Bosch in the new era: full speed ahead towards digitalization

A car is made up of nearly 30,000 parts. Behind each part is the silent contribution of suppliers. Every technological innovation is also driven by automotive suppliers. From traditional fuel vehicles to today's electric, intelligent, and networked comprehensive travel platforms, it is not only a change in the function and form of automobiles, but also a challenge to the automotive industry.

Today, the traditional automobile business is approaching a bottleneck, and the incremental market brought by automobile intelligence and electrification has attracted many new players with light postures to enter the market. Compared with the strict hierarchical structure of the traditional automobile supply chain, in the new automobile supply chain, the participation of automobile companies is becoming more and more in-depth, the supply chain is becoming more and more flat, and there are more and more new ways of playing. As the saying goes, "before the troops move, the food and grass must go first." In the new situation, not only are traditional automobile companies seeking transformation, but suppliers as "supply stations" are more eager to break through the difficulties. This breakthrough is not only a certain product or a certain product line, but also a grasp of future technological trends and a transformation of their own positioning.

Fortunately, the automotive industry is a highly industrialized and integrated industry. It requires suppliers to not only provide certain technologies and functions, but also support the future development of automobiles. The transformation of traditional automotive suppliers must not only be "fast", but also "stable and accurate".

Bosch, which we selected as the “Breakthrough Supplier of the Year” from among many automotive suppliers, is such a company.

Why choose Bosch?

Bosch's position among traditional automotive parts suppliers is unquestionable. We can find Bosch in almost every car on the road and find Bosch's business in every country in the world. Bosch, which is the same age as Hyundai Motor, has gone through 135 years. This "centenarian" did not stand still in the face of changes in automotive technology, but instead adapted to the needs of the times, not only deepening its own advantages in the hardware field, but also targeting the incremental market of software-intensive electronic systems in the future automotive industry. Bosch is no longer just a traditional supplier, but an intelligent Internet of Things company that is transforming towards digitalization. If you use two words to summarize Bosch, it is "breakthrough."

What did Bosch do on the road to breakthrough?

With the arrival of 2021, Bosch's new department, Cross-Domain Computing Solutions (XC), was officially established. This new department, consisting of 17,000 employees, integrates Bosch's expertise in software and electronics, and combines comprehensive capabilities in driver assistance, autonomous driving, automotive multimedia, powertrain and body electronic systems to coordinate the development of on-board computers, control units and sensors.

It would be too simplistic to view the establishment of a new department as just an ordinary organizational structure adjustment.

This integration of departments represents Bosch's attitude towards the future development trend of automotive integration: adapting to market needs and providing cross-domain software and electronic solutions.

Moving towards a centralized automotive electrical and electronic architecture

As early as 2016, Bosch proposed the evolution of the automotive electronic and electrical architecture from the distributed stage to the intra-domain integration stage to the cross-domain integration stage to the central computing stage. Bosch has also been exploring the path of promoting the evolution of electronic and electrical integration.

Taking the core product of automotive electronics integration, the in-vehicle computer, as an example, the new in-vehicle computing platform released by Bosch at CES 2021 can integrate dozens or even hundreds of independent control sub-units into the central electronic module to control driver assistance systems and braking functions. On the one hand, the in-vehicle computing platform makes it possible for the functions of various control domains of the car to be interconnected, providing underlying support for cross-domain software; on the other hand, it reduces the complexity of the automotive electronic system, while improving safety and stability; at the same time, it can also save wiring in the car, reduce costs, weight and installation space.

This is a small step for Bosch in the field of automotive electronics, but also a big step for Bosch towards digital transformation.

It’s not just software that defines a car

Since the phrase "software defines the car" was born, it has been frequently used to describe the future development of automobiles. Bosch has shown us through its actions that software can define the car, but it is not just the software that defines the car.

