Software
Solutions for
a New Era of
Mobility
A new vehicle contains around 200 million lines of code.
Meaning it already has more software on board than a Boeing
787. And this is an upward trend: by the end of the decade, the
average code volume will rise to more than 300 million lines.
Software, however, is not only ubiquitous in modern vehicles, it
is also revolutionizing traditional development processes, test
methods, and sales models. We support the industry with the
most technologically advanced software systems in all areas.
The Future Comes Embedded
Embedded software applications in the automotive sector
are highly complex. Unlike with other technology products
– such as the smartphone – they primarily involve real-time
interactions that affect safety-relevant high-performance
components like the propulsion system, brakes, chassis, and
other vehicle systems. Real-time capability is also becoming
increasingly important in development. It is necessary, for
example, to achieve meaningful results with little physical test
effort. In the vehicle itself, the trend is toward bundling: While
component manufacturers often used to also provide the
control unit (ECU) for the respective component, these days
the software from several domains is combined in more pow-
erful zone ECUs. Classic domain structures are increasingly
dissolving, while the software ecosystem is gaining in impor-
tance as part of the overall E/E architecture. The electrification
of the propulsion system and a sharp increase in the number
of ADAS/AD functions (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems/
Autonomous Driving) are reinforcing this trend.
The Car of Tomorrow Is Software-Defined
While the customer experience in a car used to be primarily
determined by the hardware, today it is the code that sets the
tone in the software-defined vehicle. New functions for con-
nectivity, automation, and personalization are predominantly
realized through software applications. They have a significant
impact on the driving experience and have thus become an
important differentiator. Similar to smartphones, users expect
their car to integrate into the digital world as seamlessly and
as fully as possible, with intuitive interfaces.
Today’s Challenges Are Tomorrow’s Solutions
More software in the vehicle automatically increases the com-
plexity. But software is also the key to making that complexity
manageable. Part of this software-based approach is that
even lines of code are increasingly being written automatically.
The motto is “use software to develop software”. In addition,
the future of vehicle software will be influenced by many other
factors; examples include open-source applications, increased
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