"Software Defined Vehicles" over a coffee.

There is nothing more warm for automotive enthusiasts, than reading about something which is being talked about in the industry, of which we are yet to learn ...over a hot cup of coffee. So here we go!!!

In the past, vehicle manufacturers differentiated themselves on the basis of distinguished design elements like the rise up doors in a Lamborghini OR mechanical features such as horsepower and torque like in the Scatpack 392 from dodge, OR patented product features like the stow and go seats in Chrysler minivans. However, today a consumer is increasingly looking for features beyond these. The evolution of life shadowing gadgets like the smart phone, has led to a technology dependency which the consumers expect to be scalable across other products he/she uses day in and day out. It is this same expectation which is also powering the multi billion dollar "Smart Homes" industry.

It was obvious that these expectations would trickle down to the product, which is an indispensable part of our lives just like the cellphone - "The Car".

And that's the reason why car buying decisions today are heavily tilted towards products offering higher levels of features around smart connectivity, in-car infotainment innovations and driver assisting features irrespective of the drivetrain platforms. (Market dependent*)

As ADAS features advance to next levels, the need for more software also grows simultaneously. The same goes for consumers expecting richer content in their infotainment systems, which also asks for the increased amount of digital content the vehicle must be able manage. And finally as vehicles become part of the internet of things, transmitting large amounts of data to and from the cloud, require software to process, manage and distribute all of that data in real time with accuracy.

“Software-defined vehicle” is a term that describes a vehicle whose features and functions are primarily enabled, driven and controlled through software. A result of an ongoing evolution of the automobile - a product which is mainly hardware heavy currently to a software heavy electronic gadget on 4 wheels in the near future. A gadget which can park itself, can be accessed via your cell phone, can be updated over the air, can drive itself in multiple stages etc. thanks to the 150 million+ lines of software codes, which flow across 100+ electronic control units (ECUs) and a plethora of sensors, cameras, radar and light detection and ranging (lidar) devices. (Whew!!!).

So that's a SDV in a nutshell.

Next Question: So what are the Benefits of SDV from a "Lets talk Business" Perspective?

For the Consumer:

1) Reduction in customer effort - As Over the Air updates flowing into a car, the customer customers will be able to receive updates which enable higher security patches, infotainment UX improvements, ability to monitor and tune some of the core functional capabilities, which currently have a high dependency on visiting an authorized dealer and long off the road times.

2) Customized interface - With applications being downloadable based on specific requirements and choice, customers will be empowered to have a deeper engagement with their vehicles. We will buy a package for a racing event (e.g. power, handling and performance tune ups), heated seats for winter seasons only, or extra range and self driving features for long trips to reduce driver fatigue.?

For the OEMS:

1) Improvement in customer visibility - Native to SDV's core, vehicle ECUs will send and receive vast amounts of data to and from sensors and actuators, giving OEMs deeper and real-time insight into every aspect of a vehicle, its performance and its usage. This means an opportunity to improve the over all life-cycle management and offering revenue-generating features based on consumer data driven dynamics resulting in a deeper, more connected relationships with customers.

2) Newer Revenue Generating avenues- Subscription based services which customers can opt in for, usage based package offerings, upselling and cross selling of VAS - we are talking about a bare minimum of 500-1000 dollars of additional revenue per customer.

CHALLENGES & how TECH COMPANIES play a role here:

The main challenges to the adoption of are largely non-technical in nature, However are efficiently resolved by leveraging the expertise offered by TECH companies!

Some of them are:

• Redesigning business processes and business models throughout the value chain
• Upskilling the automotive community to deal with more advanced software and development processes, right from market research all the way down to vehicle delivery and aftersales
• Optimizing the development flow to manage security, safety, and the integration economics in an end-to-end manner
• Managing the roadmap for the deployment of the new approach in a manner which adds value to early adoption

These challenges will need to be addressed efficiently and at priority in the face of competition from new players and non-traditional new entrants in the automotive sector. In facing these challenges, the automotive sector will need to become a software industry and drive its system engineering to respond to this change in an agile manner. This transformation can be adopted or imitated by implementing the best practices provided by technology strategic partners.

The car of the future will be defined largely by its software-delivered features and its ability to meet expectations derived from mainstream experience of software platforms, software timescales, and software business models.

As mentioned earlier, this revolution on the software side is accompanied by a deep transformation of the electronic architecture. The industry is progressively and faster than expected shifting from dozens of function-specific non update-able ECUs per vehicle to half a dozen domain computers that are software agnostic and updatable over-the-air opening up the doors for tech companies and IT service integrators to enter the automotive market, at a lightening pace with solutions and platforms, required to accelerate this transformation.

In short Tech companies are becoming strategic partners to global OEMs by enabling the OEMS to leverage the cloud, edge computing services and AI/analytics expertise which they have to offer. Some of the key collaborations are:

Microsoft’s? partnership with Bosch aims to enable wireless Software updates combining the Azure cloud and Bosch SW modules. The solution will be used first in vehicle prototypes by the end of 2021.

VW Group’s?collaboration with Microsoft is intended to build a cloud-based Automated Driving Platform on Azure in order to accelerate the emergence of autonomous driving.

GM’s and Cruise’s relationship with Microsoft aims to focus on autonomous vehicles, leveraging Azure and the edge computing platform. Microsoft participated in a $2B round raised by Cruise.

On the Google side, Ford’s?deal will enable cloud-based data analytics to create new business opportunities. Google’s inroads in automotive is not limited to cloud. As mentioned earlier, Google Automotive Services has signed infotainment-related deals with Renault, Polestar and Ford, leading to embedded assistant and navigation services, and more.

While the question remains whether to develop the software solutions inhouse or outsource them to tech companies, the dependency on tech companies will always be high. Now it becomes imperative for Tech companies to harness as well as leverage, crucial and holistic automotive domain knowledge in order to speak the same business language with their automotive OEM counterparts. Having a pool of domain experts and industry veterans from multiple business functions, will not only help in responding to client's asks, but also in evangelizing the end solutions to be delivered, from a domain centric lens.

About me - Ikram AH Patel.

" A mechanic at heart in a corporate suit, who started his journey right from cleaning and parking cars at a dealership... to seeing them getting built, sold, service and evolve, while working with major automotive giants globally. Currently in the tech space, consulting iconic brands on systems, business KPIs, technology and digital transformation using a little bit of codes-configuration, while still having the spanner & wrench in the back pocket. Simply put, loving it and living it."

References:

• https://www.5gtechnologyworld.com/how-adas-is-paving-the-way-for-autonomous-driving/
• https://spectrum.ieee.org/6-key-connectivity-requirements-of-autonomous-driving
• https://www.sbdautomotive.com/en/case-data