Q1. Could you start by giving us a brief overview of your professional background, particularly focusing on your expertise in the industry?

I am a consultant with a focus on SDV, E/E, Functional Safety, Compliance, PMT, and a Member of the Program Committee for VDAsys and Safetronic, speaker on various conferences (SDV, Functional Safety, Agile Systems Engineering, AI) with Volkswagen (currently on sabbatical leave):

• Project lead VW on technical evaluation of Rivian and setting up the Rivian-VW joint venture (Focus areas: Architecture, PMT, Functional Safety, Cyber Security, Compliance)
• Director and head of ESZ: Processes, Methods, Tools with E/E and SW focus, Functional Safety, Compliance incl. PCMS and Risk Management, SUMS, System Engineering, Agile Transformation, Lead for E/E and SW PLM
• CARIAD: PMT lead, managed initial Compliance Organisation

FORD (Jun 2000 - Jul 2019)

• Global lead for SW Processes and SW Quality Assurance, incl. lead of European SW Teams for SYNC and Commercial vehicles
• Co-Lead for E/E and SW PLM solution
• Project Lead for In-house SW Strategy
• Global HIL and testing strategy lead
• Various VDA and ACEA roles: Cybersecurity, SUMS, Agile Collaboration 
• Member of the AUTOSAR Steering Team, AUTOSAR Spokesperson, and deputy Spokesperson
• European Lead for E/E Architecture, Networks and Diagnostics, System Integration, Modeling 
• Lead for Infotainment system architecture and integration 

IMECH (Mar 1993 - May 2000)

• Head of department - Sensor- and System technologies

Q2. What are the top 3 technological and regulatory catalysts driving the adoption of SDVs and E/E convergence?

E/E convergence 

HW foundation for SDV: There is an ongoing trend to consolidate the E/E Architecture by reducing the total amount of ECUs. This happens either by utilizing a domain-based approach or (latest trend) centralized computing platforms with the powerful zonal controller. This provides benefits from an overall cost perspective (electronics and wiring harness). Those architectures must provide sufficient interfaces to sensors/actors via the zones and sufficient computing power for ADAS/AD and infotainment. 

The entire architecture needs to enable OTA SW updates with high reliability over their lifetime. The changes in architecture drive an increasing decoupling from HW and SW.

SW Architecture and SW Integration - SW foundation for SDV

A capable and layered SW architecture is required to achieve the required development speed and quality (both a challenge for many OEMs). From the smart device driver, RTOS defines interfaces to the application (API, RTE), the seamless communication layer (mostly service-oriented) within the vehicle, and the backend. It is important that the architecture supports fast integration of SW components and eases optimization (e.g., moving functions between ECUs). Deep diagnostic capabilities and OTA have to be part of the SW architecture. 

Software should be designed as a product on its own, utilizing maintenance and functional growth over a longer lifetime (no longer carline-specific SW). DevOps with CI/CD and virtual validation has to be part of the SW process.

A pragmatic mix of systems engineering and agile is required. Overall, PMT plays an important role, but CCC (culture, collaboration, competency) is even more important.

SW functionality needs to meet customer expectations regarding seamless connectivity, infotainment integration, personalization, driver assistance, and SW updates.

The OEM's intention to insource SW has the potential to be disruptive. Therefore, new collaborative business models between OEM and Tier 1/Tier 2 are required. 

Regulatory requirements

Compliance in general is of growing importance; this does not only cover the well-known regulations (e.g., UNECE for various features and technologies), but especially those with high SW content. This covers Cybersecurity (ISO/SAE21434 and UNECE R155), SUMS (UNECE 156), and the growing amount of functional safety and SOTIF regulation (ISO26262, ISO21448, UNECE R157 and 171, etc). The need for various management systems as part of a holistic PCMS needs to be considered. Requirements for AI (EU AI Act, ISOPAS8800, etc) will play an important role in the future. Next to growing regulation in Europe, other regions (China with GBTs) have to be considered as well, driving the integration of sophisticated E/E architectures.

Q3. What is the projected growth trajectory of the global automotive E/E architecture market through 2034?

