Need for Secure Auto OS Is Growing Rapidly

The connected car and its associated 100+ ECUs are consolidating; initially in the cockpit through a gateway module. Safety-conscious OEMs and Tier One automotive suppliers are aware of potential liability issues, along with fast approaching over-the-air (OTA) capabilities for model year’s (MYs) 2019 and 2020. OEMs are taking multiple approaches including in-sourcing software IP, key acquisitions, and partnering with industry experts. Many are seeking a software platform that can be provisioned to enable any electronic function. Prognostics also play a significant role with the arrival of OTA, as well as growing advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomy.

Companies, such as Blackberry QNX, are leveraging robust, secure, real-time, and functionally safe software platforms for the entire car. Blackberry recently announced its embedded software platform for autonomous drive and connected cars. QNX is also in the process of building its own autonomous car to lead future development and supply chain integration efforts. Other SW companies poised to support the software defined car include Green Hills, Mentor Graphics, Elektrobit (Continental), and Wind River (Intel).

The gateway module is only the first phase of consolidation in the car. Initially, the telematics, instrument cluster, and IVI systems will be combined, utilizing a hypervisor security operations center (SOC). As automotive OEM’s continue to re-architect their manufacturing lines over the next few years, further adaptation is expected to lead to OTA as a standard “feature” in many mainstream vehicles, moving from more mainstream software-over-the-air (SOTA) to firmware-over-the-air (FOTA).

While current open-source software solutions can be easily adaptable for the head unit, requirements are much greater for safety-critical vehicle functions, such as software modules that orchestrate a network of systems, including body electronics, information, safety, chassis, engine, and powertrain, as well as to coordinate a host of external sensors and vision capabilities. Sufficient functional safety and effective partitioning are required to make the leap, but can co-exist with non-safety-critical components.  Between 2015 and 2021, the revenue for these solutions is expected to more than double.

No one company can enable this, but a complex and cooperative supply chain is needed. This runs from system integrator (SI) vendors such as NXP, Intel, Infineon, TI, and Renesas, to security suppliers such as Symphony Teleca and Argus Cyber Security, to Tier One’s such as BOSH, HARMAN, and Delphi. The list of OS companies, not based on open-source, narrow considerably once the transition is made from SOTA to FOTA. Additionally, the current rate of investment and consolidation is expected to continue at a brisk pace.

Automotive OEMs are interested in utilizing a provisioned software platform that can transfer services from one vehicle to another, seamlessly, securely, and privately via a mobile device. This could include everything from IVI and seating/steering functions to suspension, fuel efficiency, and more, to create a differentiated, personalized platform with a software point of view. Successful software solutions will be able to respond deterministically to the changing vehicles.

The transformation from preventative maintenance to proactive prognostics will change the competitive landscape from dealerships, to service shops, and to suppliers of the automotive industry. The future of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) with 24/7 availability, as well as mission critical safety needs of the autonomous car, depend on enabling the vehicle to be constantly monitored, as well as providing targeted, actionable data to both the fleet owner and the OEM on a timely basis. The continued march toward electrification will also impact and enable these massive industry changes.

In addition to automotive, a number of different verticals require active safety provisions that are secure and professional-grade. Many fields, such as oil & gas, mining, construction, high speed rail, heavy machinery/industrial equipment, and agriculture require a deterministic response and are helping accelerate the Internet of Everything (IoE), including smart cities.