Automotive Software Development: Transforming the Future of Driving

Quick Summary: Software development for automotive can be challenging without appropriate planning and execution. This detailed guide provides a thorough overview of automotive software, types, development methods, and possible roadblocks. Keep reading for great insights.

A few decades ago, if someone had shared the idea of software controlling our lives, people would laugh at them. But today, we have self-driving cars in which software is in the driving seat. So, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that software is really controlling our lives now. In reality, it has become an integral part of the mobility industry used in different processes and automobile components.

Notably, the role of software in the automotive industry is increasing with the rising need for digitalized and personalized driving experience. In fact, there is a continuous growth in the automotive software market, which is expected to reach around $80 billion by 2030. As a result, there are plenty of opportunities for businesses.

However, when it comes to developing software solutions for automotive, it needs to be built with the highest standards. Hence, businesses should seek reliable software development services to create digital solutions that align with standards like ISO 26262 and more.

Let’s dive into the details to know more about automotive software, its benefits, and the development process.

From Advanced In-vehicle Experience to Analytics-based Diagnosis, Build Smarter Automotive Software

Talk to Experts

A Quick Go-Through of Automotive Software Development

Automotive software development is a process of designing, developing, and deploying software solutions for cars, trucks, and other vehicles. This process is completed in various phases handled by specialists like software designers, developers, and QA team.

Today, software has become an integral part of vehicles that control various aspects and help drivers. In vehicles, software is embedded to enhance the driving experience, improve safety, and control in-vehicle features such as temperature.

There is a wide range of software used in vehicles today such as infotainment system software, ADAS software, cybersecurity software, and more.

Benefits of Automotive Software Development

The following are the major advantages of automotive software solution development.

Fuel Efficiency

High fuel consumption by vehicles is a big problem for many businesses. Take vehicles used in Transportation and Logistics business as an example where fuel consumption is high accounting for 30%-50% of their costs.

These companies can leverage software like a fuel management system (FMS) to reduce fuel consumption and save costs. The software helps them stop the misuse of fuel and determine the optimal consumption. With a large fleet of vehicles, it’s difficult for companies to manually manage fuel efficiently.

Usually, fuel management systems are a part of a complex transportation management system. FMS uses analytics software and telematics-based tools to drive data about fuel consumption and help companies improve fuel economy with appropriate decisions.

Intelligent Fault Detection

With the increasing use of embedded software in vehicles, it has become possible to easily diagnose technical problems. It reduces the time a motor vehicle spends at a mechanic’s garage.

Conventionally, a mechanic spends a lot of labor time to identify problems in a vehicle. Often, mechanics have to unbolt the whole engine to fix even a minute glitch.

That’s not just time-consuming but also increases labor costs. However, software-loaded vehicles can help mechanics spot a faulty component quickly and save significant labor time as well as costs for vehicle owners.

Accident Prevention

Safety is the utmost requirement for vehicles that need to be ensured at both the manufacturer and end-user sides. Embedded software and sensors in modern vehicles provide a safety edge over traditional automobiles.

Often, accidents happen due to a driver’s mistakes. Using technology, common driver errors can be handled to prevent possible mishaps. The integration of an automated early warning system into a car can prevent drivers from diverging from their course on the road.

Advanced car systems can even control brakes and steering to prevent collisions. So, vehicle safety software is a crucial component in reducing accidents.

Predictive Maintenance

Vehicles require regular maintenance to ensure seamless operation. Timely maintenance not only prevents accidents but also helps you avoid being trapped in the middle of nowhere. Indeed, on-time maintenance can ensure a safe driving experience.

Building software for automobiles offer predictive maintenance by detecting vulnerabilities. Whether your car tires need more air or more water to avoid overheating, the software will alert you in time.

The software will work with the real-time data obtained from the sensors to notify you about malfunctions, take prompt actions, and ensure safe driving.

Want to Create Custom Automotive Software? Let’s See How We Can Help

Schedule a Call

What are the Different Types of Software Used in Automotive?

Today, vehicles have become more dependent on digital technology and the use of more sophisticated software solutions is increasing. Consequently, there is plenty of demand for automotive systems software to make smarter vehicles. The following are a few varieties of automotive software.

Infotainment Systems

It provides entertainment and information. It usually sits on the dashboard of a vehicle and plays music, provides navigation, offers temperature control, etc.

Telematics

Telematics combines computer-aided information systems and telecommunication in vehicles. It encompasses many features like vehicle-to-vehicle communication, GPS tracking, remote diagnostic, etc. Telematics software is an essential software solution for managing fleets of vehicles.

ADAS

It is an Advanced Driver Assistance System that helps drivers in operating their vehicles. ADAS is equipped with sensors, cameras, and algorithms to alert drivers of potential mishaps. ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) software development is crucial for automated vehicles.

ECU

ECU is the Electronic Control Unit. Multiple ECUs are used in motor vehicles today that control different aspects like the transmission, brake, telematic, engine, etc. Software for ECUs is also increasing in complexity.

Cybersecurity

As the use of digital technology in automobiles is increasing, they become vulnerable to cybersecurity threats. Hence, it’s essential to build software solutions to protect vehicles from these types of threats. Automotive cybersecurity software is designed to safeguard vehicles from hacking and other types of threats.

HMI Software

Automotive HMI software allows users to interact with software and hardware systems in a vehicle. Human-machine interface is the means of communication between humans and machines. Today’s vehicles are connected with different types of software solutions and HMI provides an interface for easy connectivity and control of these devices.