On the one hand, Bosch has increased software research and development, especially for the Chinese market. Bosch's (cross-)domain controller EE architecture provides a platform for the application of cross-domain software. The Bosch China Innovation and Software Development Center, which was launched in Wuxi in November 2020, conveys Bosch's attitude of developing software based on the Chinese market and meeting the needs of Chinese customers. Bosch's localized research and development for China can be traced. Around 2016, Bosch designed ADAS research and development for China-specific scenarios. In order to cope with the common scenario in China where it is easy to hit electric vehicles when parking and opening the door, Bosch designed a door opening alarm function, which uses radar and camera monitoring before opening the door to remind the driver to ensure travel safety. In the future, Bosch will also provide more software applications localized for China.

On the other hand, Bosch redefines the "software-hardware relationship" and firmly believes that the application of software cannot be separated from the support of the underlying hardware and architecture. Taking the cockpit domain controller as an example, Bosch not only does a good job in the underlying hardware, but also connects the underlying layer and software by building an intermediate layer, integrating the differentiated update requirements at different levels. With the help of the intermediate layer, vehicles can update software applications weekly or even daily through OTA, or update the underlying architecture once a year, achieving true separation of software and hardware.

Deepen the advantageous fields

In addition to breakthroughs in automotive electronics and software, Bosch has not given up on its traditional areas of strength.

In the field of autonomous driving, which has always been leading innovation, Bosch launched the L2.5 (highway assistance) autonomous driving solution in 2020, equipped with Bosch's front radar + 4 corner radars + 3rd generation camera, and the first generation domain controller, to achieve the setting of vehicle speed within the speed range of 0~130km/h, as well as cruise control in the lane, automatic lane change and other functions. As the "vanguard" of Bosch's implementation of advanced autonomous driving, one-button remote parking (RPA) can automatically search for parking spaces and realize autonomous parking in and out through mobile phones or keys by integrating the second generation high-definition panoramic camera and the sixth generation ultrasonic sensor.

Today, we can already see the use of Bosch's L2.5 highway assisted autonomous driving solution in many mass-produced models such as GAC Aion V, Xiaopeng P7, and Mercedes-Benz; in the future, Bosch will have more "heavy scene, light level" autonomous driving technologies that are worth looking forward to...

Demand drives diversified services

Bosch's innovation and breakthroughs are not only reflected in its products, but also in its service model.

As the degree of automobile electrification and intelligence increases, OEMs' needs are changing. Compared with the "turnkey" model of tier 1 in the traditional automotive supply chain, the current relationship between auto brands and suppliers is more of a partner relationship. Joint R&D and flat cooperation have gradually blurred the boundaries of the supply chain ecosystem, and the needs of business models are becoming more and more diverse. In the face of this change in demand, Bosch has already responded.

Bosch and Daimler cooperated in the research and development of L4, which is a change in service model. In 2020, the L4 and L5 Robotaxi demonstration operations of the two parties have been carried out, and autonomous valet parking (AVP) has also cooperated with many brands. At CES 2021, Bosch demonstrated the smart home control system jointly developed with Mercedes-Benz. This system will be installed on the new generation of S-Class sedans and use voice control, allowing car owners to achieve "car-home interconnection" without leaving the steering wheel.

At the same time, Bosch provides modular services to meet the personalized needs of various car brands. In order to meet the differentiated configurations of different models, Bosch uses the model of hardware modularization + middle layer universalization + software personalization to quickly meet the needs of different functions through parameter adjustment.

Bosch is moving towards digitalization at full speed

Many people describe Bosch's transformation as "an elephant turning around", as if its huge body is a burden. In fact, Bosch's profound heritage is the strong support for their transformation.

The functions of cars can be ever-changing, but the carrier is still a car. Safety is the red line that cars cannot cross, and integration and standardization are the eternal principles of the automotive industry. As a "veteran" in the traditional automotive industry, Bosch's experience in the field of safety is extremely valuable, and Bosch's accumulation of standardization, consistency and stability is also its core competitiveness in facing new businesses and new challenges.