Cars Growing with Society, Moving to a New Chapter in Mobility

Traditionally, the value and functionality of vehicles have been determined predominantly by hardware. Once a car was purchased, its performance remained largely unchanged from the time of purchase.

However, we are now on the brink of an era where software significantly influences a car’s value—its functions and performance—enabling continuous updates even after purchase. This shift towards a software-first approach in manufacturing is becoming a reality.

These software-first vehicles, known as Software-Defined Vehicles (SDVs), represent a pivotal shift in the mobility industry. The move towards SDVs opens up numerous possibilities, including enhanced vehicle value by adding applications, personalized mobility experiences, and new revenue streams from app sales and software updates.

Tesla, a pioneering force in this transformation, has set a notable example. In 2016, Tesla's Model 3 initially received low marks for its braking performance. However, through a software update, Tesla improved the braking capabilities of the Model 3 and rolled out these improvements to cars already on the road. This unprecedented enhancement, achieved solely through a software update, contrasts sharply with traditional methods that would require extensive time for physical component replacements.

This software-centric revolution is primarily driven by new electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers, led by Tesla. Unlike traditional automakers who focus on hardware, EV makers construct their vehicles around software, thus driving this transformative change in the automotive landscape.

The entire mobility industry, not just emerging EV manufacturers, is recognizing the critical importance of this paradigm shift, with each company experimenting and adapting in its own way. This broader transformation, driven by recent energy challenges and rapid advancements in AI, extends the software-first approach to encompass all aspects of our lives. This evolution is termed SDx (Software-Defined Everything), and DENSO is actively pursuing this SDx challenge.

Shifting to a software-first manufacturing approach and rapidly implementing new features and services necessitates a fundamental change in development environments and processes.

A significant challenge in SDx development is the increased workload in software development. Currently, software specifications vary across manufacturers and vehicle models, and hardware changes often prevent software reuse. This results in enormous time and resource demands for software development. To mitigate these demands, it's essential to create a development environment that enables hardware-independent software development, which requires implementing virtualization.

One of DENSO's virtualization strategies involves the development of software using virtual ECUs (Electronic Control Units), which virtualize the architecture of the OS and middleware within ECUs. Virtual ECUs are built using open and highly versatile underlying technologies, allowing for uniform development conditions across vehicles and hardware. This makes it possible to run software in both virtual and physical environments.

Traditionally, software performance testing could only commence once the physical ECU development was complete. However, with ECU virtualization, testing can be conducted on virtual ECUs without waiting for the physical ones to be finished, significantly enhancing development efficiency.

At DENSO, further progress is being made in constructing a data-driven development environment on cloud platforms tailored for data-driven software development (*). Within this environment, processes ranging from conceptualization and implementation to performance testing and operation of software can be conducted atop the architecture of virtual ECUs.

*Data-driven software development creates new value and addresses societal challenges and consumer needs by leveraging the visualization, analysis, and prediction of diverse data sets.

Using the data-driven development process within this environment, Makiko Tauchi from the Value Chain Foundation Planning Department in the Technology Planning Div. explains that the need for data format conversion, which previously occurred whenever development phases changed, is now eliminated.

"In traditional software development for mobility, each development process operated independently, necessitating data conversion between phases. However, with the data-driven development process, all stages can occur within the same environment. For instance, software data post-implementation can seamlessly transition to the next simulation or emulation phase without conversion delays.

Moreover, software that completes performance testing in the development environment can be directly installed into physical ECUs, enabling immediate deployment and significantly accelerating development speed. This ability to continuously develop within a virtualized environment epitomizes software-first manufacturing,” adds Tauchi.

With the introduction of virtual ECUs and data-driven development processes, the workflow is expected to become more streamlined, compared to traditional mobility development. However, transitioning to these new development styles is not simple, explains Masato Miyake of the Value Chain Foundation Planning Department in the Technology Planning Div., who works on development with Tauchi.

