Software-defined cars are here, and the industry turning point is coming!

The automotive industry is undergoing a massive digital transformation that is characterized by the transition from traditional vehicle architecture to software-defined vehicles (SDV), a model that reimagines the structure and functionality of vehicles. Software-defined vehicles are software and hardware components that work together to deliver superior functionality, connectivity and an enhanced user experience.

As the popularity of cars increases, I believe many people have had a wish or dream, that is, whether they can drive a car that can adapt to their preferences and needs. Today, SDV has the answer: in the near future, with the help of SDV technology, you can customize your car like a smartphone , and update the car's functions and features by downloading software. Would you like a car like this?

Benefits of software-defined cars

As hardware becomes increasingly standardized and the technology gap narrows, the automotive industry is undergoing a development process similar to that of smartphones or computers, that is, the industry transitions from hardware upgrades to software development.

This change means that vehicle service areas, such as ADAS, navigation, connectivity, HMI or electrification, will be run through a central computer , managed and controlled by the car operating system and artificial intelligence services enabled through the digital cockpit , making the vehicle even smarter. To this end, car manufacturers have stepped up efforts to develop their own operating systems or work closely with partners on operating system development.

Since Tesla entered the automotive industry, it has insisted on developing and using its own vehicle operating system, and the cars on the market also have a software-defined architecture.

Recently, semiconductor company Qualcomm announced that it has joined two alliances focusing on software-defined cars: the Eclipse Foundation’s Software-Defined Car Working Group and the Scalable Open Architecture for Embedded Edge ( SOA FEE) Special Interest Group.

As part of the company's "developer first" strategy, Qualcomm will vigorously promote the development and popularization of SDV technology based on open standards, laying the foundation for the construction of SDV platforms for global automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and first-tier suppliers (Tier-1) Base. Many market analysts predict that 2025 will be a turning point in the global popularity of software-defined vehicles (SDV).

In the automotive industry, software-defined vehicles have three significant impacts:

First, network functions are decoupled from proprietary hardware devices to achieve parallel physical and digital development of vehicles, with software determining vehicle differentiation;

The second is to decouple software from hardware, allowing for rapid and continuous development of new functions and software updates throughout the vehicle's service life;

The third is to realize the commercialization of vehicle software to expand the life cycle and value cycle of vehicles.

Specific to automobile manufacturers and consumers, the benefits brought by software-defined vehicles are more diverse, mainly reflected in:

Improve customer experience

SDV can provide customers with more personalized, convenient and attractive functions and services, such as driver assistance, infotainment, connectivity, mobility, etc. Consumers can even customize vehicles according to their own preferences and needs.

Strengthen cooperation and innovation in the industrial chain

SDV can make it faster and easier to develop and deploy new features and functions, and can also promote cooperation and integration among different stakeholders in the automotive ecosystem such as OEMs, suppliers, software developers, service providers, etc.

The ability to add new features efficiently

SDV can effectively reduce the complexity and cost of hardware components and systems, and can also optimize vehicle performance and energy consumption through the use of software algorithms and data analysis. With the help of over-the-air ( OTA ) technology, even after the car leaves the factory, manufacturers can still improve vehicle performance through software updates and continuously improve the driving experience.

This alone represents a major paradigm shift in the history of the automotive industry, as these parameters remain the same throughout the life of a hardware-defined car. With the ability to perform software updates remotely, manufacturers can address any defects or introduce new features without recalling vehicles.

Enhance security

SDV can improve vehicle security through the use of encryption, authentication and other software technologies, and can also detect and prevent cyberattacks through the use of OTA updates and cloud services . In addition, telematics and diagnostics provide insights into vehicle performance, allowing for more effective preventive maintenance.

Autonomous driving is currently a hot topic in the automotive industry. Ultimately, it faces mainly software challenges. Although autonomous driving hardware systems rely on a different set of sensors , including cameras , radar , lidar and other sensors, achieving autonomous driving requires the use of complex road behavior models developed based on artificial intelligence and machine learning ( AI /ML). Gain complete control over core driving functions like acceleration, braking and steering.

Autonomous driving also requires regular software updates as new features and safety improvements emerge, and SDV enables this.

Key technologies in software-defined cars

Looking back at the development trajectory of the automotive industry over the past seventy years, we see such changes: A car in 1948 contained approximately 50 wires, 40 meters of cables, and no semiconductor devices or software. Today, a high-end car employs literally over 3,000 wires and 2-3 or 3-5 kilometers of cables and over 100 million lines of code, which is more code than many modern aircraft or even entire social media websites. .

It is expected that the amount of software required for future cars will be 4 to 5 times that of today. This is why many experts call future cars “data centers on wheels.” With the rise of electric vehicles (EV), changes in electrical/electronic (E/E) architecture, and a surge in code volume, the automotive industry is undergoing a major transformation, and automakers are beginning to rethink or build new automotive electrical systems. Architecture, the goal is to focus on SDV.

So, what key components will a software-defined vehicle contain?