Vehicle Navigation Software

Navigation is an essential feature for vehicles, be it a car or truck. Satellite navigation systems provide the present location of a vehicle. Vehicle navigation software helps in tracking and finding the current location of a vehicle.

Vehicles Safety Software

Software that improves the safety of vehicles and drivers. It can prevent collisions and provide alerts to drivers. The software can do automatic functions like auto braking.

Other Software

Apart from the software mentioned above, there are many other software used in the automotive industry. Such software includes garage management software, vehicle diagnostics software, and Computer-aided Design (CAD) vehicle design software.

Tools and Programming Languages Used in Automotive Software Development

Developing software for automobiles requires different types of tools and programming languages. The following are the main tools and languages used in software development for automotive systems -

• Java – high-level, object-oriented programming language.
• C/C++ - these languages offer low-level hardware control.
• Python – simple and powerful programming language popular in data analysis and ML.
• VectorCAST – software testing platform.
• MATLAB with Simulink – it's a powerful numeric computing and programming environment.
• QNX – operating system for embedded systems by BlackBerry
• IDE (Integrated Development Environment) to build software like Eclipse, Netbeans, Visual Studio, PyCharm, etc.
• Version Control Systems like Git, Subversion, CVS, etc.
• Automotive software standards like AutoSAR.

Leverage Automotive Software Products to Elevate Driver Experience with Best In-Vehicle Features

Ready for Discussion

Automotive Software Development Process

The automotive software development process needs to be aligned to meet the essential standards like ASPICE and ISO 26262 to ensure the safety and quality of vehicle software. V-model is one of the most popular software development methodologies in automotive. Here V stands for verification and validation that part the process into two arms. The left arm of V-model entails analysis of requirements, function design, and development, and the right arm focuses on software validation which entails testing for every phase. Let’s see the complete process below.

Requirement Analysis

The process begins with analyzing the requirements to develop a software product for automotive and documenting them. It defines the functions/tasks that software will perform and the way it will perform them.

Software Design

This phase includes designing the functionality of the automotive software based on the requirements gathered previously. For V-model SDLC, model-based designing (creating a visual model) is used in automotive software to design and test functionalities. The functionality is tested while it is being developed to catch errors early in the process. Simulations tools like Simulink/MATLAB are used to imitate real-world behavior to test the functionality design. After passing all the tests, the visual design is moved to the development team.

Development

This is the phase where actual software is created based on the model or a requirement document. C/C++ are the most popular programming languages for writing automotive software and other languages are also used. Model-based designing tools can also generate code automatically.

Software Integration

As there can be multiple ECUs with their own software controllers, developers have to combine different software modules and check their interactions. Plus, they also monitor their impact on other modules and legacy code. They utilize the Hardware-in-the-Loop (HiL) model for testing to ensure the software or functionality is implemented properly without unwanted results.

How to Choose a Good Automotive Software Development Team?

Choosing the right development team is a crucial step in this process. You need to find good developers for your project to build the best software for automobiles. So, how should you choose a development team? Follow the below tips for this:

• Look for their technical skills relevant to your project.
• Check their communication process, as it’s important for successful projects.
• Make sure they work with the latest automotive software trends and technologies.
• Discuss project terms and conditions to stay on the same page from the outset.
• Check reviews and ratings to know their reputation.

What are the Challenges in Automotive Software Development?

There are some challenges when developing automotive software which are as follows.

• Safety and reliability are among the main challenges in vehicle software development. It’s crucial to ensure that software operates flawlessly after installation on the vehicle to avoid accidents.
• Keeping up with the latest technologies and trends in the realm of automotive software is also important, as it’s a constantly changing field.
• Innovation in automotive software must be made compliant with safety and reliability standards.
• Cost is also a challenge for automotive software because it increases with additional testing and validation efforts.

Advanced Technologies for Software Development in Automotive

Technological advancements are pushing the barriers of what automobiles can do. There are lots of advanced technologies being used in the automotive industry today. Let’s check out the list of such technologies -

• Internet of Things (IoT): There are many use cases of IoT in the automotive industry, including vehicle-to-vehicle connectivity, fleet management, data analytics, etc.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI): Undoubtedly, this is the era of AI, and automation in automobiles is achieved via AI-driven components and software.
• 360-degree View: 360-degree cameras are used to get a bird’s eye view of a vehicle’s surroundings.
• Connected Mobile Apps: These apps with digital keys enable drivers to monitor and control vehicles remotely.
• Remote Shutdown: It is used to shut down vehicles remotely in case of theft or criminal activity.

Keep in Touch to Get Valuable Advice on Developing Cutting-edge Automotive Software

Let’s Consult

Final ThoughtLike other industries, software is also paramount in the automotive industry. Nevertheless, automotive software development is very complex, and it requires proper planning, development, and testing. Since automotive companies are required to strictly follow regulatory compliances as any glitch can result in accidents, creating quality software is important. So, choosing the right automotive software development team is crucial for your project. The team will help you create custom software based on the necessary standards, regulatory compliances, and guidelines.Radixweb is a reliable automotive software development company with years of experience and knowledge to help you create sophisticated automotive software solutions. We have worked as software development partner for many automotive companies and helped them develop a wide range of software from basic to highly complex solutions.Our team is adept at the latest technologies and tools, enabling them to develop cutting-edge automotive software. Contact us now to get the best software development services to accomplish your project.