Intelligent embedded systems in automotive as well as in telecommunication technology are more and more characterized by a growing degree of networking. In the future, new functionality will be realized less through the sum of individual components than through their reciprocal networking. It is conceivable, that a new system function could be realized within a networked system, without new components being added onto the network structure for this – therefore, the new system function results completely „from the networking“. This modification in the product area also increasingly forces a paradigm shift in the design methods. The existing component-centered design must give way to an integrated view of a networked system, in order to be able to analyze and to evaluate the effects of networking at an early stage.
It can be inferred when projecting on the design capability of future German key applications, that with the available means, the design of networked systems, perhaps x-by-wire systems in the automotive area or the linking of mobile phones with units for position sensing and complex mobile devices in the area of telecommunications, will no longer be possible at economically justifiable expenditure. These systems are distinguished by extremely high flexibility, reliability, performance, real time and fault tolerance performance. On the other hand, such systems possess an enormous economic use and therefore high commercial relevance for the German industrial base. As current automotive studies document, approx. 60% of all accidents with fatal consequences are to be attributed to side collisions, which in most cases result from a reaction error of the driver (reaction time, oversteering of the vehicle, etc.) [source: RESIKO Report, GVD]. These reaction errors can be detected and compensated for by active interventions of the system in the steering and braking response of the vehicle by intelligent systems such as x-by-wire. A good portion of the accidents mentioned above can be avoided or their consequences for life and limb minimized by this. In the telecommunication area, mobile devices in the future are increasingly expanded through „foreign“ components (thus function modules, which do not serve real communication) and in this way – in addition to an increase in mobility and comfort – new areas of application are made available. Examples of this could be mobile phones with integrated health monitoring, which continually collect and analyze the physical functions of a person in need of care. In an emergency case, the mobile phone automatically places an emergency call with information on the position coordinates of the patient and can save lives in this way.
A necessary condition for a competitive advantage in the automotive area as well as with mobile telephony is the ability to design a multitude of new functions with no decrease in productivity and in safety and quality requirements in an economical way and to integrate these in a distributed system scenario. The solution to these problems demands great efforts in the area of research, which are addressed by VISION.