Automotive Engineering - May 2021 - 17

COVER STORY

NXP

Linux is among the technologies being used to
meet the unending demand for more software.

code that can be upgraded and altered easily compared to most legacy software.
Open-source software is among the technologies
and tools that are seeing more use. Automotive quality and reliability levels are being achieved with
Adaptive AUTOSAR and Linux, which enable the porting, integration and use of application software from
third parties. Leveraging modules from automotive
industry open-source libraries can dramatically reduce
development time.
" We see a trend of OEMs and Tier 1s beginning to
undertake software development on Linux and later
merge to more embedded and traditional automotive
operating systems, " said Daniel Weyl, VP automotive
software at NXP. " This helps to save cost and have a
better time to market. What we might also see is that
even very automotive-centric software stacks will be
published and maintained in open-source manner in
the future. "
Apple and Google, along with their third-party
software partners, are also touting their automotive
capabilities. Regardless of what platforms programmers use to create apps, the software needs to be
tied to each OEM's proprietary operating layers.
Typically, that's handled by middleware, which provides common interfaces so programmers don't have
to write code variations for each OEM. ZF recently
made middleware the core of its software platform
(https://www.sae.org/news/2020/12/zf-middleware),
AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING

serving as the mediator and interaction layer for applications that
connect to middleware using standard interfaces.
Ecosystems are another avenue for software development. They
provide ways for experts in many areas to work together to create
holistic software for use in a range of vehicle models. When the many
issues associated with software design are combined with the challenges of managing global design teams, software management becomes an important aspect of vehicle development.
" To manage such complexity, a high degree of collaboration between the customer, Continental and all third parties is needed, "
Snow said. She noted that Continental created the Cooperation
Portal to improve efficiency and effectiveness of software integration. Logged-in users access encrypted manuals and software libraries so they are constantly up to date on project activity. " Time is
saved as software can be pre-validated and pre-integrated by vehicle
manufacturers and third-party software suppliers, " Snow noted.

Staying up to date
When software is the basis of a vehicle's features and functions, automakers can add new features and functions well after new vehicles leave
dealerships. Artificial intelligence (AI) systems can alter operations over
time, and conventional programs can be updated to add capabilities.
Over-the-air (OTA) updating is an important offering for both. AI
algorithms are changing rapidly, and changes created by AI tools will
need to be checked before they are widely deployed. Traditional software updating will mimic cell phones. Infotainment platforms, which
need to keep pace with evolving consumer tastes, are likely to be the
first domain to implement the technology.
May 2021 17

https://www.sae.org/news/2020/12/zf-middleware

Automotive Engineering - May 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive Engineering - May 2021