The BMW Group has joined the Eclipse Foundation’s Software Defined Vehicle (SDV) Working Group as a strategic member. The group aims to facilitate global collaboration on open-source software technologies for modern vehicles. BMW brings over 20 years of experience in in-house software development to the initiative.
The company has set industry benchmarks in areas such as digital vehicle access via smart devices, over-the-air upgrades, and vehicle backend structures. Modern vehicles can contain hundreds of millions of lines of software code. This number continues to grow rapidly.
Many manufacturers work with suppliers to develop their own software packages for basic functions. According to the Eclipse Foundation, the software code complexity in mainstream operating systems like Linux, Windows, and macOS is much higher than that found in vehicles from any two automakers. However, there is potential for significant overlap in the automotive industry for basic software functionality.
BMW’s involvement with the Eclipse SDV Working Group aims to harness this potential.
Bmw advances open-source vehicle tech
The goal is to promote innovation and efficiency through open-source collaboration.
“BMW has mastered software from chip to cloud and has done so for generations,” said Frank Weber, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Development. “The number of digital functions in cars is growing rapidly. All players in our industry can benefit significantly from cooperation in developing and securing software that does not differentiate from competition.
That is why we are contributing our expertise to the Eclipse SDV Working Group.”
Christian Salzmann, Vice President BMW Group Global Software Strategy and Software Factory, added, “We see open-source as an active collaboration model for software development and expect a lot from the joint activities in the Eclipse SDV Working Group.”
The Eclipse SDV Working Group has over 50 members. These include major automotive manufacturers, global cloud providers, technology leaders, electronics companies, and supply chain partners. The group supports the open-source development of automotive software.
It focuses on creating the industry’s first open-source software stacks and tools for future vehicle generations. As a strategic member, BMW Group will guide the SDV Working Group’s direction and lead multiple projects. BMW employees will also participate in SDV Hackathons and Community Days, collaborating with experts from other member companies.
Through this strategic membership, BMW Group aims to drive innovation and contribute to the development of secure, high-quality open-source software for the automotive industry.
