Initiative for more collaboration on vehicle software: BMW Group strengthens the Eclipse Foundation

The BMW Group has joined the Eclipse Foundation’s Software Defined Vehicle (SDV) Working Group as a strategic member. The Eclipse SDV Working Group facilitates global collaboration on open-source software technologies for use in modern vehicles. The BMW Group brings over 20 years of experience in in-house software development to the initiative and has set industry benchmarks in many important areas, such as digital vehicle access via smart devices, over-the-air upgrades across all functional domains and powertrains, as well as vehicle backend structures.

“BMW has mastered software from chip to cloud and has done so for generations. The number of digital functions in cars is growing rapidly. All players in our industry can benefit significantly from more cooperation in developing and securing software that does not differentiate from competition. That is why we are contributing our expertise to the Eclipse SDV Working Group,” said Frank Weber, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Development.

The entire system of modern vehicles can contain hundreds of millions of lines of software code. The scope continues to grow rapidly, and many manufacturers are working with suppliers to develop their own software packages for basic functions. According to the Eclipse Foundation, mainstream operating system installations of Linux, Windows, and macOS are estimated to use much more code between each other than vehicles from any two OEMs. Even in the automotive industry, there is a great deal of potential overlap for basic software functionality.

“We see open-source as an active collaboration model for software development and expect a lot from the joint activities in the Eclipse SDV Working Group,” says Christian Salzmann, Vice President BMW Group Global Software Strategy and Software Factory. “As an active contributor in open-source projects such as ‘Zuul’, we already bring a lot of relevant experience to the table.”

“The Eclipse SDV Working Group has quickly become the ‘centre of gravity’ for open-source software development in the global automotive industry,” said Mike Milinkovich, executive director of the Eclipse Foundation. “We’re thrilled to have an innovative leader of BMW’s calibre join as a strategic member. Their contributions will play a pivotal role in driving this transformative shift in modern vehicle design.”

Strategic members of the SDV Working Group are organisations that view participation in Eclipse projects as strategic to their business and are investing significant developer and other resources to further drive Eclipse Foundation technology. As a Strategic Member of the SDV Working Group, the BMW Group has the opportunity to guide the working group’s direction and lead multiple projects. The BMW Group has been a long-standing member of the Eclipse Foundation for more than a decade and will continue to support and drive innovation within the openMDM and openPass working groups.

In addition to the new activities under the Eclipse Foundation, the BMW Group will continue to contribute to AUTOSAR (Automotive Open System Architecture). As a founding member of AUTOSAR, the BMW Group has been working with other automotive manufacturers, suppliers and companies from the electronics, semiconductor and software industries to advance standards for electrical electronics (E/E) architecture. “AUTOSAR is a success story that does a lot for the automotive industry. We see the activities in Eclipse as a supplement, not as a substitute,” adds Christian Salzmann.

What is the Eclipse SDV Working Group?
Eclipse SDV, a working group within the Eclipse Foundation, supports the open-source development of automotive software. With over 50 members, including major automotive manufacturers, global cloud providers, technology leaders, electronics companies, and supply chain partners, the initiative has garnered significant industry support. The working group’s objective is to provide a forum for developing and promoting open-source solutions for the global automotive industry. SDV projects adopt a “code first” approach, focusing on building the industry’s first open-source software stacks and associated tools for the core functions of future vehicle generations.

The SDV Working Group is designed as a vendor-neutral, member-led organisation. The working group provides a governance framework for open-source IP management and collaboration. This includes a steering committee that defines and manages the strategy and technical roadmap of the working group. A technical advisory board recommends which Eclipse Foundation open-source projects should be included within the scope of the working group.

How is the BMW Group getting involved?
The relevant specialist departments from the BMW Group’s development division, in particular from the Software Factory, will be directly and actively involved in the various projects of the Eclipse SDV Working Group. The aim will be to develop software for series projects together with the partner network. BMW Group employees will also take part in the SDV Hackathons and Community Days and work closely with experts from other member companies.