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On Monday, Feb 28, 2022, the COVESA Software Defined Vehicle Telemetry Project - Birds of a Feather group was launched.  The goal is to enable new experiences and operational use cases with today’s connected vehicle systems through digital feedback loops.  

The plan is to meet bi-weekly starting on March 14, 2022 to identify and define high value use cases and potential solutions using existing components and assets (e.g. telemetry data sources, open source software, standards, architectures...).  The objective is to complement, not compete with other industry initiatives.  At the COVESA All Member Meeting on April 27, we will meet face to face for in-depth discussions, presentations, and planning.

Please see the SDV Telemetry Project page for details including: presentations, meeting times and meeting notes.  Please spread the word about, join and contribute to the meetings.

If you have any questions contact me: paul.boyes@covesa.global.

By Maarten Koning, Wind River Fellow

In automobiles, the amount of data generated, stored and collected – and the number of applications 
deployed within vehicles to process all this content – has increased dramatically over the last 
decade. Due to digital transformation, the modern automobile is now a supercomputer on wheels. 
Vehicle workloads can run concurrently on today’s multi-service integration platforms thanks to 
high-powered silicon that’s vital to mobile computation platforms.

Continuous Integration (CI), Continuous Deployment (CD) and Continuous Testing (CT) are practices 
that enable more frequent, lower-ceremony release of the software payloads that are activated as 
services and applications on a vehicle platform. With CI/CD/CT, a lot of the heavy lifting is done 
up-front during the software development process which enables these payloads to be taken forward 
in a largely automated fashion using tooling.

In a complex system like a vehicle, we want the granularity of those released software payloads to 
be smaller than an entire system to parallelize CI/CD/CT. This is done using element separation.  
Element separation is a software architecture best practice for many reasons as it helps with:

1.   Preventing fault propagation so we know which payload caused a software (SW) failure.
2.   Provisioning of compute and memory resources so we can engineer the system.
3.   Simplifying implementation for SW teams by separating functions from each other.
4.   Securing credentials to the time and place needed - the “least privilege principle.”
5.   Providing various producers of SW (e.g., ISVs) their own private execution environment.
6.   Easier management of software lifecycle using granular independent SW elements.
7.   Containment of software with specialized core values (e.g., safety or real-time SW).
8.   Reuse of software elements across systems, projects and hardware.
9.   Workload orchestration and optimization such as SW load balancing and scaling.

These separated software elements are the vehicle applications and services that are activated as 
one or more multi-threaded processes which comprise the vehicle workloads.  It is becoming 
increasingly helpful to wrap one or more of these services and applications into discrete operating 
systems (OS) containers so that they can avoid interference from other services and applications 
with which they don’t need to be tightly coupled. One of the advantages of containerizing services 
and applications is that they can use, and be delivered with, an OS that is composed of the optimal 
set of files, libraries and support services for their needs.

Host operating systems run on physical or virtual hardware whereas containers share an underlying 
host OS – although they don’t see one other and so they ‘think’ they have their own OS instance. 
This is not unlike when multiple host operating systems run on the same CPU cluster using a 
hypervisor, as in both cases the applications see what looks like their own OS instance and OS 
object namespace. This practice of containerizing payloads so they each have their own logical OS 
instance helps reduce interference between payloads and between the underlying host OS and the 
payloads themselves as well.

One could extend this notion of providing applications and services their own OS instance to 
compute islands, since they provide a hardware mechanism for OS separation in SoCs without 
requiring virtualization or container technology to do it. Whether virtualization, containers or 
compute islands are used to enable services and applications to have their own OS instance, these 
payloads can integrate, collaborate and be managed similarly with the right platform
software. This can be drawn like this:

Since payloads can be combined into working systems from multiple sources, it is helpful to have 
standardized ways to secure, deliver, deploy and manage them. To do that we have to define the 
touchpoints between these payloads, standardize those interfaces, and standardize the management 
actions that can be taken upon those payloads within the vehicle.

This standardization will allow automotive systems to be assembled from ready-made software 
payloads within the automotive ecosystem regardless of whether they are in-house, third-party or 
open source payloads.  There are many initiatives within the automotive industry to create such 
multi-service integration platforms, which I will collectively label Vehicle Integration Platform 
(VIP) architecture.  Many top automotive companies have already announced VIP technologies.  Even 
though some of those VIP initiatives are referred to as an OS, they offer much more than just an 
operating system.  VIPs include capabilities on top as an integration and management infrastructure 
that helps connect and orchestrate vehicles while also separating vehicle services and vehicle 
applications from the various execution environments and hardware that the VIP abstracts.

