers,” says Gilles Mabire: “One way to achieve leaner and time-saving development processes is to think software first and thus set the course early on in the development process.”

This applies all the more with regard to the further development of semi-autonomous and fully autonomous driving functions. In order to enable safe use on the road, autonomous driving and assistance systems would have to be trained in countless test drives. The use of AI for precisely this purpose avoids several 100,000 road kilometers of test vehicles – this is not only sustainable, but in turn contributes to accelerated development.

As software-supported functions will have a major impact on future vehicle generations, the decoupling of software and hardware is also necessary. According to Gilles Mabire, this not only enables faster development, but also the implementation of new functions and software updates over the entire service life of the vehicle – over the air.

In his view, this leads to a Road to Cloud Ecosystem. “This includes basic technologies, hardware components and complex software solutions and functions,” continues Gilles Mabire. Data processing with artificial intelligence plays a key role in this development. As vehicles become part of the Internet of Things (IoT) and transfer large amounts of data to and from the cloud, suitable software is needed to process, manage and distribute this data. 

According to him, powerful tools and workbenches that represent the entire testing and validation process for Software Defined Vehicles are also in demand. For example, Continental's cloud-based development framework Automotive Edge (CAEdge) covers the workbench for the development and integration of complex applications.

Continental sees another opportunity in the increasing importance of the cloud and IoT. According to Mabire, this would not only open up new user experiences, but could also enable the further development of mobility. This is particularly true with regard to the life cycle management of Software Defined Vehicles – for example, by allowing additional functions to be implemented over the air at a later date as required.

Gilles Mabire is looking forward to ELIV 2024 with great anticipation: “Above all, the professional exchange between various partners and players in the industry in an international context makes this renowned event very important.”