UK on the Road to Driverless Cars – Reflections from AESIN 2015

The annual NMI (National Microelectronics Network) AESIN (Automotive Electronic Systems Innovation Network) conference in the UK attracted a wide range of participants from hardware and software developers, manufacturers and Government organisations.

The first day of the 2-day conference focused on the opportunities as we increase the amount of electronics in our vehicles.  For example, John Russell of Keysight Technologies quoted market research predicting over 220M connected cars on the road by 2020.  However, this is just part of a wider annual £900bn global international market in intelligent mobility in the same time-frame.

Tim Yerdon of Visteon discussed how telematics in cars will create a new market for higher value services.  For example, the data created by all these connected cars will create big data analysis opportunities. However, in order to realise these markets the automotive supply chain is likely to need to change and increase collaboration especially with SMEs in order to improve both innovation and time-to-market.

The second day focused on the technical challenges that need to be addressed in order to realise that market potential.  The first point, again from Visteon, was the need for the electronics in cars to move more towards consumer devices by, for example, breaking the interdependence between hardware and software.  However, most speakers focused on the challenges of making the electronics both safe and secure.  Safety has always been a concern in automotive development but this has brought into sharper focus through the recent publication of ISO26262 standard.