Software Turns the Car Into a Mobility Platform

One of the factors behind the increasing share of software in the vehicle are changes in end customers' expectations for future passenger cars. Drivers want to use additional and assistance functions differently: with flexible activation and paying when needed, immediately and without having to drive to a workshop. They want access to the apps on their own smartphones seamlessly, even in the car; or they no longer want to own vehicles themselves, but rather book them at short notice via mobility apps. The software-defined vehicle (SDV) is the answer to many of these wishes for the future.

This is a technical revolution compared to the previous approach: With the old approach, the engineers started with the hardware. What properties did the engine, transmission, chassis, damping or steering system offer and which vehicle characteristics could be made of them? All systems have been digitally controllable for a while now and assistance systems have also been available – such as the ESP anti-skid brake, which applied braking to individual wheels depending on the driving situation. Each system and component had its own electronic control units (ECUs). Automotive manufacturers integrated these into the vehicle via the CAN bus. However, this "signal-based electronics architecture" – owing the name to the fact that each control unit permanently transmitted signals to "its" hardware – became increasingly complex. Especially when the objective was to achieve additional safety advantages in critical driving situations by networking different systems. This is precisely the future of mobility, because powerful assistance systems and highly automated driving make driving safer and more comfortable.

"We have adapted our service and product range to the new electronics architectures," explains Christoph Elbers, Vice President Car Chassis Technology at ZF. "On the one hand, we offer high-performance computers ourselves, while on the other hand, with our complete product portfolio for longitudinal, transverse, and vertical dynamics and our intelligent components, we utilize our networked and digital know-how in such a way that we integrate functions on them or make them available independently as a software product."

An example is the Vehicle Motion Domain Controller (VMD). This supercomputer bundles the control software for all systems that are responsible for the driving dynamics, safety and ride comfort of the car – i.e., front and rear wheel steering, brakes and chassis control systems. The VMD already contains a wide variety of sensor information. It evaluates this information in real time and calculates the commands with which brakes, steering systems and other components ensure that the car drives on the optimal route – especially in the case of assisted or automated driving, i.e., without the intervention of human drivers.

And many people benefit from cubiX: Car manufacturers can significantly reduce the adjustment and application effort for their various models. And drivers enjoy more driving dynamics, more ride comfort, more safety and efficiency – everything that the software-defined vehicle stands for. More efficiency – this makes it clear how versatile cubiX is.

The software-defined vehicle meets the mobility needs of future generations. This does not end with the possibility of retrofitting your passenger car with attractive assistance functions. Since the software-defined vehicle is basically networked with other vehicles and the infrastructure, it can make traffic even safer as a whole: It can warn all road users of black ice or oil slicks, predict traffic jams, or perceive potential danger much earlier than people could. The new computing power also brings AI algorithms into the vehicle, which form the basis for highly automated and autonomous driving. New business models and use cases will also be possible. This is where it's no longer about owning a personal vehicle, but about access to mobility. After all, the autonomous transport systems that ZF offers to relieve urban traffic are the best example of software-defined vehicles.