For VIP systems to be able to do their job, they need to be able to process software payloads from 
various sources including open source, in-house teams and also from third-party ISVs and 
sub-contractors.  One thing that is missing is a way to describe these software payloads in a 
standard way for a VIP to consume it. For example, if a payload offered self-describing metadata 
that told the VIP what its resource requirements were (e.g., memory, compute, services, reactivity, 
etc.) and what deployment models it supports (e.g., migration, hitless software update, 
suspend/resume, etc.), then the VIP would be able to learn how to integrate and run that payload 
automatically.

With such metadata, the VIP software would be able to predict if the system can afford to run a 
vehicle service or vehicle application given the available vehicle resources – without trying and 
failing, or without denying resources to some other possibly higher-priority application.  Once we 
do this, we will be a step closer to achieving software hyperintegration, which is highly- 
automated software integration.

This is the type of challenge that is best solved under the guidance and collective expertise 
offered through an industry alliance such as COVESA.  Together, companies can create a standard 
that enables low-code/no-code system hyperintegration of software from a standardized automotive 
ecosystem. This allows companies building new VIP-based vehicles to integrate vehicle extensions, 
services and applications from other organizations – and the converse is that it allows ISVs to 
provide specialized ready-made software that can easily be integrated into any VIP-based vehicle.  

Taking this road – everyone wins.

My tenure as the Community Director for COVESA began on January 1 – and three days later I found myself in Las Vegas for CES 2022. With organizations from around the world opting out of physically attending this massive annual event due to the pandemic – combined with Automotive Tech: Megatrends being cancelled – I was unsure what all to expect this year. However, I was pleasantly surprised and plenty productive.

My first step was to sit down with COVESA colleagues Steve Crumb, Executive Director and Matt Jones, CEO and President, to swap thoughts around our direction moving forward. We walked through current projects and brainstormed on connected vehicle domains for future projects: electrification, autonomous, smart home, smart city, and insurance. It is quite clear that in order to achieve success in most, if not all of these domains, open collaboration between OEMs, tier 1s, public sector, content providers is imperative. Ecosystems are required for these areas to thrive and function and once vehicles are connected, sharing resources and open collaboration is a firm requirement.  

As for the show floor – I really took it all in. And I was struck by the number of electric and autonomous vehicle exhibits from established players and upstarts large and small from all corners of the planet. There were also many electrification and autonomous infrastructure support companies chasing big opportunities. It’s an exciting time!

Additionally, I learned about many industry opportunities by attending the Connect2Car panel “Standardized Data, Common Architecture and Vehicle Services” featuring:

• Moderator: Brian Carlson– Director, Global Product & Solutions Mkt, NXP Semiconductors
• Speaker: Brandy Goolsby– Director, Product and Solutions Marketing, Wind River
• Speaker: Matt Jones– Chairman and President of COVESA and Director of Global Technology Strategy, Ford Motor Co.
• Speaker: Madison White– Senior Manager, Market and Solutions Strategy - Connected and Autonomous Vehicles, Ricardo

This panel hammered home the need for collaboration to standardize and build the foundations to enable the “value for the entire connected ecosystem.”  

That evening, I attended the COVESA CES Networking Event and Showcase, and given the small numbers in attendance overall on the Las Vegas Convention Center show floor, I was expecting sparse attendance by visitors and those showcasing. Wow, was I wrong – attendance was strong for both activities. We had 1,100+ pre-register with more than 500 attendees – making this perhaps the best networking experience in automotive worldwide since CES 2020.

The event was held in a large ballroom at the Bellagio Hotel providing ample room for social distancing with the ability to move about freely. There were 49 showcases featuring wares from startups to established companies, and each was enthusiastic to share their newest products, solutions and technologies ranging from electrification, power management and smart home to smart city and autonomous and vehicle data exchange. Steve Crumb gave a short welcome followed by a video message delivered by Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist II from the state of Michigan who focused on the future of mobility and electrification. The networking vibe was strong, a large number of attendees stayed at the COVESA event until the end, and many commented it was the highlight of CES for them. Photos of the reception are here.

The overall message I carried home from CES, is in order for the connected vehicle to achieve its full potential, it’s imperative to facilitate collaboration between ecosystem partners. This requires the development of open standards to create a path for innovation, and a plug-and-play approach for a diverse, sustainable and integrated mobility ecosystem. This necessary fusion of technologies and participation from adjacent industries requires an open door to attract collaboration. COVESA is a vibrant ecosystem that brings buyers and sellers together to solve industry challenges. Let’s continue to build on our successes, work alongside each other, and bring about industry transformation.

