Held on December 12, 2025
Ansgar Lindwedel (left), Director of Ecosystem Development for Software-Defined Vehicles at the Eclipse Foundation, and Christian Mecker, President and CEO of Bosch Corporation (right)
On December 12, Bosch held an “SDV Study Session” for members of the press, inviting representatives from Eclipse SDV, an organization that manages open source software-related projects, to explain various initiatives and the latest information aimed at realizing SDV (Software-Defined Vehicles), for which collaboration across industry boundaries is key.
At the study session, three people took to the stage to give presentations: Christian Mecker, President and CEO of Bosch; Yasuhiro Morita, who is in charge of SDV technology at the Bosch Mobility Technology Headquarters for East and Southeast Asia; and Ansgar Lindwedel, Director of Ecosystem Development for Software-Defined Vehicles at the Eclipse Foundation.
The “SDV Study Group” hosted by Bosch
“Connected,” “centralized architecture,” and “SDV” are important for the spread of new technologies
Christian Mecker, President and CEO of Bosch Corporation
First up was President Mecker, who pointed out that the time span between the creation of new technology and its release on the market is getting shorter every year, and that while various types of vehicle electrification are being developed, from pure BEVs (battery electric vehicles) to PHEVs (plug-in hybrid vehicles), the overall ultimate goal is to reduce CO2 emissions. He also mentioned that autonomous driving is also a trend, and various technologies are being used to evolve the automation level from 1 to 5, and efforts are continuing to meet user needs.
User experience is also an important factor, and by connecting passengers to the vehicle through data utilization, the interior of the vehicle will become a place where passengers can spend time like their living room at home. Each of these technologies will be put into practical use individually, and in the future, it will be necessary to expand them horizontally. To achieve this, three points will be important: “Connected” to constantly update the vehicle, “Centralized Architecture” to centrally manage the data obtained through Connected, and “SDV” to reflect updates in the vehicle, which was the theme of this study session.
He said that the idea that standard specifications are needed to serve as a basis for data when creating data such as updates at many automakers around the world is an issue in the automotive industry.He explained that while standard specifications exist, the technology developed by each automaker is embedded with the company’s own DNA and installed in vehicles, and that 70% of the software used becomes standardized.Bosch believes that making standard specifications shareable within the community will lead to cost reductions and improved quality, and is actively working to develop shareable standard specifications.
“Connected,” “centralized architecture,” and “SDV” will be important for horizontal deployment of practical technologies
Call for collaborative OS development using “open core”
Yasuhiro Morita, SDV Technology Officer, Technology Management Division, Bosch Mobility East and Southeast Asia, Bosch Corporation
Next on stage, Mr. Morita gave a presentation on what software development should look like to realize SDV.
In existing automobile development, hardware and software are closely related, with the hardware that is created first being controlled by the software, but with SDVs, the separation of hardware and software is important, and in addition to the hardware evolving with new technologies, application software will also continue to evolve, improving vehicle functions.
To achieve separation, an OS (operating system) is needed to mediate between hardware and software, and currently each automaker is focusing on developing its own OS, but Morita points out that the demand for sophistication has led to increasing complexity, and at the same time, the number of software codes has exploded, leading to fragmentation of technology.From the perspective of Bosch, a Tier 1 manufacturer, if this situation continues, when one company wants to provide technology developed to suit its environment to another company, new development procedures will be required to accommodate different OS specifications, leading to increased costs.
In order to eliminate such losses and improve efficiency across the industry, efforts have begun to develop standard operating systems and other specifications, and the entire group, including Bosch and its affiliated company ETAS, is working on this.
To achieve SDV, hardware and software must be separated and an OS must be created to mediate between them.
Bosch has proposed a method of consolidating multiple implementation efforts into a single “open core” in order to achieve the standardization required to realize SDVs. While each automaker will inject its own DNA into the application portion to differentiate its vehicles, the company is calling for automakers, suppliers, integrators, and others to join consortiums such as the Eclipse Foundation’s “S-CORE,” “AUTOSAR,” “COVESA,” “JasPar,” and the “Open SDV Initiative,” which are also participating in study groups, to standardize the OS and middleware that consolidate the implementation in each area as collaborative areas, and to advance collaborative development.
A proposal to standardize areas that are not suitable for differentiation, such as the OS and middleware, as an “open core,” and allow each automaker to concentrate resources on the application part to differentiate their vehicles.
There are standards for various parts of a car, and OpenCore is an initiative aimed at standardizing the operating system used in cars.
