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Software contrasts the fact that there is a lot of cross-car standardization for bodies, engines,
brakes and other physical components.
In parallel, security of the Head Unit and its communications will be of the highest priority. The
recent security breaches in cars speak a clear language: Security cannot be bolted onto existing
systems. Instead, the systems have to be built on top of a solid security framework for the device
itself and have to be part of a larger end-to-end network with in-car systems, devices and backend dealer/OEM systems. Additional requirements for autonomous driving vehicles are fault
tolerant and fail-safe mechanisms to protect passengers and other vehicles. The auto industry
will need to draw decades of learning from the commercial aircraft industry where three
independent computers and black boxes are standard.
2.
THE CONNECTED CAR
2.1
The Backbone
In a networked world, cars are no longer self-contained but rely on services delivered through an
OEM Vehicle Backend which acts as the interface into the Internet. The OEM Vehicle Backend
creates a virtual image of the vehicle in cyber space and, therefore, it must provide highest data
protection and IT-Security. At the same time, the backend needs to be flexible and scalable to
react to the unpredictable usage patterns created by the vehicles and their drivers. Further, any
alterations in those systems must be logged in an auditable way because these systems are now
part of the car. These properties will only be delivered by backend systems which are built on
modern, secure and scalable technologies with 24/7 availability. While solutions available today
from some OEMs are built on legacy systems which have been meshed together, this approach
will not suffice nor scale when millions of cars are connected to them.
Once in place, the combination of Vehicle Backend, OTA Updates of the Head Unit and ultimately
even updates of the attached Electronic Control Units (ECUs) – of which a modern car contains
up to one hundred – will enable a completely new quality of service for both the owner and the
dealer. For example, it will then be possible to buy upgrades for the car in an aftersales model.
Telemetric data received from the car (e.g. usage patterns) can be used by existing dealerships
or new service companies for preventative maintenance and by car manufacturers’ product
management to influence next models functional design. This is called Vehicle Relationship
Management.
With software becoming the integral and defining part of cars, it will also need to adhere to
higher security standards. Something like the Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL) standard2
which is applied to certify hardware components that impact the safety of car and passengers,
2
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automotive_Safety_Integrity_Level
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December 2015