Automotive Transformation

Smart Car and Data Center-on-wheels are just some of the terms being used to define the exciting new waves of technology transforming the automotive industry and promising safer, greener self-driving cars and enhanced user experiences. Underpinning it all is a megatrend towards Software-defined Vehicles (SDV). SDV is not just a new automotive technology platform. It also enables a new business model for automotive OEMs. With a software-centric architecture, car makers will have an innovation platform to generate unprecedented streams of revenue from aftermarket services and new applications. For owners, the capability to receive over-the-air software updates for vehicles already on the road – as easily as smartphones are updated – means an automobile whose utility will no longer decline over time and driving experiences that can be continuously improved over time.

This blog is the first in a series of blogs that will discuss the basic components of a system that will enable the future of SDV.

Road to SDV is Paved with Ethernet

A key technology to enable SDVs is a computing platform that is supported by an Ethernet-based In-Vehicle network (IVN). An Ethernet-based IVN provides the ability to reshape the traffic between every system in the car to help meet the requirements of new downloaded applications. To gain the full potential of Ethernet-based IVNs, the nodes within the car will need to “talk” Ethernet. This includes devices such as car sensors and cameras. In this blog, we discuss the characteristics and main components that will drive the creation of this advanced Ethernet-based IVN, which will enable this new era of SDV. 

But first let’s talk about the promises of this new business model. For example, people might ask, “how many new applications can possibly be created for cars and who will use them?” This is probably the same question that was asked when Apple created the original AppStore, which started with dozens of new apps, and now of course, the rest is history. We can definitely learn from this model. Plus, this is not going to be just an OEM play. Once SDV cars are on the road, we should expect the emergence of new companies that will develop for the OEMs a whole new world of car applications that will be aligned with other megatrends like Smart City, Mobility as a Service (MaaS), Ride-hailing and many others.