Technology and the Auto Industry: Between cooperation and competition – Wirtschaftswoche

Between technology companies and car industry, there was a long time hardly any points. Now both sides seek closer cooperation – and can learn from each other.

The bean bag in the foyer, the whiteboard for fast brainstorming and the dog of an employee on the balcony: Everything points to the office of a young high-tech start-ups Silicon Valley way. In fact, in the premises in Palo Alto a Ford dealership is located ten kilometers from the Google headquarters. In a nondescript industrial complex in Detroit fiddle Google employees, now renamed alphabet, to driverless cars – almost within sight of Ford World Headquarters

The approach of. cars and computers blurs the traditional geographic boundaries between industries. In Silicon Valley carmakers and suppliers have opened numerous research laboratories; they develop infotainment systems and autonomous vehicles. The technology companies are attracted to Detroit, to better understand the auto industry and to get their software in the vehicles. You want to continue to grow and see a branch in front of him, the practice after a disruption – a technical innovation -. Border, as they say in their language

The car has long been considered the” last white spot “of the Internet. Meanwhile, the cloud pulls into the car. The German companies are working hard on networked car – but in the end could others make the race

The result: a heated competition with simultaneous. cooperation between two sectors that have barely spoken to each other five years ago. “This is a cross-fertilization,” says Niall Berkerey, who heads the Detroit office of Telenav, developed a California company, the navigation software. “We are bringing both sides in something.”

Looking for qualified staff every industry poaching in the other. Apple hired recently the former quality boss of Fiat Chrysler to, the car service Uber grabbed 40 developers and researchers of the Laboratory of robotics at the University of Carnegie Mellon in Pittsbugh and Tesla’s development chief once came from Apple.

Earlier, the fast-moving tech industry for years had not sheared to sedate their view carmaker. Motor were approaching Google and Tesla with his electric car. “People think the glittering Silicon Valley office against the dirty Detroit, but that’s nonsense,” said Chris Urmson, who heads the project of autonomous driving cars at Google. “If you look at the complexity of a vehicle, then that is a miracle of engineering.”

Technology companies have to adapt to the standards of the automotive industry

Dragos Maciuca, formerly Apple engineer today technical director at the Ford Research Laboratory in Palo Alto, in Silicon Valley feel a new enthusiasm for the car industry. He also sees the reason is that the software engineers with the development in a car finally see tangible what they have earned. “When you’re working at Google or Yahoo, you can say bad” I wrote ‘This part of the program, “he explains That could be bad show his children..” In the car industry, one can say: “You see this button ? What does, because I’ve been working. ‘”

In return, however, the technology company had to adjust once the strict standards in the automotive industry. Finally, in the car everything has to work smoothly for years and under quite different conditions. And so Maciuca spends much of his time to educate software and app developers about the needs of the carmaker.

How relevant the connected car when buying a car?

• Men

  17

  My next car must here be a leader: 9 percent

  My next car may here not be lower than the average: 24 percent

  I am happy when my next car is networked, but for the purchase decision is not relevant: 33 percent

  I do not care: 33 percent

  I’m ready to go for a networked car brand: 65 percent

  Source: Statista

• Women

  My next car must here be a leader: 6 percent

  My next car is not here be worse than the average: 19 percent

  I am happy when my next car is networked, but for the purchase decision is not relevant: 35 percent

  I do not care: 40 percent

  I’m ready to go for a networked car brand: 69 percent

• Age: 16-29 years

  My next car will need to be a leader here: 14 percent

  My next car must here not be worse than the average: 26 percent

  I am happy when my next car is networked, but for the purchase decision is not relevant: 31 percent

  I do not care: 29 percent

  I’m ready to go for a networked car brand: 74 percent

• Age: 30-49 years

  17

  My next car will need a leader here be: 8 percent

  My next car must not be worse than the average here: 22 percent

  I am pleased, if my next car is networked, but for the purchase decision is not relevant: 34 percent

  I do not care: 35 percent

  I’m ready to go for a networked car brand: 69 percent

• Age: 50-69 years

  My next car will need to be a leader here: 3 percent

  My next car must here not be worse than the average: 18 percent

  I am happy when my next car is networked but is for the purchase decision the not relevant: 36 percent

  I do not care: 43 percent

  I’m ready for a networked car brand to Change: 56 percent

• Total

  “17″

  My next car must here be a leader: 8 percent

  My next car is not here worse than the average to be: 22 percent

  I am happy when my next car is networked, but for the purchase decision is not relevant: 34 percent

  I do not care: 37 percent

  I’m ready to go for a networked car brand: 67 percent

“In Silicon Valley there is a tendency to a product that is just as capable of application. You can just throw some time on the market and see if it works, “he says. “We can not do so.”

