Automotive Engineering - September 2024 - 4

EDITORIAL
EDITORIAL
Sebastian Blanco
Editor-in-Chief
sebastian.blanco@saemediagroup.com
No, really, what's an SDV?
What is an SDV? No, you can't just say
" software defined vehicle, " because
that's not precise enough. Software has
been part of modern vehicles for decades,
but the code didn't define the
car. So, what is an SDV? It's a question
worth exploring. What are the components
required? What are the dependencies?
What is the tipping point
when you can finally call a vehicle
" software-defined " ?
One person with an answer is
Elektrobit's Moritz Neukirchner, who I
spoke with last year on this topic and
have since followed on social media. He
recently posted a proposal to describe
SDVs using a scale similar to the SAE's
five levels of automated
driving. The list starts with
Level 0, which simply
means " software enabled "
or a vehicle that uses some
sort of software, and ends
with the Level 5 " innovation
platform, " which
would be a full SDV that
has the same sort of upgrade
functionality as a
smartphone, where new
apps can allow the same hardware to do
things it couldn't before.
It's the intervening stages that are
the most revealing. They require us to
think through what it takes to actually
build an SDV. Level 2 on Neukirchner's
list is " updateable vehicle, " which
means an OEM can update the software,
but the feature set is the same.
If the code breaks, engineers can put a
bit of fixing on it. Level 3, or " upgradeable
vehicle, " is where we start getting
into SDV-like behavior with " dynamic
functionality on a static target hardware. "
Level 4, then, is a car that's really
a " software platform, " which
" breaks up the lifecycles of hardware
and software " and allows software
updates to target a fleet of vehicles
that can all accept the software even if
the " target hardware onto which it is
4 September 2024
deployed [changes] over the years with
new vehicles being released. "
Neukirchner's post was an excellent
counterpart to a panel at the Center for
Automotive Research's Management
Briefing Seminar in Traverse City, Michigan
in August. The host asked the panelists to
collectively explain how they defined
SDVs, including the broader effects SDVs
are likey to have on the industry.
The panelists started with the fact
What is the
tipping point
when you
can finally
call a vehicle
" softwaredefined " ?
that
an SDV separates hardware from
software, and is updatable and upgradable.
So far, so good. SDVs should enhance
the user experience, they said.
Also, SDVs do not necessarily have to
be EVs, since improved software can
just as easily be used to
improve ICE vehicles.
The panelists explained
more sides to SDVs.
Creating themn means
OEMs have to put software
in the center stage of
vehicle development.
Everyone understands
that software is a key part
of new vehicles today, but
SDVs ramp that up to extreme
levels. The panelist said there's
an upside here for OEM and supplier
software engineers, since SDVs might
allow automakers to reduce the amount
of software they need to develop. Like a
smartphone OS, the code in an SDV
could last for many years with regular
updates. This code - when used in
Neukirchner's Level 4 or 5 SDVs - could
be applied across model generations
instead of each model year requiring its
own software. Finally, the growth of
SDVs may happen within a larger ecosystem
that includes software-defined
homes and infrastructure. Perhaps this
brings us to the real definition of SDVs,
which is just one more example of that
oft-mentioned situation where something
is both a difficult challenge and
an opportunity.
Sebastian Blanco, Editor-in-Chief
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AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING
Automotive Engineering - September 2024

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