Manual methods and disconnected systems can no longer address the demands of today’s automotive software engineering. A higher level of coordination and collaboration is required if manufacturers are to survive and thrive as they deliver vehicles that increasingly depend on software for success.


Virtually every area of the vehicle faces emerging technologies that add to the cost and complexity of development. Hybrid electrical vehicles and fuel-cell engines are changing the demands on development of power train systems. Active and passive safety features like ABS and Airbags are expected as standard equipment, even in small cars. Further safety improvements require innovative technology such as collision detection systems or night vision. The sophistication of navigation and entertainment systems is also accelerating, across all categories of vehicle. The common factor among all of these new and evolving systems is that they are all heavily dependent on software to function.


Software has effectively become the driving force of innovation in many areas of technology and, in particular, in the form of embedded systems in vehicles.