According to the Financial Times [paywall], older car companies are struggling to produce in-vehicle software that is as reliable as that found in cans from newer companies like China’s BYD.
Although stacks such as Toyota’s Arene can be updated OTA (over the air), one developer quoted in the FT article described Arene as “full of bugs.” Arene made its debut in the latest iteration of the sixth-generation of the RAV4 soft-roader in May this year, which the company called its first step toward a full SDV (software defined vehicle).
The move from mechanically-based to software-defined vehicle functions appears to be proving a stumbling block for many companies with long histories of production, with Volvo CEO Håkan Samuelsson telling Inside EVs, “there is no book to read about how this should be done […] if you are the first one, you have to write your manual as well.”
For vehicle manufacturers, between three and five years represents the ‘traditional’ time between feature prototype and finished hardware rolling off production lines, especially where new features involve safety systems, electronics or drivetrains. Getting regulatory approval for systems is also necessary for particular aspects of vehicles, including brakes and emission control. That means, traditionally, many aspects of a model’s design have to be frozen early, sometimes years before public launch.
Although the same legislative regulations and workflow strictures apply to manufacturers of high-tech, software-first vehicles, certain features can be updated or added by newer carmakers over-the-air, meaning fewer grumbles from disgruntled motorists who have just spent thousands on a new car. Update methods like OTA are available, of course, to all manufacturers, but some companies appear to have issues with their software that goes deeper.
VW’s software division, Cariad, experienced enough trouble to delay the production of the Porsche Macan EV and the Audi Q6, with Peter Bosch parachuted-in from Bentley to try and extricate the company from its code woes. He’s brought several development functions back in-house, and formed partnerships with Chinese companies including Horizon Robotics and Xpeng, and US startup Rivien. Fans of ‘hallucination’ will also be pleased that, according to Yahoo! Finance, “artificial intelligence tools [are] deployed throughout development.” Cariad has announced it’s cutting 1,600 workers this year.
Part of the issue for software developers tasked with writing for autos is that a great deal of localisation is required beyond the driver interface language. Any autonomous or semi-autonomous driving systems have to be tuned to local road conditions and traffic laws.
Legacy infrastructure and systems throughout car makers operations are said to hamper companies’ efforts to produce software and hardware that can compete with startups such as Rivien, the maker of the first all-electric utility vehicle for the US market.
(Image source: “Car crashes into Townsend Building, Dover, Delaware” by -Jeffrey- is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.)
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