From Hype to Reality: Building the Software‑Defined Vehicle through Open Collaboration

Introduction

• The speaker, Thomas Erovon, opened with a nod to the audience’s energy and referenced Stephen’s comment on "infinite games," drawing a parallel to the ongoing, fun‑focused nature of developing software‑defined vehicles (SDVs).
• This was his 17th day in a new role, positioning him as the "new kid on the block" while acknowledging the deep experience of his colleagues.

Why the Software‑Defined Vehicle Matters

• Over the past year, the automotive press has repeatedly asked why the SDV is important. The answer lies in moving beyond hype to delivering tangible value on the road.
• Traditional monolithic, proprietary stacks suffer from three major shortcomings:
• Proprietary solutions – limited exchange across company borders, no common standards, and repeated reinvention of the wheel.
• Escalating costs and delays – higher total cost of ownership and longer time‑to‑market.
• Talent shortage – a fierce war for skilled developers; simply hiring thousands more engineers is not feasible.

A New Collaborative Approach

• One year ago, together with Microsoft, the industry agreed on a third option beyond "make" or "buy": integrate and collaborate.
• Integrate: reuse existing building blocks to free resources for differentiating features.
• Collaborate: co‑create and enhance those building blocks as an industry‑wide effort.

The Eclipse SDV Working Group

• In March, the initiative was placed under the Eclipse Foundation, one of the world’s largest open‑source foundations.
• Membership growth:
• Started with 12 members.
• By October (six months later) grew to 23 members and continues to expand.
• Core vision:
• Open technology platform.
• Automotive‑grade open standards.
• Community‑driven development.

Alignment with Existing Initiatives

• COVESA (formerly AUTOSAR Adaptive) – VSS (Vehicle Signal Specification): many SDV projects already adopt VSS.
• Automotive Grade Linux (AGL): integration of AGL’s Linux distribution into the broader SDV context.
• SOPHIE and AUTOSAR: represented within the steering committee, ensuring cross‑initiative compatibility.
• Recent collaboration announcements (e.g., AUTOSAR with COVESA) further tighten the ecosystem.

Current State of the Community

• Active contributions: 11 projects have been contributed within the first six months.
• Content landscape: a rich but still fragmented set of projects; the next step is to interlink them into a coherent base.
• Scope defined at inception:
• Vehicle‑level technology (including safety‑critical domains).
• Cloud‑connected services.
• Developer tooling (SDV‑Ops, SDV‑Dev, etc.).

From Projects to a Common Standard

• The speaker illustrated the need to avoid parallel, duplicated efforts. Example:
• Instead of each OEM building its own SUM‑IP stack, a generic, extensible stack should be created where OEM‑specific signal specifications can be plugged in.
• The goal is to combine and interlace existing projects, forming a shared foundation rather than proliferating isolated standards.

Levels of Cooperation (Inspired by CNCF)

Making the SDV Real for End Users

• Digital Auto initiative: provides a rapid‑prototyping playground where developers can build, test, and gather user feedback on vehicle features.
• Revenue shift: a Volkswagen CFO chart predicts a move toward a $5 trillion software‑enabled revenue pool, highlighting the economic imperative.
• Playground demo:
• Accessible at playground.digital.auto.
• Users select a vehicle model, explore connected vehicle interfaces (CVI) based on COVESA VSS, and prototype features.
• Example features demonstrated:
  • Happy Dog – opens the sunroof when the dog is unhappy.
  • Smart Wiper – automatically disables wipers when the hood or trunk is opened.
• Developers can edit Python code on‑the‑fly, see immediate dashboard updates, and collect direct customer feedback.
• This loop enables fast validation of ideas such as karaoke apps, seat‑heat on demand, or parking‑spot detection, ensuring resources focus on features that truly create a "wow" effect.

Call to Action

• The speaker invited participants to join the Eclipse SDV Hackathon in Berlin and become active contributors to the community.
• Emphasis on integration, collaboration, and the creation of joint standards as the path forward.

Summary of Achievements (First 9 Months)

• 12 → 23 members.
• 11 active project contributions, with more in the pipeline.
• Strong alignment with other industry initiatives (COVESA, AGL, SOPHIE, AUTOSAR).
• Established a clear roadmap toward higher cooperation levels and real‑world vehicle integration.

The talk underscored that the future of automotive software lies not in isolated, proprietary silos but in an open, collaborative ecosystem that accelerates innovation and delivers value directly to drivers.

The software‑defined vehicle will only become a market reality when the automotive industry embraces open collaboration—integrating existing building blocks, aligning standards, and co‑creating through a vibrant community—so that innovation can scale, costs stay low, and developers can focus on delivering the features drivers truly want.