Closing Gap to Leverage Enhanced Computational Power for SDV Advancement

Among the challenges is decoupling software from hardware.

January 27, 2025

Adam Konopa

A new SDV safety proof of concept emphasizes decoupling the software from the hardware. (OSU College of Engineering)

Developing a standardized approach to harness the power of modern hardware accelerators in a safe and efficient way is essential in furthering the advancement of software-defined vehicles (SDV).

Adam Konopa is director of technology at Intellias. (Intellias)

The need exists for a unified solution that remains independent of specific hardware vendors.

Modern vehicles increasingly rely on high-performance computing (HPC) systems, such as powerful systems-on-chip (SoCs) to manage complex applications like autonomous driving, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems and connected vehicle services. These systems require immense computational power, which is often provided by specialized hardware accelerators such as GPUs, NPUs, and FPGAs.

The absence of a unified, safe solution represents a dual challenge:

Decoupling software from hardware: While the industry strives to create software that can operate independently of the underlying hardware, current solutions often result in a tight coupling of the two, particularly when using proprietary technologies for hardware acceleration.
Ensuring safety compliance: In critical applications like ADAS and autonomous driving – where failure could have dire consequences – an urgent need exists for hardware acceleration that adheres to strict safety standards.

In response, Intelias has developed a proof of concept that emphasizes the decoupling of software from hardware, thus promising to revolutionize how vehicles are developed, updated, and maintained. By enabling over-the-air updates and enhancing modularity, SDVs aim to create a flexible and future-proof vehicle architecture.

Striving for collaborative innovation

Through its collaboration with AUTOSAR, a leading OEM development partnership, we are pioneering the development of a standardized approach to safe hardware acceleration within the context of SDVs.

This initiative aims to create a software abstraction layer that allows full leverage of the computational power of modern SoCs while maintaining safety compliance. The goal: aset of standardized APIs that can be used across different hardware platforms.

Without such a solution, vehicles would either be unable to utilize the advanced computational capabilities of modern hardware or would do so at the risk of compromising safety. Our focus is to ensure that the promise of SDVs can be delivered without sacrificing the safety and reliability that drivers depend on.

The SDV Alliance unites the collaborative efforts of AUTOSAR, COVESA, Eclipse SDV, and SOAFEE to jointly establish industry standards for the future of the SDV ecosystem. Intellias is an integral part of this ecosystem as a member of COVESA and AUTOSAR and partners with other leading technology companies in the industry. We invite others in the industry to join us in this effort.

Adam Konopa is technology director at Intellias.