Dive Brief:
- Google has announced a new open platform dubbed “Android Automotive OS for Software Defined Vehicles,” which provides a standardized vehicle architecture for OEMs, according to a March 24 blog post.
- The updated platform for SDVs will be available in the Android Open Source Project later this year. It provides a standardized software layer for vehicle architectures and reduces complexity, allowing OEMs to integrate modules running software from dozens of different suppliers.
- The new AAOS SDV platform is being adopted by Qualcomm, as well as automaker Renault for its new Trafic E-Tech electric commercial van, which is due to enter production later this year. “The Renault Trafic E-Tech validates the platform's ability to accelerate development and enable a new generation of software-defined commercial vehicles,” Eser Erdem, Senior Engineering Manager, Android Automotive, said in a deeper tech dive.
Dive Insight:
The current version of Android Automotive OS, which is used by Polestar and Volvo for its EX90, is designed solely for vehicle infotainment screens, allowing automakers to create unique interfaces, controls and apps for their vehicles based on Android, as well as offering customers easy access to popular Google apps, like Maps, Gmail and YouTube Music. But with the AAOS SDV update, the software layer is being extended to additional vehicle systems, including vehicle telemetry, seat actuators, instrument clusters, body controls and climate control systems.
The centralized AAOS SDV architecture treats the vehicle as a single dynamic, connected system, according to Erdem. It supports over-the-air updates and continuous improvements over a vehicle’s lifetime.
Renault says its Trafic E-Tech van will be the first vehicle to launch the Android-based vehicle OS it co-developed with Google. It will allow 90% of the vehicle’s functions to be updated by firmware-over-the-air, according to the company.
Google’s strategic partner, Qualcomm, is scaling the AAOS SDV platform via its Snapdragon Virtual System-on-Chip (VSoC) development platform that runs on Google Cloud. The cloud-based platform was announced at CES in January and is designed to accelerate the design, testing and validation of SDVs. By enabling OEMs to design, test and validate vehicle systems entirely in the cloud, automotive software can be deployed faster and more efficiently, according to Qualcomm.
Semiconductor specialist NXP also developed a similar platform for SDVs called “CoreRide,” which is designed to serve as a plug-and-play computer network for vehicles that OEMs can layer in software-driven features and other performance applications to differentiate their models in the market. The company aims to launch it by 2028.
To prepare for the open-source release of AAOS SDV later this year, Google says it's working with leading carmakers, suppliers, silicon platforms and software vendors to ensure that platform is well supported and “integrated within the automotive ecosystem.”
“We remain committed to supporting our automotive partners with open source software that will shape the next generation of cars,” said Matt Crowley, Group Product Manager, Android Automotive, in a blog post.
The AAOS SDV platform will also include a standard signal catalog of hardware specifications for OEMs and suppliers. It will help eliminate redundant engineering efforts and significantly reduce development costs of SDVs, according to Google.