Centralized computing platform

SDV relies on a powerful centralized computing platform to manage and coordinate various vehicle subsystems. These platforms process data from sensors, actuators and other onboard systems in real time to make intelligent decisions and optimize vehicle performance.

high speed internet

In order to support the high bandwidth and low latency requirements of SDV, the vehicle adopts advanced network technologies such as Ethernet , 5G and V2X communication. These technologies enable seamless communication between vehicle subsystems and facilitate connectivity to external devices and infrastructure.

OTA function

One of the key capabilities of SDV is the ability to receive software updates over the air, allowing for continuous improvements and deployment of new features without the need for physical intervention. This will help vehicles keep their technology and features updated and ensure they remain safe and reliable throughout their lifecycle.

Modular software architecture

SDV leverages modular software architectures such as microservices and containerization to enable rapid development and deployment of new applications and services. This approach facilitates automakers' integration of third-party software to provide vehicles with rich applications and ecosystems.

Software-Defined Automotive Development Platform

SDV is a new paradigm in the automotive industry. Its architectural design is flexible, scalable and modular, allowing the integration of new technologies and vehicle systems to be continuously updated over time.

NXP的软件定义车辆驾驶平台将实时计算、网络和连接以及电气化解决方案结合在一起。该公司的S32汽车计算平台是一个安全、可扩展的平台，具有可重复使用的硬件和软件，具有空中传送（OTA）更新和内置安全功能。其中包含：用于车辆网络的S32G3和S32G2处理器、用于域和区域控制的安全可靠的高性能S32Z2实时处理器。

为了加快OEM的产品研发进程，在硬件方面，NXP推出了S32G3汽车网络参考设计S32G-VNP-RDB3，这是一款紧凑型、高度优化的集成板，适用于汽车服务型网关（SoG）、域控制应用、高性能处理、功能安全和信息安全应用。

S32G-VNP-RDB3基于八核Arm Cortex-A53内核（具有可选的锁步内核对）和四核、双核Arm Cortex-M7锁步内核，提供高性能计算能力和丰富的输入/输出（I/O），具有较高的计算、实时网络性能、多千兆数据包加速功能和安全性。

图1：NXP S32G3汽车网络参考设计S32G-VNP-RDB3（图源：NXP）

在软件方面，NXP的S32G汽车集成参考平台GoldVIP集成了该公司标准的和参考软件，以及开源的和第三方软件，提供了一个评估、开发和快速原型设计平台，可加快S32G硬件评估、软件开发和快速原型设计工作。

此外，GoldVIP还包括图形用户界面、用于评估实时用例、实时资源监控和安全的云连接，以及支持OTA更新、AUTOSAR环境、云服务以及入侵侦测与防御（IDPS）安全功能等合作伙伴集成。

图2：S32G GoldVIP平台集成了其标准和参考软件以及开源和第三方软件（图源：NXP）

高通公司（Qualcomm）近期推出的Snapdragon Ride Flex SoC，是一款汽车中央计算解决方案，它支持OEM和整个SDV生态系统的下一代SDV解决方案。

Snapdragon Ride和Snapdragon Cockpit平台构成了车内高性能计算平台，Flex SoC是新添加的平台，具有异构计算性能，能够在同一SoC上托管灵活的混合关键工作负载，是可扩展的集中式计算解决方案的理想选择。

此外，高通还提供了SDV开发所需的相应的云内基础设施组件，如SoC虚拟平台。

Snapdragon Ride和Snapdragon Cockpit平台由Snapdragon Auto Connectivity平台补充，该平台为汽车提供了一流的5G连接，提供了对边缘和云资源的低延迟高吞吐量访问，实现了独特的V2V和V2X用途。

重要的是，Snapdragon车载云管理平台可以提供OTA更新、SoftSKU等服务，加速了OEM实现SDV解决方案的进程。

图3：Snapdragon Ride Flex SoC功能框图（图源：Qualcomm）

贯穿SDV整个生命周期的OTA

对于软件定义的车辆而言有两大改变：一是车辆中软件（包括电子硬件）的数量和价值超过机械硬件；二是汽车从高度机电化的终端逐步向智能化、可扩展、可不断升级的移动电子终端转变。为了成为这样的智能终端，车辆在标准操作程序（SOP）之前预先嵌入了先进的硬件，这些硬件的功能和价值将在整个生命周期中通过OTA系统逐渐激活和增强。

OTA是一种通过移动通信网络对汽车的零部件终端上固件、数据及应用进行远程管理的技术。

当前使用的OTA技术主要有两种：

在汽车行业，OTA大幅降低了车辆功能更新和安全维护的成本，对客户和4S店来说实施起来没有太大的困难。OTA软件更新功能越来越重要，向SDV的过渡使OTA软件平台更有价值，功能也在不断增强，市场规模逐渐扩大。

根据Maximize Market Research的预测，2022年，汽车OTA市场规模约为330亿美元，预计2023年至2029年，市场将以13.72%的速度实现增长，至2029年达到近813亿美元。

从本质上讲，OTA是SDV从设计、开发到制造的核心技术。汽车OEM纷纷尝试在已有或未来的车型中增加OTA功能。HARMAN公司的OTA是业界非常优秀的整车管理软件方案，它使汽车制造商和Tier-1能够安全地管理所有车载软件组件，包括主机、TCU（远程通信控制单元）和ECU（电子控制单元）上的固件、应用程序、配置、设置和地图，从而适应不断发展的市场。