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The increasing number of electronic control units in automotive systems is resulting in the need to better manage and balance the requirements of the significant amount of software development required as a result of the growing use of electronics hardware. Speaking to Technology Leaders TV, the online channel for industry leaders to air their comments on technologies and markets, Bengt Bank, vice president of Volvo with responsibility for all electrical systems, and Hans Alminger, senior manager for Volvo in Munich, said that the automotive industry needs capacity for handling all the software requirements.
The executives were talking to Technology Leaders TV at the automotive conference on day one of electronica 2008 in Munich, Germany. They said that automotive manufacturers are looking for the electronics industry to provide the right tools to help them manage the different time schedules required for electronics hardware and software development. At the session, their topic of architecture solution versus company business eco-system went to the heart of interfacing with the outside world of suppliers, and of the different approaches to software and hardware across a joint project involving Volvo, their owners, Ford, and the now Tata owned Land Rover.
Asked whether there are far too many electronic control units in cars, Bengt Bank commented, “You need some kind of capacity for handling software – and that is the key, because we are talking about four different generations of architecture. The fourth generation is what we are entering right now and we will see the launch of products in years to come where you see the car as one computing entity - where you really can share electronic control modules, and place the software where you have the spare capacity.”
The full interview can be viewed on Technology Leaders TV’s electronic 2008 channel. The online channel will be covering electronica 2008, which is the world’s largest professional electronics trade fair. This is an event which has seen attendance grow over the past 10 years, since the move to Munich’s new trade fair centre, the Neue Messe.
To view the full interview with Bengt Bank, vice president of Volvo and Hans Alminger, senior manager for Volvo in Munich, visit the automotive channel on Technology Leaders TV website.
Technology Leaders TV is the online channel that allows viewers to meet business and technology leaders from the electronics, communications and technology industries, providing timely interviews with executives giving their opinions and comments on the industry. Based around both trade show channels as well industry sector channels, viewers can go directly to a trade show or to the industry sector that most interests them. Since its launch in September 2008, the site videos are being seen by several thousand viewers per month. Technology Leaders TV works closely with trade show organisers but retains its editorial independence to ensure that viewers are able to obtain real value from watching the channels on the site. The site features video interviews, discussions and regular blogs.
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