The whistle-stop advancements in electric vehicles have twirled the human transportation concept worldwide. The electronics, software, driver-less scenario, or information technology is now a critical and important part of the auto industry. Typically, automotive information technology (IT) refers to software and hardware implications for an effortless driving experience. This article shall explore the technological aspects and some challenges of IT-in-Auto.
Self-driving: a prominent example
Autonomous self-car functions without any control from humans rather than aid from cameras and radar/lidar sensors. In fact, several indoor functionalities in a car are just possible with gesture controls. Other cool features like Over-the-air updates, Lane detection while driving, Remote keyless entry, collision safe and the list goes on; are all exist due to the contribution of information technology in vehicles. “Some are developing in-house talent and capabilities (for example, BMW’s Car-IT and, more recently, Volkswagen’s Car.Software.org8)”, mentioned in one of the reports by Deloitte. And many traditional architecture designs have been shifted from a many-to-one controller for a big system, which could have been only possible by IT artifacts.
An intelligent Business!
Yet another latest trends in IT, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and big data analytics are yet another contribution to an automotive umbrella. When it comes to processing this data, the most efficient approach is to use machine learning algorithms. And with a complex automotive software-E/E collab, the processing time is the critical parameter. Also, AI and big data analytics collect data from connected cars, internal production systems and speed up the business processes and decision-making time for car manufacturers. And, helps in maneuvering the best approaches. Where connectivity could be the talk of the auto-town but the reality can be data. The machine learning algorithms identify driver behavior patterns, which enables dealerships to offer services that uniquely meet a customer’s specific needs long after the vehicle has been purchased. A new business perspective seems promising in the future. Now, coming inside the cars, AI, ML, or data analytics processes one’s driving style and can accurately tell about the future energy usage, the distance can be covered, and the riding assistance.
Block chain theory
Blockchain is another beauty of Information Technology. The world is looking at it as an investment method but has more potential to transform the automotive industry. Blockchain could be used to share data on vehicles and to their owners in a very secure way, provide safe ‘pay-you-go’ mobility services. “CarVerticals car history registry gathers and verifies information about car’s history from different sources and charges the users to access the data”, a real-time example mentioned in Deloitte report. Bosch IoT Lab, Toyota Research Institutes/Oaken Innovations, ZF/USB’s Car e-wallet, RWE partnership with Slock.it, are some of the existing use case examples. Though blockchain technology attracts with the value it offers but may have to cover a long journey for its establishment.
All-in-all
Nicolas-Joseph-Benz-Ford were the minds behind the idea of safer, luxurious, and comfortable cars. And then in the 21st era when big IT giants decided to expand in an automotive cluster, strategizing the E/E architecture with IT is a revolution in vehicle-kind, just like corona pandemic in mankind! While contributions of technology might fascinate society, there are some challenges and drawbacks to look for. The privacy concern has been surveyed the important safety issues amongst the consumers. Another is the design challenge of the vehicle system, where embedded adjustments are made to work for the specific and not can be used in other systems. This finds a hurdle for production. It is now to see the roadmap of the industry with considerations of these grey areas.
