Honda Motor announced it had this week signed a preliminary agreement with IBM Corporation to collaborate on the development of next generation computing technology which, it said, would be needed to “overcome challenges related to processing capability, power consumption and design complexity for the realisation of the software-defined vehicles (SDV) of the future”.

Honda said the application of intelligence/AI technology was expected to accelerate from 2030, creating new opportunities for SDV development. It also anticipated SDVs would “dramatically increase the design complexity, processing performance and corresponding power consumption of semiconductors compared to conventional mobility products”.

To meet the anticipated challenges, Honda and IBM believed it was critical to develop additional research and development (R&D) capability for future computing technology. Based on this understanding, the two companies were now exploring long term joint R&D opportunities.

A key focus would be to jointly develop semiconductor technology such as brain inspired computing and chiplet technology with the aim of dramatically improving processing performance while decreasing power consumption.

Hardware and software co-optimisation was also seen as an important area to ensure high performance and fast time to market. To achieve such benefits and manage design complexity for future SDVs, the two companies also planned to explore open and flexible software.