The Californian company Nvidia was first known for its chips, which were used for computer games before it went into the car industry. Today, the employees produce among other processors for the display in the Tesla vehicles and prototypes from Audi. For but only new manufacturing processes and higher certification levels had to be developed. Finally, the computer chips must function properly even at temperatures below freezing in the car, as Danny Shapiro explained, the relevant department manager at NVIDIA.

But the carmaker learned it. They had to accept that their mode of operation, after which a car rolls off the line unchanged for years until the premiere of the successor, is no longer up to date. And so now navigation and infotainment systems to be installed that can receive updates continuously and remotely.

Shapiro explained that such cost-sensitive industry have also have to learn to spend a little more for the hardware in the vehicles , He speaks of ten to 20 dollars per car. Earlier, the automaker would often simply on the least expensive option and then spent more to correct errors or exchange to weak processors.

A possible list of data out of the car

• identification data of the vehicle

  identification data of the vehicle and the hardware -. about coding in processors or chips, software licenses, computer access for updates or maintenance

• communication and log data

  communication and log data such as IP number or cell phone number.

• Transferring and verifying the driver or the owner

  identification data

  This is not just logging into the onboard computer of the car. The vehicle log into the mobile network and accesses the diverse cloud or data center applications from various manufacturers to. . Identification is possible for example via password, credit card, eye scan or fingerprint

• transmission of technical data of the car

  The onboard computer collects the data from the sensors or measuring devices in the vehicle. Enter the leasing banks or the workshops detailed information on condition, maintenance and for the individual vehicle.

• data from the digital logbook

  These are for example Movement data, which are collected via GPS and map services. The path of a vehicle leads over mountains or around the city. The applications in the data center Calculate Special risks resulting from wear and tear, theft, falling rocks …

• data on the driving behavior of the driver supplementing the profile

  9

  Where is the person currently on the road, as is the style of driving? Supplement and update the dataset with the data of the current trip.

• Data from the mobile phone

  The mobile phone is connected as an interface to the on-board computer. It provides log files to the mobile service provider, connecting data and data for data transmission and telephone calls. The records show the duration and extent of the download, call duration and location of the call.

• Data from the cloud or the data center, the automaker

  The applications collect data on the state of the leasing fleet, the value of each vehicle whose wear and calculated a look at the future. How much the vehicle is claimed by the current holder and how much of the decline in value is until the end of the lease?

• No matter whether the driver chats”> data from the digital social networks

  data from the driver assistance systems

  The vehicle continuously transmits positional data and receive data, for example on the other vehicles on a road back.

• data from Clouds of business process or office providers

  12 The provider of enterprise software have expanded their applications for mobile devices. . Motorists can access via their on-board computer or smartphone on documents, records, emails, chats and lists and transfer them in the car

• link information about the network provider

  Along the distance traveled of the mobile service provider receives the connection data to the wireless network.

• Power suppliers

  When charging identify the electric vehicles against the selected electricity supplier for billing -. For example, on the phone bill or credit card

• The eCall data

  A small amount of data that informs the rescue of a casualty at once (in 2015 probably mandatory in new cars). The data is highly sought after by automakers and insurance companies. The one who gets the record first, determines the business with repair shops and salvage.

Despite the cooperation both sides are naturally competitive and strive to provide as early as possible to find out what the competition is planning. Frankie James leads the Office of General Motors in Palo Alto. An important part of their job consists in identify trends and potential threats to their own business model early, she says. A few years ago it was about the trend of car-sharing, today James has an eye on Google and Apple: Google has a self-propelled car promised within five years and Apple has recruited a secret project people of Tesla, Ford and other car manufacturers. ‘ / p>

Always it is also about the competition in their own ranks. Telenav is currently working on a new navigation system for Toyota vehicles. But Apple and Google want to conquer with their systems, instrument panels.

Berkery of Telenav provides coming troubled times. “There will be many changes and new players will be added,” he explains. “There is no reason why the traditional operators should win.”