The automotive industry’s shift toward software-defined vehicles automation is creating ripples that extend far beyond the factory floor, offering valuable lessons for industrial automation professionals. This weekend’s announcement of NXP Semiconductors partnering with Rimac Technology to develop centralized architectures for software-defined vehicles (SDVs) represents more than just another automotive collaboration—it’s a preview of where industrial control systems are headed.
Centralized Architecture: The New Control Paradigm
The NXP-Rimac partnership leverages NXP’s S32 automotive processing platform, specifically the S32E2 real-time processors, to consolidate multiple vehicle functions under centralized control. This mirrors what we’re seeing in smart manufacturing, where traditional distributed control systems are giving way to more integrated, software-centric approaches. The parallels are striking: just as vehicles are moving away from dozens of separate ECUs toward centralized compute platforms, industrial facilities are consolidating legacy PLCs and standalone controllers into unified architectures.
What’s particularly interesting from an automation perspective is how this software-defined vehicles automation approach handles real-time processing demands. The S32E2 processors maintain deterministic response times while managing complex, multi-domain operations—exactly the challenge we face when implementing Industry 4.0 initiatives that require tight coordination between production, quality, and maintenance systems.
Development Tools Accelerating Innovation
Meanwhile, Mikroe’s introduction of the CAN-LIN SBC Click board addresses a persistent pain point in embedded system development. This compact development tool enables rapid prototyping for CAN and LIN communication protocols—standards that remain crucial in both automotive and industrial applications. For automation engineers working on custom control solutions or retrofitting legacy equipment with modern connectivity, tools like this can slash development time from months to weeks.
The timing isn’t coincidental. As industrial facilities increasingly adopt edge computing and distributed intelligence, the need for rapid prototyping tools that can bridge legacy protocols with modern architectures becomes critical. The CAN-LIN SBC Click represents the kind of development acceleration that allows plant engineers to experiment with new approaches without massive upfront investments.
Looking ahead, the convergence of automotive and industrial automation technologies suggests we’re entering an era where the lines between these domains will continue to blur. Will your next manufacturing execution system share more DNA with a Tesla than a traditional PLC? The evidence is certainly pointing in that direction.