Towards common software standards in European cars

 
 
Each year, the ITEA Achievement Award highlights a highly successful project in the field of embedded and distributed software. In 2004, the winner is the EAST-EEA (Electronics Architecture and Software Technology – Embedded Electronic Architecture) project.

With 80% of a car's functions operated by software-driven ‘smart' devices and more on the way, this timely project brings together 23 partners (industrialists, suppliers and researchers) – from four European countries to design a common software architecture and language. The project has a volume of 250 man-years, a budget of €40 million, and is an outstanding example of public-private financing. A ‘spin-off' private partnership, AUTOSAR, will act as a certification body for the technology developed, which will be applied to all European cars manufactured from 2009 onwards.