SysML roadmap tools for European car makers
The German automotive industry has developed a prototype roadmap of open source tools and technologies to speed up vehicle development.
The €16m, six year GENIAL project brought together key players in the ecosystem to develop concepts and methods to help car makers and their component suppliers work together more effectively. The roadmap uses the SysML modelling language that is machine readable with open source database and requirements tools.
There has been increasing tension between the OEM brands and their tier one and tier two suppliers, and this is only getting worse with the drive to cut development times and costs while adding more complexity with software defined vehicles and electric vehicles with more efficient power distribution and data management across the vehicle, reshaping the way vehicle electronics and systems are developed.
The OEMs all have different roadmap requirements, which is different again from the tools used by the tier one and tier two suppliers.
So the GENIAL project used the Systems Modeling Language (SysML) as a modeling language to develop a framework for identifying future market needs, use cases, system models and technical requirements for automotive electronics, starting with the requirements of future vehicles and reaching across the entire value chain.
The main lesson learned was that the roadmap process can never be a static process. The project faced disruption in the automotive industry, pandemic, disrupted supply chains, natural disasters due to climate change and geopolitical crisis. This means any assumptions have to be constantly evaluated regarding their actual validity. New assumptions might have to be integrated. This requires a seamless roadmap flow from the scenarios to the electronic components.
Contributors included car makers Audi, with technology companies Microchip Technologies, Renesas Electronics, GlobalFoundries, Siemens EDA and Dream Chip Technologies.
The GENIAL automotive roadmap
The project used SysML v2 with a database called AGILA and a tool called Interactive Roadmapping of Innovative Systems (IRIS) which were both developed within the project. AGILA serves as a centralized database for capturing the essential information and providing documentation, consistency checks, and version control.
The IRIS tool enables collaborative modelling, exploration, planning, and evaluation of solution alternatives. It also supports non-technical information, allowing considerations such as security of supply, and enables visualizations for the roadmap.
To encourage widespread adoption, the project participants will release tools such as AGILA and IRIS as open-source solutions, making them accessible for anyone interested in creating and maintaining roadmaps.
An (Innovation Modelling Grid (IMoG) defines activities, roles, and process models for the collaborative creation of roadmaps. This spans from the initial comparison of models in the problem and solution space to the practical application of the AGILA and IRIS tools.
Documentation of the methodology, along with several training videos, is available for free download.
The project was coordinated by Infineon Technologies and funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) with the German Aerospace Centre, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, edacentrum, Hella, Prozesswerk – a brand of the umlaut group, Rhineland-Palatinate Technical University Kaiserslautern-Landau, Robert Bosch, UNITY and Ulm University.
The Prototype of a Microelectronic Automotive Roadmap is available for a free download at https://www.edacentrum.de/genial/en/system/files/page/2024_genial_a-prototype-of-a-microelectronic-automotive-roadmap.pdf
If you enjoyed this article, you will like the following ones: don't miss them by subscribing to :
