It was a pleasant surprise for the owners of a Polestar 3: After a software update of the car, the Apple I-Phone can be used as a digital key. Since then, the electric car has been locked up and started with the smartphone. The key can also be shared with others. The new function was installed via the mobile network. The Polestar 3 has already received eleven updates in one year, the twelfth is in preparation. “The vehicle is the first software defined vehicle from Europe,” says Polestar development director Lutz Stiegler.
In a software defined Vehicle (SDV), many functions are controlled via software. As with the smartphone, these are kept up to date by regular updates or expanded to include new functions. New apps in infotainment are also possible. For example, the Polestar 3 received an “Abbey Road” app: it plays music to me the acoustics of the legendary Beatles studio.
Such over-the-air updates (OTA) are a central component on the way to the SDV, a technology that German car companies have neglected for a long time. While Tesla has been offering such permanent improvements since the first Model S from 2012, vehicles from Europe have only recently had updates, and usually only for infotainment. However, it offers polestar for many other vehicle functions.
The prerequisite for this is a central calculator in the car that replaces most of the sometimes over 100 control units that control functions such as air conditioning, infotainment or window lifts in conventional vehicles. Because these control units bring your own, non -update -compatible software. This IT architecture is no longer up to date. “The central calculator is the actual central control in the vehicle,” says Stiegler to Polestar 3. The “Core Computer” comes from the US chip specialist Nvidia, communication runs via the Snapdragon platform from Qualcomm, which can also be found in many cell phones.
With the help of these industry sizes, the Android Auto and its own software developer operating system, Polestar managed to overtake most competitors at SDV. The brand works closely with Volvo. Both companies belong to the Chinese Geely Group.
German industry has to catch up if the software in the car does not want to be completely left behind: Last week, eleven German car manufacturers and suppliers agreed to develop software together in the form of “Open Source”. This means that the codes of the software are visible to everyone. In the future, not every manufacturer will have to reinvent the wheel again and again. Basic functions are only written once and are then open to all companies involved. With open source, industry also wants to escape the accusation of forming a cartel.
“A considerable scope of the vehicle software cannot be experienced directly for the user and is therefore not differentiating,” says the Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), which has coordinated the software alliance. The developers of the VW Group, Porsche, Mercedes or BMW can then focus on such functions with which they differ from the competition. In addition to the manufacturers mentioned, suppliers such as Bosch, Continental and ZF also participate.
Volkswagen has also progressed on the way to the software defined Vehicle: the group’s ID models are regularly installed current software. This also fixes errors that were installed in the hasty development of electric vehicles. The first buyers of a VW ID 3 could not see the charging status of their battery in percent – not unimportant information. In addition, the central infotainment unit was happy to crash, the screen remained black. These errors were only fixed with updates.
With the latest software update, Volkswagen’s ID models can even load bidirectional. This means that the drive battery can not only absorb electricity, but also release it again – for example to stabilize the power grid or to supply the owner’s house. The car becomes a small power plant, controlled by a new software that did not yet exist when building the vehicle.
OTA and SDV are crucial for automated driving. This is the only way to constantly learn from the driving errors of other vehicles. The Polestar 3 has already benefited from this: At the Curve Speed Assistant, the cruise control does not only adapt the set speed to the person in front, but also brakes before curves in good time. Because the system can now read the Google navigation card, as if a virtual passenger is sitting in the car. (Aum)
