By Krishnananda Shenoy, VP, Senior Principal Technology Architect, Infosys
Today’s automobiles are computers on wheels, with software in the driver’s seat. Using hundreds of millions of lines of code, the software defined vehicle is transforming the future of mobility and reshaping customer experience to match that offered by the smartphone – personalised, packed with entertainment, real-time responsive, and updated with new features and fixes over-the-air.
For automobile manufacturers, software defined mobility is the ticket to continuous innovation: OEMs can use anonymised real-world data to understand market requirements and build features to match; with OTA (over-the-air) updates, they can even introduce new innovations in cars that have already been sold.
What else are software defined vehicles (SDV) about? Let’s take a look under the hood.
A key shift in software defined mobility (SDM) is the separation of software from hardware. This decoupling allows the vehicle’s software and hardware systems to evolve separately, making development faster, easier and more adaptive. SDM consolidates the vehicle software into one centralised high-performance computer. This results in optimisation of the hardware/electronics inside the vehicle, thereby reduction of the cost and weight It also enables the vehicle to integrate closely with a wider mobility ecosystem, where OEMs work with partners to deliver better functionality and innovations through regular over-the-air, real-time software updates. Thanks to the cross-platform scalability of software defined automation, resources can be scaled on demand to allow deployment without the addition of physical hardware.
Several advanced technologies come together in software defined mobility. High Performance Compute, Edge AI, Vehicle Operating System, Containerisation, Cybersecurity and so on. Cloud platforms manage massive vehicle and other data, provide a variety of services, and deliver OTA updates. Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS), such as automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring and parking assistance improve on-road safety and driving experience. Besides playing a key role in ADAS, artificial intelligence technologies optimise vehicle functioning by enabling predictive maintenance, battery management, and fine-tuning of vehicle systems; in software development and testing, AI generates test cases, test environments and code, and identifies potential vulnerabilities, bugs and glitches to improve software quality and security. SDM owes its user-centricity to artificial intelligence which allows users to customise vehicle configuration and access rights; automatically adjusts vehicle settings based on its understanding of driver preferences to personalise the driving experience; and allows natural language interactions with vehicle systems, etc. Smartphone apps allow owners to remotely control certain vehicle functions. Last but not least is communication technology, enabling seamless connectivity between the SDV and cloud platforms, traffic infrastructure, IoT devices and other SDVs.
Beyond SDM’s extensive benefits, such as functionality, safety, efficiency and personalisation, is the possibility of a future-proof automobile, which was unimaginable in the past. A software defined vehicle can continue to be enhanced – as far as the hardware permits – even after it has been shipped out, through OTA software updates. On demand feature, pay per use features will be the new business model for the customers. For OEMs it is a continuous revenue stream and continuous touch point between the OEM and the customer. Since the vehicle can adapt to new technologies and user requirements, it remains useful and retains value for a longer time. Further, for OEMs and others in the automotive ecosystem, SDVs offer up innovative revenue models, such as pay-per-use features and subscription services. A 2024 report that talks of the impact of software on the automotive industry says that companies expect 32 percent of their revenues to come from software by 2030.
The transition to software defined
For the manufacturing-centric automobile industry, shifting to a software defined state can be quite a journey. Automotive OEMs traditionally are system integrators. Integrating components and systems from Tier-1 suppliers. Transition to SDM will need OEMs to have more software capabilities in their R&D. Building SDVs requires agile product management practices; OEMs would also need to change their “fixed product” mindset to adapt to the new reality of vehicles that continue to evolve throughout their lifetime.
Already vertically-integrated across the supply chain, automobile manufacturers must now learn to work with an even wider partner ecosystem that includes a variety of technology companies, from chip makers to cloud providers to artificial intelligence companies and digital platforms. Most importantly Automotive OEMs have dealt with Vehicle Functional Safety, however cyber security is a critical area in transition to SDM.
23 percent of automotive organisations say they are already “software companies” ; about twice that number predict they will become one within three to five years. With the future of the automobile resting firmly on software, manufacturers need to quickly accelerate their software-driven transformations. This not only calls for investment in software, but also a robust software strategy, agile development methodologies, right talent and a culture of software excellence.