What does the SIG do

CentOS as a community project provides a wealth of enterprise-level assets and processes that fit well with a vision of the future automotive industry, as envisioned by Red Hat and many other organizations. Since the 1980s, automotive in-car computing systems have been constructed as discrete embedded systems known as Electronic Control Units (ECUs), isolated by hardware and connected through a simple bus (CAN bus). In 2011, manufacturers and suppliers helped drive the development of ISO 26262, an accepted automotive safety standard that was designed around this design paradigm.

The world has changed since 2011, with massive increases in computing power at low power and cost footprints, strong advances in Linux, and the introduction of edge computing and cloud-based services that previously were only available within a given computing unit. Automotive computing is on the threshold of an evolutionary leap toward the vehicle as an edge device rather than an embedded system, as can be seen by the introduction of many products from tier-1 providers in the industry (and from OS providers, such as Red Hat, who previously did not participate in the embedded marketplace) and from strong interest by auto manufacturers and the general public.

This paradigm shift creates an opportunity for Linux-based operating systems such as CentOS to lead the transition from the car as an isolated set of embedded systems into a cohesive, intelligent edge device. This SIG is intended to be a collaboration point for automotive Linux within this new paradigm.