Thoughtworks & AWS unveil new software-defined vehicle report
Thoughtworks has released its inaugural Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) Pulse report in collaboration with AWS. The report, aimed at assisting global automotive industry clients in the transition to software-defined vehicles, compiles key technologies, practices, and trends that manufacturers and suppliers might consider in their SDV strategies.
Software has become integral to modern vehicles, powering features from passenger infotainment systems to autonomous driving capabilities. The SDV Pulse report identifies forty insights, termed "pulse points," representing various technologies, practices, or trends. Each pulse point is categorised based on its current adoption stage: "concept phase" for emerging but unproven technologies, "early adoptions" for those poised as significant differentiation opportunities, and "mass adoption" for technologies becoming widespread across the industry.
Michael Fait, global head of technology for SDV at Thoughtworks, commented, "The relationship between the automotive industry and software engineering is, to say the least, complex. One thing everyone agrees on is that this relationship is inescapable. To remain competitive and future-proof, everyone needs to understand the challenges, but also the immense opportunities."
The SDV Pulse report highlights several themes, including:
- In-vehicle zero-trust architecture (ZTA) (concept phase): ZTA operates on the principle of assuming no inherent trust, which provides robust defence mechanisms against cybersecurity threats.
- Continuous compliance (concept phase): This allows organisations to automate compliance checks and audits, integrating tools into software development pipelines to detect and address compliance issues early.
- Developer portals for vehicle APIs (early adoption phase): Multiple original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) now offer portals to help developers build applications using vehicle APIs, key enablers for the SDV ecosystem's growth.
- Rust (early adoption phase): Rust is presented as a modern alternative to C++ for embedded automotive development, improving safety and productivity. It offers open-sourced code and qualification documents, a major step towards its use in functional safety-relevant cases.
- Automotive grade Linux (AGL) (mass adoption phase): AGL, initially a platform for building infotainment systems, now addresses all vehicle software and has reached maturity, with major automotive manufacturers adopting it for production vehicles.
- Hardware accelerators in the cloud (mass adoption phase): As automotive companies increasingly send and store vast amounts of sensor data in the cloud, accessing hardware accelerators helps mitigate these resources' growing scarcity and expense.
Stefano Marzani, Worldwide Technology Lead for SDV at AWS, elaborated on the partnership's goals: "AWS works backwards with customers to address business challenges, and leveraging our collective expertise, AWS and Thoughtworks are helping the industry transition to a software-defined future. Through increased development in the cloud, companies across the automotive landscape can take advantage of technologies like AI, ML, and now generative AI to turn data into insights that will inform the functions and features of tomorrow."
