CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive

April 2007

Company News

PROSTEP Joins AUTOSAR Initiative

Over the past few years, the Darmstadt-headquartered PROSTEP Group has continued to expand the range of solutions and services it offers for integrating data and processes in automotive electrics and electronics (E/E) development. PROSTEP IMP GmbH, an autonomous subsidiary within the PROSTEP Group, focuses on exactly this area. To provide automotive OEMs and their suppliers with support for the implementation of AUTOSAR (AUTomotive Open System ARchitecture), an open and standardized automotive software architecture which is gradually taking shape, the Darmstadt integration expert recently became a partner in the AUTOSAR initiative. AUTOSAR was founded in 2002 by leading OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers with the aim of developing an open standard for automotive E/E architecture that will facilitate the uniform management and reuse of software functions.

"The integration of electronic design, software programming and full vehicle development poses an enormous challenge for OEMs and their system suppliers. The first order of the day is to standardize the E/E architectures of the vehicles to a greater degree. AUTOSAR is the largest and most active initiative in this field and is well on its way to completely changing E/E development in the automotive industry and the way in which OEMs and suppliers will work together in the future", commented Dr. Bernd Pätzold, Chief Executive Officer of PROSTEP AG, with regard to the Group joining AUTOSAR.

PROSTEP expects this new partnership to provide new impetus for growth of its integration business in the area of E/E, especially with view to collaboration between OEMs and suppliers or among the different OEMs and different suppliers. Although AUTOSAR is creating a standard E/E architecture, it does not define any reference processes or methods for its implementation across corporate borders. This is where PROSTEP steps in by providing support in the form of consultancy services for processes, methods and tools, as well as the company's own integration solutions.

One of the challenges inherent to this undertaking is the integration of the new engineering data resulting from the implementation of the AUTOSAR concept with existing vehicle data and data management solutions.

PROSTEP also helps OEMs and suppliers create function-oriented development processes that facilitate improved integration of E/E, software and mechanical development.

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