Currently, we are experiencing significant advancements in the field of in-vehicle infotainment technology. Who would have thought about a Wi-Fi connection or watching YouTube on the go at least a decade ago? Now, people are increasingly interested in the combination of information and entertainment, leading to a demand for innovative vehicles that are connected to online and streaming services. However, there is not only high demand for infotainment but also frustration of users with the innovative infotainment systems in their cars.
Why is there both excitement and confusion about infotainment systems? Are the trends and risks crucial for the German auto industry and infotainment technology? Sencury decided to shed some light on the matter. Read more to be aware of the latest industry challenges.
What is Infotainment?
Infotainment is instant access to communication and information applications located in your vehicle. These apps usually include entertainment, information, communication, leisure, lifestyle, fashion, connectivity, and gaming activities.
Two years ago, the size of the global automotive infotainment market reached around $41.12 billion. If the tendency is to stay, it is projected that the market size will increase at a CAGR of 9.44% between 2022 and 2027. Finally, it will reach $70.22 billion in 2027.
In 2021, the European Automotive Infotainment market was valued at $5,347.35 million. Today, it is projected to grow to $7,668.59 million, at a CAGR of 6.07%.
Therefore, the trend is growing. New infotainment apps are being introduced. However, everything new in the industry has potential risks. What are these risks and how to avoid them?
German In-car Infotainment System Development
The automotive industry is one of the key industries to support the German economy. In-car infotainment systems are developed as part of long-term projects that last several years. The financial status of such projects is usually very good. This guarantees the sufficient quality of the product developed.
Potentially, long-term development minimizes risks based on old technology in use. Yet, the biggest flaw is that German automobile manufacturers still use outdated software technology stacks. Moreover, if the project is long-term and large-scale, the time required for its completion corresponds to the time the global technological landscape might change drastically.
Risks
The result of large ongoing projects with outdated technology use is the loss of agility. The situation is rather negative in this context. As the technologies are intentionally based on embedded systems. Here, embedded software is computer-based software for the particular hardware that it runs on. It has time and memory constraints. Whilst the real trend is something else. It requires agility.
Even the software on the chip cards of our credit cards is now based on JavaCard. Previously, it was based on native apps (C/C++). A car's infotainment hardware is much more powerful than that of a credit card and shouldn’t use outdated software.
Therefore, the industry has a disparity between modern technology and legacy software systems. This nonconformity starts from the search for high-performance and real-time computing for firmware development. The situation also occurred in the mobile industry, which in recent years has witnessed competition between Android, iOS, Symbian (based on C/C++, the most powerful among competitors, but is no longer available), and Windows Phone (is no longer available).
The First In-Car Infotainment Systems Are Here
The technology giants have already successfully produced their first systems on the market. To go with the trend of agility and keep up with the tech changes, some large German and Scandinavian car manufacturers announced that they are moving towards Android Automotive as a common platform. However, this move raises a note of controversy. It does not really matter how companies will deal with market changes in the future as there always will be successful companies and those that are not up to the challenge.
German automobile manufacturers miss a couple of things to optimally implement infotainment technologies. Automakers lack the flexibility to get through the phase, in which a dominant technology has not yet established itself, without falling behind in their model release cycles. Long-term and high-risk large-scale projects do not match the R&D agility that companies need in order not to miss the trend.
Skilled Workers to be Replaced?
The focus on greater agility has consequences for specialists of giant manufacturing companies. Large internal development teams with C/C++ knowledge as part of the re-alignment trend will become unnecessary up to inevitable replacement. Mainly, it happens due to the hard truth that the companies using C/C++ will lose in the infotainment development game.
This tendency presupposes hundreds of C/C++ engineers at all German automobile manufacturer companies as well as in their tier 1s (auto parts hardware and software manufacturers) will have to be replaced by new experts. So, we should also be prepared for an immense change in the job market. In order to counteract this, at least some preparation must take place within the company. For example, coordination of the feasible specialization of existing employees must be planned.
Management of Personnel
To deal with the complex situation occurring in this transition phase, external service providers for companies are becoming the key players. In situations where there is an imminent dominance of an undetermined technological stack, an external software engineering service provider is crucial. This provider is able to offer one-time projects, proof-of-concept (PoCs), and rapid engineering ramp-up or shutdown. So, external teams become risk-free for the German automotive OEMs. Service providers also enable companies to carry out R&D and PoCs without changing the permanent personnel structure. At least until a clearly applicable technology is available.
Future Technologies/Programming Languages to be Adapted
Programming languages and technologies that can be used for the automotive industry in the future are C/C++ (with optional CUDA), Qt, Android, Java, and JavaScript technologies. Therefore, external software providers that offer different technological competencies are best suited when there is a challenge of personnel changes because they offer the opportunity to test PoC even during a technological trend that is still unclear.
Sencury on Infotainment Trends and Risks
To ensure your automotive company is ahead of your competitors, choose a proficient external software development service provider. Sencury’s managed team has great experience in the automotive industry and possesses all the latest competencies in the ever-changing tech stack. The first natural step here is technology consulting.
We can adapt to the market conditions and still carry out all your requirements. Our experts have a keen business focus with certain agility. Sencury can save you from spending extra budget costs and losing valuable time and avoid different problems due to perfect flexibility and technical skills.
Write to us today to become the top automotive manufacturer tomorrow! Become a leader with the best infotainment system.
