MVP E³ 2.0: Our role in CARIAD-milestone
At the beginning of December, a joyful murmur went through our houses. CARIAD announced: MVP E³ 2.0 completed. Due to our decisive participation in the development, this is also a great success for VWIF. For the future of software competence in the Volkswagen Group, a major milestone has been reached!
Over-The-Air-Updates
The MVP (Minimum Viable Product) represents the first real, functional network of the E³ 2.0 architecture and consists of several evaluation boards with VW.OS, body functions and a connection to automotive cloud VW.AC. As such, it is a true representation of the capabilities of the in-house E³ 2.0 software platform and enables the development of additional vehicle functions.
By 2030, 40 million new cars every year will run on the operating system VW.OS. They will always be connected to the VW.AC automotive cloud, so that customers can receive improvements and new functions in their cars all over the world. The development of MVP E³ 2.0 makes this possible because of increased direct updates. In doing so, updates includes de whole VW.OS-stack and not just singular applications. Over-The-Air updates play a key role in the process. Furthermore, the MVP can be issued new model states of the actual units successively.
Representing VWIF's involvement in this project, we talked to Ralf Gester (G-TE, Solution Manager E³ 2.0 HW/SW Solution Train) and Dirk Schneider (G-TE/E, Business Owner E³ 2.0 HW/SW Solution Train). They told us how they perceived the project, the work, the exchange with CARIAD and the achievement of this success:
"The MVP is quite significant for CARIAD, the Volkswagen Group and for us. It should create the security that the group will be able to develop its own software and hardware architectures in the future. Volkswagen’s software subsidiary CARIAD unites these competences within the group, with our contribution," Ralf explains at the start of our conversation. It is obvious that VWIF, with its architecture, software- and hardware-expertise, holds a significant position in this respect.
In-house development as a game changer
In the development of the MVP, VWIF has made a decisive contribution in many areas. Many central control units that interact in this regard have been developed with and by us. "With our expertise, we made the system's communication links executable; we managed to establish the functionalities between the respective control units so that commands are successfully received and forwarded," Dirk reports proudly.
The fact that the content and architectures could be developed in-house is a game-changer - especially for the Group, because MVP development is the basis for the car and mobility of the future. This is another step towards independent development and software expertise. Ralf emphasizes this: "The MVP milestone was the first step in demonstrating that the system's working chains work.”
However, this is already very significant with this status, as the completion of an initial platform could be realized well before implementation in the vehicles that are to run with the E³ 2.0 architecture in the future. With the MVP presented, it is now possible to work on the functional development of the software and hardware platforms at a very early stage, so that opportunities for improvement can be identified and errors corrected before the first vehicle prototypes are built. This makes it possible to build the car around the software at a later stage.
"Of course, the development was technically challenging at times and it remains a continued engineering process, where what has been presented is of course not yet the final product, but a prototype on the way to the larger goal of developing software internally ourselves," Dirk describes the developments of the work.
Team work with a capital T
In total, around 60 colleagues from VWIF were involved: from the areas of software, architecture, electronics, mechanics and supplier management, among others. "The collaboration within the CARIAD-group was very good. We worked very closely with our colleagues at the various locations and we were shown special appreciation, which we can return in equal measure," says Dirk, summing up the cooperation. "And after the milestone was completed, the joy was naturally huge. The presentation under the leadership of CARIAD at the beginning of December was outstanding. The whole E³ 2.0 structure is already a significantly big deal. But it has to be in order for the whole thing to work. And we are very proud of it," Ralf concludes.