TV-Interview: The Future of Driving

“What will the future car look like?”, “What are the biggest hurdles to overcome in the future?” and “How will this shape the overall industry?”, were only some of the questions answered by Georg Kopetz, co-founder and CEO of TTTech Auto, in a recent TV interview with the national public service Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF).

The interview centered around the current market situation and how European companies are part of the ongoing change by providing innovative solutions. Currently, the automotive industry is turning into a mobility and software-driven industry. Developing solutions within this transforming industry requires car manufacturers (OEMs) to be on the lookout for technological partners that deliver solutions on a global scale.

Software companies are becoming more and more important. They deliver, for example, safe and reliable operating systems that enable OEMs to move away from hardware appliances that are dedicated to performing only one function to a generic hardware platform. The industry of today has vastly broadened and semiconductor and technology companies play a vital part in this. Pure national networks like the often referred to “German auto industry” are not enough anymore – the development into a global industry is happening.

Cars are on the road to becoming “driving smartphones” that can perform sophisticated driving functions as well as functions for comfort. The data, necessary to ensure the functioning of all connected applications, must be transferred highly reliably and in real-time. 

TTTech Auto’s MotionWise guarantees their service also under high system load

Sophisticated software platforms provide a basis to create this safe, new mobility. An application failure of a car’s safety functions must not happen. They must be able to ensure real-time processing of data as well as a high degree of safety. TTTech Auto's series-proven safety software platform for automated driving, MotionWise, offers these and other benefits and enjoys an increase in demand that has led to tremendous growth for the company, especially in the course of the last two years.

“What impact will this have on the customer?” was the concluding question in the interview with an eye to the future. Georg Kopetz gave an outlook to the new era of mobility: automated driving on highways will already be possible in 2022 or 2023. However, fully automated driving will take more time. He emphasized that the role of safety is vital: “If you have to rely on a computer system as a virtual driver, you want it to be safe and secure without compromise.”

Extracts of the interview have been broadcasted in a episode of ORF’s TV show “Eco” about the future of driving on January 30.