Defining the SDV

The term Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) has become a central concept in automotive transformation, yet its definition remains controversial and fluid. Over the past decade, industry consortia and alliances have worked to implement SDV principles, navigating a landscape of complex software stacks, heterogeneous operating systems, and stringent safety and security requirements. Unlike other industries that have transitioned more smoothly to software-defined paradigms, the automotive sector faces unique challenges—ranging from real-time constraints, functional safety and cybersecurity regulations, and long development and validation cycles to heterogeneous and legacy hardware, limited compute and power budgets, and the need for cost-effective scalability across diverse vehicle models and tiers. This talk explores the evolving meaning of SDV and outlines the path forward—highlighting emerging enablers such as cooperative driving, cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X), and cloud-native vehicle (CNV) architectures. These advancements point toward a future where vehicles act as dynamic, connected computing platforms within a broader mobility ecosystem.

This session is part of our “Automotive Technologies Virtual Conference”. Registration/event page here.