AUTOMOTIVE
Gameplay The automotive industry is increasingly exploring game development technology for various development and prototyping applications, reflected in a number of responses particularly product testing (34%) and marketing (29%). A further 29% of participants are using it for digital twins, and 15% for AR/VR. Even though many survey respondents are not using game development tools just yet, the majority expect to do so shortly: 17% by the end of summer 2021 and 33% by summer 2022. Game development technology allows designers to work through multiple iterations of a product speeding up the introduction of new functionality and services in the vehicle. This leads to a much-improved product for the customer. Typical games engines include Unreal and Unity which are used to create some of the largest digital games in the market today. These same engines are now also used in automotive development. For example, Toyota has used Unreal together with virtual reality to put the user in a virtual cockpit and validate ergonomic designs by evaluating how easy it is to reach buttons and controls. While BMW uses Unreal to understand the real-world feel of its cars better before they go into production
Challenges and concerns Effective management of both hardware and software design remains a challenge, with the single biggest issue being effective integration of engineering design and test tools (cited by 30%), further exacerbated by cross-team collaboration (24%), particularly
when working with distributed teams (23%). Dealing with multiple variants of both hardware and software components is another concern (21%). The top security concern of almost half of those who responded, is the increased risk that hackers could infiltrate onboard or offboard systems. A study by Uswitch confirms their concerns: The number of cyberattacks on connected vehicles increased by 99% between 2019 and 2020. Industry standards such as the upcoming ISO/IEC 21434 will provide guidance to increase the security of software applications. Not surprisingly, over 80% of the survey respondents need to comply with ISO 26262, the functional safety standard extensively used in the automotive industry. However, 50% cite difficulty in fulfilling every safety requirement, as well as providing the necessary evidence. Likewise, verifying and validating software was quoted as the most time-consuming task, at 16%, followed by documentation at 10%.
Development environments Nearly 90% of the automotive professionals surveyed use a coding standard to help ensure safe, secure, and reliable code. As well as being mandated as part of specific industry standards (including ISO 26262), customers often also require coding standards. The most popular coding standard is MISRA (47%), followed by AUTOSAR coding guidelines (39%), and C++ Core Guidelines (also 39%). Others in use include CERT, High Integrity C++, Embedded C, and Google C++.
The majority are writing code using the C or
C++ programming languages (38% for C and 59% for C++), which are ideal for the increasingly complex nature of automotive software development, but C# and Java are also commonplace. Teams are also deploying methodologies to help escalate software development, with the most widespread being Agile (47%). Simultaneously, use of automatic code generation and test- driven development are growing, demonstrating how automotive design is shifting further away from hardware and more toward software. Survey respondents mentioned multiple tools they employ to support the software development process, with approximately a third saying that these have helped accelerate time-to-market. Almost a quarter also said that it has improved software quality. Simplification of compliance and improved safety and security was cited by 19%. Tools used include static code analysis (39%), project management (40%), static application security testing (44%), version control (45%), and application lifecycle management (47%). The dependency on software will only continue in the automotive industry, particularly as the number of electric and autonomous vehicles grows. Understanding the main challenges, opportunities, trends, plus the tools and techniques available, help to make sure that the future on-road experience is safer, more secure, and with a better user experience
Perforce Software
www.perforce.com
SEPTEMBER 2021 | ELECTRONICS TODAY 9
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