On Automotive Electronics

Excerpt

Several years ago, the auto industry seemed to reach an unspoken consensus that software is by far the most crucial ingredient in creating distinction. Through software, vehicles can be upgraded and maintained throughout their lifetimes remotely over the air. Carmakers can now anticipate substantial revenue from products and services delivered after sale. According to the Boston Consulting Group, the introduction of software-defined vehicles will enhance margins by as much as 2600 US-dollars per car for high- volume models, up to 7500 US-dollars per car for premium vehicles. But developing vehicles that are software-centric is exceedingly complex. Entirely new zonal and centralized architectures are needed. "To be an automotive player you need to be a cloud expert, a software expert, a hardware expert and have a consumer mindset," said Chet Babla, vice president of automotive at ARM Ltd., the world's leading semiconductor IP company. Every one of the top 15 automotive silicon vendors is an ARM licensee. Because ARM is ubiquitous and has few direct competitors, it is seen as neutral. Electronics hardware and software suppliers and cloud-based developers see ARM as a company that can corral the industry into coming up with standards to significantly reduce software complexity without damaging key stakeholders.

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