With the evolution in technology, we have seen a drastic shift from entirely mechanical vehicles to electromechanical integration in almost all segments of vehicles. All the advanced electronics involved in Vehicle Technology are controlled by Electronic Control Units (ECUs) which run on software to regulate various functions. Qualcomm is one of the biggest multinational companies with breakthrough technologies and manufactures silicon chips for all kinds of electronics, be it smartphones, laptops, televisions, automotive ECUs and many more. Here is what Qualcomm had to say about chip shortage and closed software with a warning upfront to all the automakers across the world.
The silicon chips used in automobiles are much more inferior when compared to the ones used in our regular smartphones, laptops and other smart devices. As per some reports, the level of advancement of a silicon chip used in automobiles is a decade behind compared to the ones used in modern electronics. Silicon chip manufacturers continued to develop these chips without any issues because automobiles were a major market. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the supply chain of these less advanced chips due to fewer orders from automakers, but the latest ones continued to be manufactured for other purposes. Therefore, when the demand for automobile level silicon chips rose back, they were placed as a backorder due to low order quantities. This is what has led to the silicon chip shortage in the world!
As per Qualcomm, every automobile manufacturer is focussing on developing proprietary software for the smallest of all purposes. This has made it difficult for chip manufacturers to focus on hardware and software integration at its fullest with a high level of customisations on each order. In the case of consumer electronics, an enterprise focuses on sourcing and assembling universal hardware and integrating it with standard software to optimise processing costs. The personalisation is performed on the front end of the product. This is entirely the opposite in automobiles, and this has made it challenging to keep up with development times.
India, a country that receives innovation at a much later level and is a highly consumer intensive market, lacks innovation in terms of the automotive world. The silicon chip shortage has affected the country to such an extent that the vehicles in high demand have long waiting periods, are being developed without infotainment systems or even missing out on electronic-based features! Qualcomm strictly advises automakers to avoid developing their own proprietary operating systems; else, it might be a dead-end for affordability and innovation offered by automotive enterprises.
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