"Adopting a development style that allows for real-time output verification and specification adjustments will become the norm. Transitioning from the previously dominant waterfall model for mass-producing mobility products to a completely new development approach will pose significant challenges. Initially, we aim to increase the number of examples through preliminary development before moving towards mass production development," says Miyake.

Nonetheless, Miyake notes that shifting to such a development style involves overcoming technical and business convention barriers.

"Previously, the flow was to receive customer specifications and develop software accordingly. The division of responsibilities was clear: customers were responsible for the specifications, and DENSO was responsible for development. With data-driven development, these responsibilities will become intertwined. Adjusting this business responsibility allocation is a challenge we must overcome in the future," says Miyake.

Meanwhile, there are precedents for virtualized development environments in fields outside of mobility. For instance, Raspberry Pi, used in toy programming and IoT device creation, can establish instances (*) on AWS Graviton processors designed by Amazon Web Services, enabling seamless development between cloud and physical devices. Miyake desires to implement similar initiatives in mobility development, stating, "We aim to introduce such approaches in mobility development as well."

"By establishing virtual ECU instances in the cloud, multiple teams can collaborate more efficiently. Previously, teams at different locations had to borrow physical ECU units for performance testing. In the future, real-time collaboration will be possible across distances, such as deploying software developed in the U.S. to hardware under development in Germany. This approach will not only enhance internal development but also improve collaborative development with suppliers and partners," Miyake explains.

*An instance refers to an object created based on a blueprint called a class in object-oriented programming.

DENSO is advancing the development of integrated ECUs, which group various functions controlled by individual ECUs and aim to control the entire vehicle comprehensively. By integrating ECUs, it becomes possible not only to manage multiple functions across different systems but also to update the mobility system itself over-the-air (OTA), via wireless communication.

Related Article: Integrated ECUs are the key in rapidly evolving mobility architecture | DRIVEN BASE - DENSO

As ECU virtualization and integration progress, it will be possible to develop all vehicle software within a single development process. DENSO envisions constructing a virtual mock-up simulating mobility within a data-driven development process. Using this virtual mock-up, most performance tests currently conducted on physical devices can be completed in the cloud. Consequently, the speed of vehicle development will be significantly reduced, and software updates can be performed more frequently after the vehicle is sold, according to Tauchi.

"When this future becomes a reality, various companies will enter the market to develop services for vehicles, creating unprecedented value and experiences. Eventually, cars will become customizable and personalizable, much like smartphones. They will no longer be just a 'means of transportation' but an indispensable 'life partner,'" says Tauchi.

In addition to ECUs, what are DENSO's strengths in the entire vehicle development process? Miyake explains:

"I believe DENSO's strength lies in our understanding of traditional vehicle architecture and our ability to orchestrate the entire in-vehicle system. Additionally, our understanding of traditional in-vehicle quality allows us to ensure the same level of quality in virtual environments," says Miyake.

Looking ahead, DENSO aims to expand the scope of the data-driven development process beyond vehicles to contribute to society as a whole.

In a previous article, we introduced the concept of treating an EV as a single battery, combining it with chargers and storage batteries to control the power consumption of an entire building and provide power in emergencies, thus exploring the diverse services that can be developed based on EVs.

Related Article: Innovation in Energy and Lifestyle by Evs | DRIVEN BASE - DENSO

Tauchi explains that in a society where EVs have become central to daily life, a data-driven development process will likely form the foundation for creating diverse values and services.

"We aim to develop services related not only to EVs but also to infrastructure and energy management on the cloud. For example, from an energy management perspective, if there are drivers who only drive short distances, they could simulate optimal route calculations and control air conditioning in advance on the cloud to improve battery efficiency." (Tauchi)

From cars to society, expanding the circle of mobility value—DENSO, as a Tier1 company in the mobility society, leads the foundation of SDx triggering a variety of innovations.