The growth of E/E content will continue in the next years, with the market expected to double in value. The drivers are the growing number of EVs (BEV or Hybrids) with higher E/E system costs and ADAS/AD. Especially from L3 upwards, the system costs will go up to meet functional requirements as well as safety/SOTIF needs (e.g., dependability of architecture). High-quality OTA may also add some costs. 

Costs to be balanced by new business opportunities (feature on demand, access to big data, optimized diagnostics and service strategies etc.) 

Q4. How are partnerships influencing advancements in AI-driven automotive technologies? Mention some examples

AI will have an impact on many aspects of automotive…just a few thoughts.

Development process supported by AI technologies

This could affect gathering requirements (including homologation requirements), automated test case generation, automated simulation creation, de-fragmentation of information at OEM, and other areas like safety analysis and safety case generation, AI-supported ASPICE analysis, etc. 

Market is very much in motion with well-known players (like Siemens, JAMA, Microsoft, Google), as well as interesting start-ups like SODA, Functional Safety Solutions, leegle.ai, and research institutions (Fraunhofer IKS)

In-Vehicle technologies

Several features, such as Voice Control, Driver (state) monitoring, etc., will utilize AI. The most relevant and critical use will be AI for ADAS and AD. Here, close collaboration between HW and SW Partner is required (see example below). AI will not only be used for data interpretation and decision-making in the vehicle but also for analysis of field data, predictive maintenance, etc.
Collaborations between automotive manufacturers and tech companies are pivotal in advancing AI-driven technologies: 

Volkswagen: VW has a number of AI partnerships, e.g., the AI Lab as a central hub for AI-based innovation, Integration won ChatGPT together with Cerence, Collaboration with Google focusing on the myVW App, Collaboration with PTC and Microsoft on SW-based PMT, esp. for SW development, and collaboration with Mobileye utilizing their AI-based Supervision system.

General Motors and Nvidia:  GM has partnered with Nvidia to integrate AI-powered technology into its next-generation vehicles and production facilities, enhancing autonomous driving capabilities and manufacturing efficiency.  

Waymo and Toyota: Waymo is collaborating with Toyota to explore the development of autonomous vehicle platforms and personally owned vehicles, aiming to expand Waymo’s self-driving technology application.  

BMW and AWS: BMW is working with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to develop AI-driven vehicle personalization and predictive maintenance solutions, leveraging cloud computing and machine learning. 

Q5. What regulatory challenges might impact the adoption of connected vehicle technologies?

Not my deepest area of competency, but some aspects to be considered:

• Data Privacy and Security are very relevant, especially in Europe (DSGVO/GDPR), especially concerning the collection and processing of data
• The lack of standardization and interoperability (communication protocols!) will hinder the seamless integration of connected vehicle technologies across regions. C2C and C2X will need a growing amount of standardization
• RED (Radio Equipment Directive) incl. some cybersecurity aspects to be considered

Q6. Which companies are leading in the development and deployment of autonomous driving technologies?

Waymo

Waymo is for sure leading in technology and AD vehicles on the road. 

Tesla

Tesla gained a lot of experience with its FSD system and its plan to enter the ride-hailing/robotaxi market. 

Mobileye and NVIDIA

Mobileye and NVIDIA are players with outstanding technology, plenty of field data, and ambitious plans. 

Volkswagen

VW is also having some very relevant developments and partnerships (MOIA, incl. cooperation with UBER, Alliance with Bosch and Mobileye, CARIZON, etc.). Hence, VW will play a significant role in the future.

The dynamic in China is quite high, with players like Baidu (Apollo project, which started early and includes an open-source project), Pony.ai, WeRide, Horizon (VW Partner), and BYD, which has aggressive plans even for small vehicles (God´s Eye).

Q7. If you were an investor looking at companies within the space, what critical question would you pose to their senior management?

What are your technical benefits and competencies in the areas of E/E, SDV, and ADAS for connected vehicle technologies, and how do you address all regulatory challenges attached to that?

The second question would focus on the company’s strategic roadmap, culture, and competencies, as well as risk management and adaptability in a rapidly evolving industry.