His employer is a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group and is responsible for all the computers, sensors and interfaces that work in the cars of today and tomorrow. In the heart of Bochum, 700 employees from 40 nations are currently working to make the next generations of Volkswagen cars smarter and safer.
Stefan Döring and his growing team ensure that cars can communicate with the outside world. "Our area of responsibility includes mobile communications, Ethernet, positioning and e-call," Stefan says, listing a few points. In this way, he is already providing a lot of comfort today. Who would want to do without being able to tell their car their next destination from the comfort of their sofa or to alert the emergency services in the event of an accident by pressing a button under the rear-view mirror? "And a part of my team is already working on the next generation of vehicles," the Software Developer says. The topics of the future also include Car2X, i.e. communication between the vehicles and the infrastructure. Volkswagen Infotainment is working on this, with Stefan's team taking care of the vehicle's position data and the Ethernet connection to transfer the data from the Online Connectivity Unit to the Car2X module, among other things.
Volkswagen Infotainment improves the communication between the cars
In the near future, vehicles will not only communicate with their owners, but also with each other. "For example, the car will support our ears and eyes," Stefan says, giving an initial preview: in sometimes confusing city traffic, a driver can sometimes overlook or overhear an approaching emergency vehicle if, for example, the music is too loud. This is where Car2X will help, i.e. the communication between the car and its surroundings: if a vehicle registers an ambulance, it will be able to transmit this information to all cars, even if the ambulance is not yet in sight or perhaps hiding behind a block of houses. The driver then receives the appropriate information and can react more quickly.
Stefan Döring: "We prevent accidents".
But Volkswagen Infotainment is also working to ensure that emergency vehicles have to rush to the scene of an accident less often. "There are simply too many rear-end collisions that can be prevented with Car2X communication," Stefan Döring says. If the car brakes independently because the vehicle in front comes to an abrupt stop, the car simply does not need the classic reaction second to step on the brakes. "We may not be able to prevent all accidents with this, but we can certainly prevent many.
But the vehicles will not only communicate with each other, but also with the infrastructure. "Car2X can communicate with the traffic lights at an intersection," he says. So people will no longer have to rely on their eyes, ears and experience when a car comes from the side: is the driver stopping? Does he see the red light or the stop sign. "Car2X connects in milliseconds the information about traffic lights, speed and more and can help slow down all cars."
And the sensor technology in cars goes even further. "If a car in front of me on the motorway detects that it is getting slippery because of black ice, for example, it can inform the vehicles behind and the drivers can adjust their driving style."
Car2X communication prevents accidents and ensures smoother traffic
Even if the main task of Car2X is not traffic control, it will also have a positive influence on tomorrow's mobility, says Stefan Döring. As soon as enough vehicles are networked via the technology, we will be better able to swim along in the flow of traffic.
On the motorway, for example: Car2X can send warnings about the tail end of a traffic jam behind a hilltop to following vehicles. "With this, technology can prevent rear-end collisions that then lead to traffic jams," he says.
In urban traffic, for example: the car continuously sends traffic data about the flow of traffic, and, in the future, traffic light control systems, for example, can benefit from this information. "Car2X makes it possible to communicate with traffic lights in order to optimise the speed and the traffic light control in such a way that a flexible green wave becomes possible. Instead of rigid "green wave at speed 50", cars and drivers can adjust their driving style so that red lights on traffic rings become less frequent.
See the car of tomorrow today: working at Volkswagen Infotainment
Stefan Döring has experienced a change: "For younger people in particular, it's often no longer the horsepower figure that decides about the purchase of a car, but the software features that the new car offers." To this end, the Software Team Leader and the other 700 employees go to work every morning at Volkswagen Infotainment to provide these reasons to buy. "We're helping to shape a very important part of the future here, and for me, that's what makes my employer so appealing." The Volkswagen Group is setting the right focus for this, Stefan Döring thinks. "There will be no more cars without online connectivity, the future belongs to the Connected Car."
Volkswagen is clearly focusing on its own software and software solutions. "The Bochum site is a very important part of this, and it is becoming better and better positioned. The new building we are currently constructing is just the initial statement." That's why he is convinced that the job at Volkswagen Infotainment will remain exciting, interesting and also challenging.
Engineers solve today's problems...
These are the challenges that Stefan Döring already expects every day. "Actually, no day is like the other," he says. He comes into the office in the morning and there is another problem on the table that the testing department has found. "We then bring the right people together to analyse the problem and find a solution." To do this, Volkswagen Infotainment is constantly looking for talents and specialists, who would like to join the table to solve the problem.
...and face the challenges of tomorrow
But problem solving is only a small part of everyday life. "We are developing new solutions and functions for the Connected Car," says Stefan Döring. Specifically, his team is working on the Automotive Cloud and the Volkswagen software platform "VW.OS", for example, which will be available in all new cars in the future.
Compared to Car2X, which optimises the mobility of several vehicles, Volkswagen Infotainment, with the Cloud and VW.OS, additionally increases the comfort of the users: "The cloud solution enables us to continuously provide a vehicle with updates," the Software Developer explains. For example, Volkswagen customers can access new features without having to visit the workshop, and problems in the vehicle software can also be solved more flexibly and spontaneously. "This path is inevitable and we are helping to shape it," he says. Because the growing technology in the vehicle also makes the software solutions more complex - which is why it is important for Stefan to keep this software up to date. And in such a way that the owner notices as little as possible. This is possible via the cloud, which his team is helping to develop.
This is what applicants for the Software Department need to bring with them
Stefan Döring cannot describe the prototypical new employee. "The tasks at Volkswagen Infotainment are far too varied for that and the subject areas are already very different." A look at the current job advertisements helps to decide on the right team. "But technical qualifications are only half the story," Stefan says, who conducted over 100 job interviews last year. The ability to work in a team is just as important as flexibility. "We are also developing the software of the future, which is why my colleagues are allowed to familiarise themselves with comparatively new topics on a regular basis," Stefan Döring says. His team therefore includes colleagues, who are already working on completely new solutions.
By the way, driving a car is not a requirement for employment. "I even have colleagues, who come to work by underground and bicycle. We really have a broad base," the Software Team Leader laughs. Interest in the automotive sector is naturally a topic in the job interview. "We don't just develop any software here, but solutions for the car of the future," he says. People who enjoy cars are more motivated. "Only those, who enjoy their work, will perform well in the end," the expert says. Whether the new colleague owns a car or prefers a bicycle is ultimately irrelevant.