Toyota announces Arene automotive operating system by 2025
Toyota Motor has announced plans to launch its own multifunctional car operating system Arene in 2025. It will be able to solve any task from standard functions to providing autonomous driving.
Benefits of new operating system
Introduction of the software solution will allow the Japanese automaker not only to gain a competitive edge in the fight for consumers with the famous Volkswagen and Tesla brands, but also to introduce new standards, which will later guide manufacturers of new vehicle generations.
What innovations will be introduced
The launch of the operating system is planned for 2025. It will first be available for self-branded cars, and later will be installed on cars of related manufacturers (such as Subaru) and other companies, start-ups that produce electric or autonomous vehicles.
The software platform will control the car’s basic elements and components: brakes, steering, and safety assistants. Arene will be able to evaluate location and traffic data. Standard functions will be available for vehicles of all manufacturers. Wireless technology, similar to that used for smartphones, is available for operating system updates.
Updates
Developers will be able to offer updates to Arene before the next hardware version becomes available. Cloud support will help programmers from different teams within a common project to improve the OS simultaneously in a remote format. A virtual test feature is available for new developments.
Toyota said it plans to make the platform open to third-party programmers, including those not connected to the automotive industry. They will be able to develop their own software for various systems present in modern cars. This will allow services to be easily downloaded by different types of businesses in a similar way to mobile devices.
Competing with Toyota
The Japanese automaker has some real competitors. These include Daimler with its MB.OS project for its cars, which is expected to launch in 2024, and Volkswagen with its own VW.OS. General Motors is also working in this direction.
Another competitor is Tesla, which is developing a software platform and will soon launch fully autonomous cars. The American automaker also plans to sell its own technology to third-party brands. At the same time, major IT companies (Google, Apple, etc.) have already announced the possibility of transferring solutions that have become successful in the mobile device market to the automotive industry.
In 2021 it has become clearly visible that the vector of competition in the automotive industry is starting to shift from hardware solutions to software products. According to Lux Research consultancy experts, software and electronics solutions will account for up to half of the cost of cars by 2030. At the beginning of the 21st century, the figure was no more than 20%.
New jobs at Toyota
The existing trend is confirmed by innovations in the labour market. There is information that in the coming spring, the same Toyota plans to hire up to 45-50% of young specialists who have recently graduated from the educational institution and have a profession connected with software. At the same time until recently the number of such employees did not exceed one fifth of the staff.
Representatives of the automobile concern did not disclose the information connected with volume of investments into development of Arene operating system. But the scale of the work can be seen from the company’s employment plans – around 18,000 employees are expected to be involved in software development.