[CR-V]

I was wondering if someone could help on this, modern day cars have on-board computers and all. So are these computers/ softwares made by the company itself or outsourced?

I had some plans on developing a car which would drive without any driver and can dodge traffic/pedestrians, follow traffic rules and take action in emergencies.

But I think I would need some exp. in the field before I start of with something. So anyone got any clue? is it like they only have their R&D departments in their home countries like germany? and relocate to such a country is the only way? or do they outsource it totally.

Was looking up Accenture as they deal in the automotive industry but again couldn't understand their role properly. Are they just consultants to the car manufacturers or software provides as well?

Any information on the topic would be greatly appreciated.

[theragingbull]

TCS is largely involved with Ferrari and Ducati for making on-board computer systems. Even I'm contemplating such a job.

[funkykar]

I guess Wipro is also into Automotive designing. I recently saw BMW's dashboard being worked upon!

Are there any institutes who give some basic training on Automotive training?

[blackasta]

Really would love to have such a job profile.
All bored with working in hotels/retail domain in IT.

[1100D]

Originally Posted by theragingbull

TCS is largely involved with Ferrari and Ducati for making on-board computer systems. Even I'm contemplating such a job.

Its mostly telemetry, data handling and the like. Not much car passion involved, its mostly about computers and IT systems, not much different from :-

Originally Posted by blackasta

Really would love to have such a job profile.
All bored with working in hotels/retail domain in IT.

There are other automotive companies as well, but the involvement ranges from finances for the vehicles of the company, to maintaining parts inventory and the like.

[khoj]

Originally Posted by CR-V

I had some plans on developing a car which would drive without any driver and can dodge traffic/pedestrians, follow traffic rules and take action in emergencies.

GM has an ongoing programme wherein they have developed fleet of smart cars that have crisscrossed trans US highways. This is part of a bigger programme wherein certain high density highways in the US are to be developed as smart highways to enable suitably equipped vehicles to be driven and ensure reduced/no accidents besides fuel/environmental conservation(s).

Saw this in a documentry on Discovery science or Discovery turbo a few days ago.

[Latheesh]

I think SIEMENS India also does ECU projects for german automakers (BMW?).

[Rovergen]

It's not only back end work that is maintained by this companies , they also support in new programs , they are generalised as ESP's (engineering Service providers ) , So ,most of them are into it because of $'s involved by offshore development, Satyam (Mahindra stayam ) having a good part of share ,Infotec , Infy ,bentler etc , even OEM's have their It division like Volvo IT in Bangalore and MBDRI (from benz )you can contact any one of them , if there is any specific area you are looking at then you can PM me for details

[chennai-indian]

If specialized work is what you are looking for, I know that Visteon has an Embedded Systems Group in Chennai that works on Embedded Softwares on cars (Power Train Control System etc). Otherwise as pointed out IT/Systems development in auto Industry is just like other industries - nothing directly to do with cars.

[Sugeeta]

Hi CR-V,

Please check the below :

1) Freescale automotive
2) Freescale sutomotive ARM devices concept car
3) ST-Microelectrioncs also has a division into automotive microcontrollers and small chip device.

Warm Regards
SM

[DerAlte]

@CR-V, software work of the kind that you have mentioned ("drive without any driver and can dodge traffic/pedestrians, follow traffic rules and take action in emergencies") is primarily handled in-house by car-makers (that is a lot of valuable Intellectual Property). There are known initiatives (not much publicized unless associated with marketing) in BMW, Daimler, Toyota, Nissan, GM and others.

Whenever such high-level functionality needs an interface with other automotive sub-systems, such as Engine (e.g. reduce speed), Transmission (e.g. change to lower gear), ABS/ASR, etc., the car-makers work jointly with such sub-system ECU makers, such as Bosch, Delphi, Denso, etc. to create prototypes. The primary high-level function ECU is also (in most cases; there are exceptions like Daimler) sub-contracted to sub-system ECU makers for manufacture.

What is your educational background? If you want to realize your dreams / ideas, preparing yourself is a major part that only you can do. Automotive Electronics is a good starting point, though courses are available in very few universities in Germany, Sweden etc. Once you have done that, you will readily find employment in this field.

[CR-V]

I am doing IT with Business final year.
I made a small car which had sensors all around it. The sensors would detect objects within a certain distance and the car turned right, left after calculating which be the quickest to avoid the object. The car would never crash which was tested successfully many times. There was also a camera installed which would record and store it on-board.

My university is also researching on video recognition system. For example it can identify a person. Another test was when it was installed in a shop where when a customer picks up an item the system expects it to go to the cashier, So it monitors all items, objects and person. As soon as the surroundings change and it has found the customer picked an object (lots of algorithm involved but it works) and walk without stopping at the cashier an alarm is raised.

The idea is to combine the two and instead of the sensors put the video recognition. A lot of testing and time would go into combining the two but it is very much possible.

I was also a member of a team who made a eco-firendly go cart. Which further inspired me. I am aware that this field is more about IT than cars but since I have knowledge of automobiles I think it may give me an edge over others and thats I why I was keen on something like this.

I have some time before my third year start to, And so I was looking to work with a firm for a while as a intern or something and probably continue once I finish my third year.

I saw accenture is into automotive consulting which really interested me but I think a consultant with exp. who has the exp. of developing is much better.
I was looking at Bosch which looks ideal, will try to find some vacancy there.

[DerAlte]

Your location says "London". Which institute are you studying in?

Don't want to disappoint you, but you will not be able to get a summer job in any software company in India - doesn't make economic or security sense to them and hence not entertained.

Europe is different. You can try any car manufacturer like BMW, Peugeot, Daimler, VW, etc. or sub-system makers like Bosch, Siemens, Autoliv, etc. Maybe you will be lucky if your enthusiasm is infectious enough, or you are persevering with logic. Almost always, it is what *you* can give to them (dedication, knowledge, experience etc.) and not what you need from them.

[CR-V]

I am in Queen Mary, University of London.
I am in mumbai as of now but don't mind travelling to europe or back to london for work. Will try contacting the companies you mentioned.

Cheers

[aa_asif]

I've a friend who's places in Maranello, Italy by TCS.
This guy works on Project Life cycle Management of Ferrari F1 Team!!
He had a chance to meet Massa sometime back!

Sigh..