A DevOps platform is a development interface that combines development and operations to provide software developers with a common toolset to code, deploy and test software and analyze data.
Before DevOps principles were adopted, developers would write an application in isolation and then deliver it to the operations group for deployment. DevOps platforms are particularly important in the automotive industry, where OEMs need multiple software-based systems to work together seamlessly. DevOps platforms help enable the over-the-air connectivity capabilities needed to perform continuous integration and continuous deployment, as well as continuous testing.
There are many benefits to using a DevOps platform, including better performance monitoring, easier troubleshooting, continuous certification, higher customer satisfaction and improved compliance with regulatory requirements. A DevOps platform makes it easier for teams to collaboratively plan, develop, build, secure and deploy software while lowering costs by reducing the number of engineering tools that developers must buy, integrate and maintain.
The mobility industry’s transition to software-defined vehicles requires a purpose-built DevOps platform to speed up software development, streamline deployment and enable complete lifecycle management.
Improving safety and performance
The transition to electric vehicles and the rising demand for autonomous driving capabilities puts pressure on the entire mobility value chain to adopt the fastest, most efficient and most cost-effective methods for developing and deploying new features.
But developing new applications in the automotive industry requires extensive testing to ensure adherence to stringent safety and performance standards, such as those outlined by the ISO 26262 automotive functional safety standard and the ASPICE (Automotive Software Process Improvement Capability dEtermination) industry standard guideline for evaluating software development processes. Achieving ASPICE compliance requires full traceability: Developers must be able to link each written line of code to the requirements provided by the OEM and conduct testing to verify that the software meets the requirements. It is ordinarily a very time-intensive process, but a DevOps platform can save developers time by automating major portions of the traceability and testing procedures.
Simulation tools that mimic real-world driving conditions — particularly rare or challenging corner cases — improve safety performance and reduce the costs of validating vehicle safety. There are several types of simulation tools, including software-in-the-loop, hardware-in-the-loop and vehicle-in-the-loop. One method of software-in-the-loop testing employs virtual electronic control units (vECUs), which allows engineers to test portions of their code on standard desktop computers instead of relying on physical ECUs. By building software-based test environments, developers can conduct tests cost-effectively and quickly, using data that is received in mere minutes. An end-to-end DevOps platform can seamlessly integrate these testing tools and improve collaboration between OEMs and suppliers.
Enabling full lifecycle management
In 2022, Aptiv acquired Wind River, a global leader in delivering software for mission-critical intelligent systems, allowing us to take advantage of their proven solutions which are ideally suited to support next-generation vehicle architectures through software abstraction and a cloud-native approach that modernizes software development, deployment and operation over the life cycle of the vehicle. We are integrating our Smart Vehicle Architecture™ technologies with Wind River Studio which will help OEMs create value for consumers across the lifecycle of the software-defined vehicle.