Alwin Bakkenes, head of software program engineering at Volvo Vehicles, reckons that main a crew to develop the know-how stack powering the subsequent era of mobility on the automotive big is without doubt one of the greatest jobs you may think about.
“I’m not saying it’s at all times straightforward, nevertheless it’s extremely rewarding and nice enjoyable,” he says. “Persons are keen about our merchandise, and also you get on the spot suggestions on the standard of what you do from shoppers – whether or not that’s from buddies, household or a neighborhood like Reddit. There’s simply a lot suggestions, and that motivates and makes us higher.”
Bakkenes stories to Volvo CTO Anders Bell and is a member of the prolonged government administration crew that oversees operational governance. “I’m a part of that group as a result of software program, after all, has an enormous transformational impression on the corporate,” he says.
On a day-to-day foundation, Bakkenes’ crew works intently with know-how and content material companions to ship buyer experiences, with improvements in secure automation, core computing structure and Android-based infotainment providers. His crew manages know-how related to Volvo’s superior driver help programs (ADAS) and an in-house synthetic intelligence (AI) manufacturing facility.
“We additionally handle cell community contracts as a result of we function in 85-plus nations globally,” he says. “So, we’ve a big scope, and our work defines a giant a part of how the automobiles behave and helps us to create several types of relationships with our clients.”
Connecting automobiles
Bakkenes joined Volvo in November 2022, having beforehand been vice-president at Aptiv, chairman of the board of administrators at Smashing Concepts, and government vice-president for automotive at Luxsoft.
One in every of his massive achievements at Volvo has been main the digital transformation that accompanied the revealing of the EX60, the primary automotive designed to launch with Google Gemini AI assistant and connectivity delivered by the Snapdragon Auto Connectivity Platform from Qualcomm Applied sciences.
As Pc Weekly found in January, the EX60 is probably the most clever Volvo and may journey 810km on a single cost. The automotive additionally has the most recent iteration of HuginCore, the producer’s in-house-developed core system for its software-defined automobiles (SDVs).
“Volvo Vehicles has at all times been recognized for security,” says Bakkenes, referring to the journey the in-house software program crew has taken throughout its digital transformation. “Over time, after we began to do improvements when it comes to collision avoidance – as a result of, after all, avoiding a collision is healthier than defending individuals in a collision – we began to convey laptop imaginative and prescient and radar into automobiles.”
Bakkenes says the software program crew discovered that getting information from automobiles digitally would allow them to do much more. “So, we began making each single automotive linked and began doing extra in-house improvement. We constructed an AI manufacturing facility and constructed an in-house crew of some 3,000 builders that construct this software program stack for us,” he says.
“One in every of our largest accomplishments with the optimisation work that we did for the EX60, the place we did our second-generation zonal structure, was that we actually simplified the strategy. We lowered weight, numerous packaging house, we made the know-how way more environment friendly and made it relevant to each single automotive in our cycle plan.”
Digitising the stack
Bakkenes says the results of this digital transformation is that Volvo has transitioned from a mechanically oriented firm to an organisation that efficiently manages its know-how base, with HuginCore sitting on the coronary heart of its future automotive improvements.
“We now have a single tech stack technique for our automobiles, which finally provides us extra time to spend on constructing incredible buyer options and experiences,” he says. “And that’s one of many largest elements of the journey that we’ve been on over the previous few years.”
HuginCore options {an electrical} structure, a core laptop, zone controllers and software program. The title Hugin comes from Nordic mythology – Odin had two ravens, Hugin and Munin. Bakkenes says Hugin was the raven who flew to scout after which whispered in Odin’s ear about all the things within the neighborhood.
“We now have a single tech stack technique for our automobiles, which finally provides us extra time to spend on constructing incredible buyer options and experiences”
Alwin Bakkenes, Volvo Vehicles
“That’s like what we’re doing with the core system,” he says. “HuginCore perceives the world round it and offers us the proper info to make choices on avoiding collisions and extra. It’s the core system and tech stack that we’re standardising on. And, after all, it’s way more than a chunk of compute. It’s automobile structure, cloud infrastructure and manufacturing facility infrastructure.”
Starting with the EX60 implementation, Bakkenes says the goal is to make sure the corporate builds its improvements round this stack, slightly than utilizing a number of platforms. “Which is finally not how fashionable tech firms, like Apple, would do issues,” he says, referring to the corporate’s shift to changing into an organization that manages its know-how basis.
