On the other hand, we see how the issue of climate change is taken more seriously. This sense of urgency is pushing innovations in electric mobility, which are reliant on software and can reduce the use of fossil fuels.

Lastly, we will see an increase in the importance of software for mobility systems. We will see a shift in how we perceive cars. Two examples of such disruptive processes are autonomous vehicles and car-sharing systems. It's easy to recognize how the way we use cars will fundamentally change. In the future, cars will become a platform for consumer services.  

At the moment, this is creating a lot of problems for traditional mobility companies. Traditional automakers don't have much experience with software development, as they are hardware manufacturing businesses with a static structure and a predefined workflow.

Manufacturers and suppliers are struggling to streamline software development processes in mobility applications, where software is getting increasingly complex.

Apex.AI?

A company, which is active in this field, is Apex.AI. Founded in 2017, they deliver safe and reliable software for the mobility sector, such as electric, connected, and autonomous vehicles. By being agile and preserving a start-up mentality, Apex.AI can remain flexible and adjust to changing conditions. In addition, Apex.AI works with an open-source framework for robotics, which is robust, safe, reliable, and certified to the highest level of automotive safety.

Apex.OS, what is it, and what can it do?

Apex.OS is an operating system for mobility, smart machines, and IoT products and provides an easy-to-use software development kit (SDK) that can be used for advanced automotive software development. The product acts as a meta-operating system, allowing complex applications to be developed safely and in a fraction of the time compared to traditional approaches. It comes with an extensive library of pre-built SDKs and tools that are ready to use in order to develop, debug and test applications. The operating system has a beneficial effect when put into use. It enables a seamless transition from the prototype to the implementation phase of the software during automotive production, saving customers valuable time and resources.

The smartphone-analogy

It makes sense to look at the smartphone, as a metaphor for the transformative potential of Apex.OS. Smartphones are fundamentally different from the flip phones that were prevalent in the early 2000s. What they have in common is the fact that they both consist of hardware and run on an operating system. The significant game-changer was the development of SDKs for smartphones. These kits enabled millions of application developers, at virtually any skill level, to create apps that could run on smartphones.

Applying this structure to a vehicle allows us to understand the full scope of what Apex.OS can enable. The transition from primarily hardware-defined vehicles to software-defined vehicles will require a truly end-to-end integrated operating system throughout the vehicle to develop mobility applications safely, reliably, and efficiently.

The goal for Apex.AI is to be the equivalent of what Android is for the mobile sector: the predominant operating system.

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