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Figure 1: Cruise control was the first integration of electrical and mechanical systems in a vehicle. Early systems used fluid pressure to activate the throttle and were governed by solenoids (U. S. Patent No. 2,714,880, 1955). <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The result of this innovation and\nintegration is a tremendously complex system of electronic control units\n(ECUs), sensors, actuators, and wiring to connect it all together. The size and\ncomplexity of these architectures create new challenges for automotive original\nequipment manufacturers (OEMs) and their suppliers. These challenges will only\nbecome more intense as companies continue to advance vehicle technologies,\nparticularly in the automated driving space. In this environment, the\nimportance of the underlying E\/E architecture is paramount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The challenges created by the\nevolution of the E\/E architecture are not confined to vehicle design and\nengineering. Major OEMs and suppliers alike are realizing that changes to their\norganizations and business models will lay the foundation for future success.\nOEMs are investing in increasing their software competency to bring the\ndevelopment of vehicle software in-house. This is changing OEM-supplier\nrelationships, as automakers begin to source only hardware from their supplier\nnetworks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In response, long-time automotive\nsuppliers are expanding the services they offer to cover the full range of\ncomponent development, from design through manufacturing. These suppliers,\nknown as Tier 1 suppliers, are caught between legacy challenges like production\nefficiency and product quality, and emerging challenges such as ballooning\nharness complexity, accelerated development cycles, and the need to develop new\ntechnologies to stay ahead of competition. Moving forward, Tier 1 suppliers will\nneed to move upstream in the value chain to offer full wiring harness and\nelectrical distribution system design and integration services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Between large-scale technological\nchanges and the resulting shifts in industry dynamics, manufacturers and\nsuppliers face a challenging road ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Consumers want increased freedom to\ncustomize their vehicles through optional features without paying a premium\nprice. OEMs are attempting to provide this customization on a mass scale, as\ntheir business still relies on making and selling large volumes of vehicles. In\ncontrast, OEMs simultaneously try to re-use bills-of-materials (BOM) as much as\npossible across vehicle platforms to reduce costs in design and manufacturing.\nThus, it becomes more challenging to track and coordinate among thousands of\ncommon and unique components, such as the correct version of an ECU or software\nbuild, as well as corresponding connectors and terminals across the vehicle\nplatform, all of which are needed to enable functional connectivity between\ndevices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Second, the typical automotive\nsupply chain is growing longer and larger due to the increasing E\/E content in\nvehicles. Longer and larger supplier pipelines can greatly increase the time\nrequired to cascade and implement design changes. Ensuring that all teams\nunderstand the change being implemented and its effects on their domain is\nalready a key challenge. Contracting with additional suppliers and expanding\nthe supplier ecosystem to provide desirable features only compounds this\nproblem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Third, the average new car today\ncontains between 70-100 ECUs. In future vehicles, OEMs will consolidate these\ninto fewer more powerful control units. How far this consolidation should go;\nhowever, is a point of major debate. Some advocate for a centralized architecture\nwith a few, or a singular, very powerful ECU(s) managing vehicle functions.\nOthers consider a distributed architecture with a greater number of ECUs a\nbetter option, primarily to create redundancy in vehicle systems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In each case, OEMs will look to\nlimit investments to save on cost, but increasing architectural complexity and\nmore stringent safety requirements increase the challenge of vehicle design.\nThis increased challenge equates to greater cost, as investment is necessary to\ndeliver the sophisticated vehicles demanded by the market. As OEMs and\nsuppliers look to innovate via the E\/E architecture, they will need to evolve\ntheir development processes to integrate across domains, automate design tasks,\nand provide robust data coherency in order to tackle the challenges that come\nwith technological and organizational change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Indeed, the challenge only grows as\ncompanies move to scale and creating profit from a new technology once it has\nbeen validated. Capitalizing on the vast opportunity of advanced vehicle\ntechnologies requires comprehensive digitalization throughout an automotive\ncompany, connecting IT, engineering, and manufacturing with a single digital\nthread. The digitalization strategy must also support agility and collaboration\nacross the OEM-supplier ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read more in our whitepaper: The criticality of the automotive E\/E architecture <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n