“For instance, we’ve a partnership with a UK firm referred to as Transient that’s actually good at database analytics on battery cells and the way you retailer power as quick as attainable. So, not solely do we’ve a great, sturdy 800-volt system, we’re in a position to push numerous power into the cells for a protracted time frame, that means that we keep away from the usual curves of charging automobiles.”
Delivering innovation
The progress made by Bakkenes and his crew was recognised just lately, with Volvo achieving S&P Global Mobility Level 5 capability in SDVs, the very best class in its evaluation of automotive software program maturity. Notably, Volvo is the one legacy producer to have achieved this ranking.
“They checked out what we have been doing,” says Bakkenes, referring to the analysis course of. “We defined to them how we work and what the structure seems to be like. Having a totally software-defined structure means we should always create important buyer advantages. So, we’re proud. It’s recognition that we’re doing good work.”
The popularity from S&P International highlights Volvo’s makes an attempt to enhance automobile performance by way of software program, together with over-the-air updates so as to add security options, unlock sooner charging speeds, enhance driving vary and improve consumer experiences. Bakkenes says the corporate’s digitisation is all about abandoning conventional domain-based architectures.
The brand new strategy being pioneered by Volvo focuses on three ranges: a high-performance compute cluster the place the crew works with key companions, resembling Nvidia and Qualcomm; zonal structure with high-integrity functions that require low latency and quick response instances, resembling for safety-critical capabilities, together with brakes and acceleration; and infotainment, the place Volvo works intently with Google and its Android working system (OS).
“We work very closely with companions to construct the foundations for that technique. We work with Nvidia on creating the safety-critical, high-performance execution surroundings, so we are able to execute high-integrity functions on compute clusters, resembling ADAS,” he says.
“We additionally work with Google deeply and intently, as a result of the Android platform creates an openness and an ecosystem that may be a incredible basis to construct a contemporary infotainment system, which has customer-facing performance, resembling Gemini for conversational AI and Google Maps, and an open app retailer that we use to herald large quantities of content material.”
Embracing AI
Volvo continues to hone its strategy to SDVs. As Pc Weekly reported on the time, the corporate prolonged its partnership with Google in Might 2025. Volvo believes that with Gemini within the automotive, drivers can higher perceive what they need by way of pure conversations.
In addition to utilizing AI providers to spice up inside operational effectivity, Bakkenes says the corporate makes use of rising know-how in two key product areas.
First, in collision-avoidance programs. With a robust heritage in automobile security, Volvo has collected hundreds of thousands of information factors since 2020, all with buyer consent, to enhance ADAS.
“We’ve seen that constructing AI fashions that we prepare on what occurs and what is going to go incorrect – thereby preventig issues from occurring – is extremely worthwhile,” he says. “So, we actually constructed an organization, a subsidiary referred to as Zenseact, which is a part of my scope. I’m the chairman of the corporate, and it’s deeply built-in into our manner of working in engineering.”
Second, Bakkenes says his crew is targeted on customer-oriented, AI-enabled merchandise. Utilizing instruments resembling Gemini, drivers will use in-car programs to plan routes, assist schedule actions and organise their lives. “AI is not only about telling you issues,” he says. “It’s about changing into extra agentic and taking good care of duties in your life.”
Whereas Volvo has made important advances in AI with the launch of the EX60, the corporate is keen to make sure that drivers of older automobiles may profit from its data-powered providers. To that finish, the corporate just lately introduced that Google Gemini is rolling out to Volvo vehicles dating back more than five years. Bakkenes suggests this choice is a step change in how drivers work together with automobiles and the way producers help them.
“We’re bringing Gemini to each automotive we’ve produced since 2020,” he says. “Six years in the past, we had no thought what a transformer-based conversational assistant was or would turn out to be. So, the truth that we are able to convey Gemini to these automobiles is incredible.”
Scaling enhancements
Bakkenes displays on the digital transformation modifications he’s overseen throughout the previous few years and suggests his crew is approaching what he calls “harvest time”.
“We now have a basis the place we’ve a great structure,” he says. “We’ve a considerable amount of high-performance computing to develop and develop sooner or later. The inspiration of the know-how is there, and it’s about making use of and scaling it.”
Bakkenes says the will to push Gemini-powered providers to older automobiles exhibits that his crew’s efforts aren’t simply targeted on tomorrow’s know-how – they’re additionally targeted on supporting long-standing clients who’ve dedicated cash to the automotive firm.
“The harvesting half is about us saying, ‘OK, so now we are able to put extra power into enhancing the experiences’, and meaning refining the consumer interface implementation, and tweaking and optimising it till you get a product that matches day-to-day utilization completely,” he says. “We wish our automobiles to maintain bettering over time.”