Vehicle OEMs and Evolving Connected Technologies

The article delves into a few challenges faced by vehicle OEMs offering connected services and how they can be addressed by some of the new-age software-centric paradigms adopted by OEMs, writes Amit Misra, Principal Software Development Manager, Stellantis.

The connected services space presents great opportunities and significant challenges for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). Driven by rapidly evolving technology, modern vehicle buyers demand innovative connected features and continuous post-purchase updates. Additionally, OEMs face the complexity of catering to a diverse global customer base with varying regional and demographic needs. To address these challenges, OEMs are exploring several solutions, including decoupling software and hardware to enable parallel development, utilizing platform-based architectures, and democratizing innovation. These approaches are transforming vehicles into innovation platforms, helping OEMs stay agile and responsive in the face of changing technologies and customer expectations.

Burden of Expectations

My new car must have everything.
Today more than at any point in the past – software dominates the vehicle world. It is said a vehicle today has more lines of code than a commercial airliner. Since vehicles are now software-based, smart, and connected, industry expectations are increasingly shaped by the only other dominant system with similar traits—mobile phones. Mobile phones shape the users’ perception of advanced features. A vehicle getting launched is expected to have all the features made possible by the latest technology. Just like they are used to seeing on their new mobile phones.

Don’t let my car age.
The smartphones and tablets that have become a part of our lives have shaped some expectations. We expect our cars to update like the electronics in our hands, where new applications using cutting-edge technologies like Data Analytics, AI, and ML are launched ever so frequently. As consumers, we want to be surprised by something new every time we get into the cars. We want the music in our homes to be carried to the cars, cars to be able to predict the next destination and self-adjust the HVAC setting based on the occupants. Very soon, these features will become outdated and something new will become the new norm and our vehicles will not have them. The feature-stagnant vehicle will continue to age. Much faster than it actually does.

My car My rules
Add to it the other dimension of a massive, varied, and increasing customer base. Today, a vehicle needs to satisfy the needs of multiple customer segments, often with vastly diverse needs. Customer expectations change not only with time but also with region, demography, profession, gender, age, and so many other variables. While a remote start feature may be needed in colder regions like North America, the Asia region may be more interested in advanced urban navigation features to address the traffic challenges. What one customer wants may be exactly the opposite of what the other is looking for. OEMs do everything to know their customer but still find it difficult to scale and understand the unique needs of every segment.

The Reality
Vehicle OEMs work extremely hard to keep up and innovate new features with every new launch. It takes 2 to 3 years for a new car model to develop from concept to launch. By the time a new model is unveiled, the technology landscape has completely changed. The applications envisioned as innovative at the concept phase either get rejected by the users or become mainstream and lose their novelty by launch. New vehicle features are outdated even before they are launched. Add to it the constantly evolving requirements around compliance and data privacy. There is a risk of a technically great onboard software component, not compliant with the law of the land because of a recent regulatory update. The vehicle development speed is hopelessly misaligned with technology and regulatory evolution speed.

A new vehicle once launched keeps getting produced for years and is on the road for years. Considering the last of such vehicles produced, a vehicle line may be on the road for almost 25 years. Most cars today are feature-frozen after launch aging rapidly. Customers rely on a trip to the dealer to get updates/fixes on existing features and have limited options to get new features for their vehicles. To experience newness, users resort to getting aftermarket accessories installed.

For addressing any unique customer needs for a particular demography or a certain geography, the business case must be strong enough. Identifying and developing features to satisfy a niche market need is low on the priority list for OEMs. Some of these neglected features have the potential to evolve into something big.

Bridging the gap
There is a realization that the traditional way of building connected software needs to change to address the challenges discussed. Let us see a few important shifts being considered by OEMs

Decouple Software and Hardware
The separation of software from the vehicle hardware enables manufacturers to develop software and hardware independently of each other.

The decoupling is achieved by:

1. having layered architecture in the vehicle ECUs where a standard APIs layer (aka SDK) abstracts the onboard applications from the hardware.
2. bringing in portability by virtualization and containerization technologies, enabling seamless deployment of software with minimal reconfiguration.
3. planning ahead in terms of ECU resources (memory, flash, CPU) to accommodate future applications and updates.
4. setting up a robust OTA system and process that allows new features and delta updates on vehicles in production.
5. setting up a separate software organization empowered to focus on value creation without being distracted by vehicle-related challenges.
6. setting up a robust software development process for integrating software with hardware development lifecycle at the right time depending on hardware dependencies.

The separation allows the use of software stacks similar to today’s tech and mobile companies. It allows software development to be timed for the market, i.e. as late as possible to avoid lock-in with old technology, deliver innovation at a speed today’s consumers expect and handle compliance requirements independently. This also solves the problem of existing users making it possible to add new features on connected on-road vehicles.

In its best form, OEMs should be able to launch the hardware that might not have all the relevant software ready yet and can add and update the software.

Offer Platform capabilities:
The key to solving unique customer problems is to use a platform-based approach, having fundamental enablers to solve business problems. A platform with enablers such as on-demand data collection, data upload, remote commands and configurability. These enablers bring in flexibility and a feature can be developed or tailored according to the specific business context.
A simple example of this could be to give the user a configurable geo-fence feature with the ability to create their geo-fence and offer multitudes of actions when the geo-fence is breached. This is akin to the “IF This Then do That” concept already available in the mobile world. Another example could be to let the vehicle enable or even download features based on regulatory compliance and data privacy requirements in the region of use.

Using these capabilities and a decoupled architecture, connected features can be built and launched as per the market and regulatory needs.

Democratize innovation:
The concept of Software Development Kit and Developer’s Portal is to expose vehicle capabilities and data to startups and developers. This provides a level playing field for innovation by moving away from a traditionally closed OEM-driven model. These players, being closer to the users, are best placed to spot innovation opportunities and deliver value to the customer. This is achieved by using open APIs and data-sharing platforms.

Offering connected capabilities sandbox, conducting hackathons, creating industry-specific partner ecosystems, and hosting apps in the marketplace lowers the entry barrier and inspires others to innovate for the customers on behalf of the OEM.

Summary
The challenges faced by vehicle Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in the connected services space:

• Expectations around connected features are shaped by ⁠⁠rapidly evolving technology and regulatory landscape.
• Post-purchase, the users expect continuous feature updates and improvements.
• Diverse customer base with varying needs across regions and demographics⁠⁠.

Some of the solutions that OEMs today are considering.

• Decoupling Software and Hardware: This involves using isolation technologies and setting systems and processes to enable parallel software and hardware development⁠⁠.
• Offering Capabilities: Implementing a platform-based architecture and offering fundamental capabilities for solving various problems, such as on-demand data collection and remote commands⁠⁠ to feature developers as per the demand of the context.
• Democratizing Innovation: Creating Software Development Kits and Developer Portals to expose vehicle capabilities and data to startups and developers, fostering innovation⁠⁠.

By implementing these solutions, OEMs aim to transform vehicles into innovation platforms, addressing the challenges of rapidly evolving technology and diverse customer needs in the connected vehicle world.

Disclaimer: The views expressed by the author are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of FMM magazine.