The third option, “co-creation,” is effective in software development
Ansgar Lindwedel, Director of Ecosystem Development for Software-Defined Vehicles, Eclipse Foundation
In his presentation, Lindwedel of the Eclipse Foundation explained that the Eclipse Foundation, which was founded in 2004 and has a 21-year history, is the world’s largest open source foundation, working on a wide range of projects, with contributors from all over the world participating in its activities and continuing to work with the goal of being a trusted partner.
In response to the challenges facing the automotive industry, particularly in the software field, the Eclipse Foundation established the new “Eclipse SDV” with the participation of 11 members in 2022. The three specific challenges cited were a shortage of software developers while automakers and suppliers face an increasing number of jobs requiring engineers, resulting in a shortage of engineering human resources; the lack of horizontally deployable solutions when solutions are developed in-house; and the rapid evolution of the automotive industry.
Until now, when automobile manufacturers and other companies needed software, they had two choices: either make it themselves or buy it from somewhere else, but as President Mecker pointed out in his presentation, 70% of the software used will be standard content that does not lead to product differentiation. While it will be important to continue developing the remaining 30%, which creates each company’s individuality, he said that for standard content, a third option, the idea of ”creating it collaboratively,” will be effective.
The benefits of adopting open source in software development
Providing a new option for software procurement: “collaborative creation” rather than the traditional “make it yourself” or “buy it from somewhere” approach
Participating companies of “Eclipse SDV.” When it was established in 2022, there were 11 members, mostly from Europe, but now the group also includes companies from the US and the Asia-Pacific region.
In the three years since its founding, Eclipse SDV has seen an increase in the number of participating members, and in addition to the initial European focus, companies from the United States and the Asia-Pacific region have also joined. However, no major Japanese companies have joined, and in order to change this situation, Eclipse SDV held its first explanatory event in Japan for corporate representatives with the cooperation of Bosch, a strategic member.
Also at the event, Eclipse announced version 0.5 of its middleware for high-performance architectures, Eclipse S-CORE. It explained that through collaborative activities in the development project, participating members have confirmed improvements in the software’s efficiency and speed. It also said that Eclipse S-CORE is not positioned solely for Europe, but is planned to be developed as a global project. In fact, an official announcement is planned at CES 2026, to be held in Las Vegas, USA, three weeks from now, that 17 globally active companies will be participating in the project.
Eclipse S-CORE version 0.5, middleware for high-performance architectures, announced
It will also be announced at CES 2026 that 17 new companies will join the project.
The Eclipse Foundation explained that it does not intend to limit Eclipse S-CORE to SDV for the automotive industry, but rather positions it as a truly open source technology that can be widely shared, and that it would like to provide it covering hardware, RISC-V, RTOS, and other technologies.However, it also mentioned that in terms of standardization, it is considering sharing technology widely within the community, and that one option is to do this on a regional or group basis, such as on a Japanese standard, European standard, or US standard.
However, the Eclipse Foundation stated that it is committed to not having to devote its efforts to local, regional standardization, and that it hopes to help successfully integrate the local efforts underway in Japan into a global framework.
Eclipse S-CORE is positioned as a truly open source technology that can be widely shared.
The advantage of Eclipse SDV is that it can utilize a global ecosystem.
The study session also included a question and answer session.
During the question and answer session that followed the presentation, Lindwedel was asked about the relationship with organizations such as AUTOSAR, JasPar, and the Open SDV Initiative, which are working towards the standardization of in-vehicle software.
During his visit to Japan, he had the opportunity to speak with members of JasPar participating companies, who told him that JasPar is also working on open source initiatives.However, Eclipse SDV has no intention of competing with other organizations, and the emphasis on open source is to keep the door open and promote collaboration.
However, one of the advantages of their activities is that they can utilize the global ecosystem. Japanese manufacturers such as Toyota Motor Corporation, Nissan Motor Corporation, and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. are participating in the Linux Foundation, but they commented that they may be able to make further progress by also joining Eclipse SDV, which has European and North American companies as members.
Morita continued to share his views, saying that Eclipse SDV originated in Europe and JasPar originated in Japan, AGL (Automotive Grade Linux) started as a standardization for the infotainment domain, and JasPar initially started in the body domain, but over the years has expanded into areas such as functional safety.
He explained that it had been announced earlier that the “SoDeV” architecture, which utilizes the Linux platform, would cover security up to the hypervisor, and that this content has some similarities to the Eclipse S-CORE architecture, and that as software development using open source has spread to all domains, it is no longer the time for organizations to operate independently, but rather for them to cooperate with each other. He said that it would be a shame to keep the activities being carried out by JasPar in Japan only, and that he wanted to expand this globally and act as a bridge between collaborating organizations to avoid duplication of efforts.
