Software-Defined Vehicles

The benefits of Software-Defined Vehicles include:

• Improved safety via features such as anti-collision systems and driver assistance
• Increased comfort through onboard infotainment systems that integrate connected features such as music and video streaming
• Deeper insights into vehicle performance through telematics and diagnostics, allowing for more effective preventative maintenance
• The capacity for automotive manufacturers to add new features and functionality with over-the-air updates

Software-Defined Vehicles outperform their hardware-defined predecessors across multiple arenas. In addition to being safer, they provide superior comfort and convenience. Since many Software-Defined Vehicles are also electric, they could have considerably smaller environmental footprints.

Optimization is another major draw. Manufacturers can continue improving the driver experience and enhance vehicle performance after a car leaves the factory, perpetually improving the driving experience through ongoing development. This represents the most significant paradigm shift the automotive industry has ever experienced, as hardware-defined cars tend to remain generally unchanged throughout their lifecycles.

There is very little difference between Software-Defined Vehicles and connected vehicles.

Both are characterized by extensive safety, convenience, and entertainment features provided and enabled through onboard software. Both integrate multiple software services and platforms through either middleware or APIs. And both incorporate various advanced hardware such as collision detection and ADAS.

The only tangible difference is that, in theory, connected cars have a slightly different use case, explicitly built to interact and interface with their surroundings. Given that many Software-Defined Vehicles now share this functionality, the two are essentially indistinguishable from one another.

Connectivity is central to the concept of the Software-Defined Vehicle. Updating features over the air and providing drivers with live information during their journeys are vital capabilities. The SDV is also integral to realizing Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) technology. With V2X, the information flow between the car and its surroundings is constant and two-way.

V2X enables vehicles to benefit from urban smart city Internet of Things sensors and data while contributing information from its sensors to central repositories. With SDVs, V2X technology is much easier to implement. The integration of vehicle systems that SDVs provide via software stacks and standards-based communication methods will be a hub for V2X.

Closely linked to smart city developments, V2X leverages high-bandwidth, low-latency wireless connectivity such as 5G to enhance vehicle safety using data supplied by the environment. It can also facilitate driver services, including automatic payment when entering restricted urban areas such as parking or controlled zones, and provide information to other drivers.

To compromise vehicles without connectivity, threat actors need physical access—they need to be near the car when keyless entry is invoked or be in a location with both the car and its keys in the vicinity. For deeper levels of compromise, they would need to enter the vehicle to connect to the diagnostics port.

With an SDV, these functions could be accessed remotely, similar to the malware attacks perpetrated on personal devices and corporate systems. Although there have been no publicized incidents of this occurring (except for controlled demonstrations), the mission-critical nature and safety requirements of road vehicles mean that a breach could be more immediately serious than the theft of even bank details: A moving car suddenly losing its ADAS functions because of a cyberattack could be life-threatening. A compromised self-driving vehicle could be turned into a weapon.

This is why a vehicle software platform with a strong cybersecurity pedigree, such as BlackBerry^® QNX^®, will be essential as SDVs gain popularity. Vehicle software must implement proactive protection systems against cyberattacks like corporate network systems. Cybersecurity solutions can recognize and nullify existing known attacks and detect behavior that could be a previously unseen attempt to compromise systems. With SDVs employing powerful computing hardware, this can be leveraged to run AI-enhanced cybersecurity, keeping vehicles secure and their occupants safe.