Software-Defined Vehicles · The OEM–Supplier Interface

Hardware is the hard part
of software-defined vehicles.

Software-defined still has to be hardware-delivered. We help automakers own the system, source the right requirements, and get the hardware they need from their suppliers.

Presented at the DVN US Lighting Workshop: ”The Shifting OEM-Supplier Interface: Rebirth of Systems Engineering.”

Everyone says

“Software-Defined Vehicle.”

The term is misleading.

What customers actually buy

Software-delivered value.

“Fix my problem now. No dealer trip. No recall.” Software is just the mechanism.

The Shift

To deliver value in software, control has to move to the center.

Today, control is scattered across the components: every part its own brain and its own IP. Value can’t ship until that control is pulled to the center. Centralize it, and the component goes “dumb”: a clean actuator the OEM finally owns.

DISTRIBUTED control in every component

every part its own brain & IP

CENTRALIZED control the OEM owns

CENTRAL CONTROLLER
SWSWSWSWSWSW

dumb edge nodes: actuators & sensors

When control lives in the components, every change is a hardware change. Centralize it, and value ships in software.

The Catch

Pull the software out, and someone still has to specify the hardware.

The component is “dumb” now, but it was never as dumb as the org chart assumed. The OEM must write requirements onto that hardware. And some faults simply cannot wait for software.

100 µs

fault-tolerant time interval

A hard fault (say, an external-load short) has to be cleared within 100 µs. A central-software path takes 50–500 ms. Even a local OS or scheduler task is 5–10 ms. Both miss the deadline.

The only path that makes it is dedicated hardware: ~40 µs. And you can’t ship hardware over the air. Get the requirement wrong and the fix is a recall or a swap, not an update.

Software-defined still has to be hardware-delivered. Hard faults don’t wait for software.

Central software 50–500 ms · NO-GO
Local task 5–10 ms · NO-GO
Hardware path 40 µs · GO
DEADLINE

The Approach

From buying components to sourcing requirements.

The whole journey: read down the left, turn at the fault you can’t design away, and climb the right. The destination, software-delivered value, is earned through systems engineering, not bought as a component.

Hardware-delivered valuevalue frozen in the part
Software-delivered valuefeatures over the air
Component sourcingspec → bid → award
Requirement sourcingsell the requirement, not the part
Component engineeringparts tested out of context
System engineeringtest the subsystem
Iterate in designone vehicle model at a time (maybe two)
Iterate in testscales to many vehicle models

What Fusaware Does

We make sure you get the hardware you actually need.

Nobody gets it right up front. We translate system intent into requirements suppliers can build and test against, so problems surface in testing, not in production, and get fixed fast.

01

Own the system

Define the system and its subsystems, allocate requirements deliberately, and own the architecture instead of assuming the vehicle was specified for you.

02

Source requirements, not parts

Translate “what the value needs” into hardware requirements suppliers can quote and build, so you buy a requirement met, not a component hoped-for.

03

Get allocation right up front

Decide what belongs in software, in the module, and on the silicon before tooling. Reallocation is a release valve, not a redo button.

04

Bring silicon to the table early

The deepest IP is on the die. We help you engage chip suppliers as design partners and co-design the smart silicon early, not after the fault.

The Asks

Two moves that change everything.

For OEMs

Stop buying components.
Start defining systems.

Own the system. Define and allocate deliberately. Iterate in testing and scale to many programs, not two.

For Suppliers

Don’t just sell the part.
Sell the requirement.

Expose the interface, co-own the subsystem boundary, productize your know-how. Chip suppliers: engage as design partners early.

Let’s talk

Transitioning to an SDV?
Let’s make the hardware the easy part.

Tell us where you are on the V (value, sourcing, allocation, or test) and we’ll show you where Fusaware fits.