If you’re already taking part in COVESA, thank you! We have a lot in motion, with more planned for 2022 – stay engaged and accelerate your involvement.  Members drive direction and collaboration. If you aren’t yet a member, note COVESA  projects include: In-Vehicle Payment/EV Charging, Automotive Cybersecurity, Connected Vehicle Interface Initiative and Vehicle Signal Specification. We are actively seeking participation and input from stakeholders and the community, and would love to have you setting direction with us. Ready to decide the future of connected vehicles?

Change is a fundamental part of every organization and is often experienced during the end or beginning of a year. On behalf of COVESA, I have a number of announcements regarding current and new resources that facilitate COVESA activities.

First, while we will miss him greatly, we want to congratulate Philippe Robin on his retirement, effective at the end of 2021. Philippe has been with GENIVI/COVESA almost from its inception and has faithfully contributed a Program Management Office lead to almost every project the alliance has hosted. He has also been instrumental in building strong relationships with existing and prospective members in France, throughout Europe, and the world. We wish Philippe all the best and smooth waters for his future sailing endeavors.

Second, Gunnar Andersson, COVESA’s Technical Lead, is also in transition to new opportunities. Having served GENIVI/COVESA for 10 years(!), first as an assigned resource from Volvo Cars and then as the alliance’s Technical Lead, we have mixed emotions to say “see you later” to Gunnar in February of this year. Gunnar has been instrumental in many of the past and current deliverables of the alliance, not the least of which include the Automotive Virtual Platform Specification, the launch of Common Vehicle Interface Initiative (CVII) with W3C, and shepherding the Vehicle Signal Specification work. We wish him the best and know that our paths are likely to cross again.

Last but certainly not least, COVESA has engaged the full-time services of Paul Boyes as COVESA’s Community Director. Paul has a rich background in vehicle software platforms and vehicle data gained while holding key positions at OpenCar and Inrix. Paul also served as Co-Chair of the W3C Automotive & Web Platform Business Group and  Automotive Working Group and is intimately acquainted with both Android-related and VSS/CVII-related projects. We ask you to welcome Paul to COVESA and you can expect to hear more from him in the coming days.

Paul Boyes 

One last comment regarding COVESA’s choice of Paul’s title of Community Director. We purposefully see Paul as a recruiter, shepherd and facilitator of MEMBER resources applied to current and future COVESA activities. Paul’s primary goal will be to engage with member companies to understand their interests and facilitate member-driven projects, resulting in an active and vibrant COMMUNITY. We believe this subtle shift to a member-centric model is an essential distinctive of COVESA going forward. I very much welcome and appreciate all efforts our members and prospective new members will make to help Paul develop the COVESA community going forward.

One of the great liaison projects we have been running in COVESA during 2021 is the cooperation with the Open Insurance Think Tank (OPIN).

This cooperation has established VSS as the chosen data model for information initiated in the vehicle and supporting the larger set of OPIN defined data.

A use-case document has now been published which shows the kind of innovative new features that can be achieved when the industry builds a connected vehicle insurance strategy.

A lot of work has prepared this document and additional results that are soon to be released.

• Defining existing and new insurance use-cases
• Curating the data items listed in the OPIN data model, and partitioning which data is required for each use case
• Matching already defined VSS signals to OPIN equivalents to gather the requested information from a VSS-enabled vehicle and its associated vehicle-cloud
• Identifying gaps in the VSS standard catalog and feeding those improvements to the VSS project, including anything that is makes sense to add to the VSS standard catalog
• Clarifying vehicle related information that does not fit in the standard VSS catalog but still need to be provided by supplementary databases or systems
• Categorizing data in static, dynamic, real-time, etc.
• Specifying the required frequency of measurement for real-time signal data to meet the insurance use-cases.

This is my personal take on this successful collaboration:

It is fantastic to see that COVESA's recommended data model, the Vehicle Signal Specification (VSS) has become fully supported in the open insurance (OPIN) data standard.   I have also suggested how the OPIN data model might be represented in a very similar way, for even more compatibility and technology reuse!

Now is the time to work on opportunities for better insurance products driven by connected vehicle data.  Within the described use-cases you will recognize ways to improve insurance policy handling with  information about the vehicle, driver, and environment that can help insurance companies offer better solutions to their customers.

In addition to this, I personally found it very interesting that we already started some discussion on redesigning accident/claims handling, by using data on events leading up and shortly after the incident, and how sensor data could even report some of the consequences (e.g. damaged vehicles or property).  This area is planned to be further investigated in the second phase of the project.     In my view, a data exchange standard is particularly foundational here – it is a prerequisite to build data exchange not only between a vehicle and a particular insurance provider, but also between insurance providers.   To this project I obviously brought automotive expertise rather than insurance knowledge, but I have the feeling that this could revolutionize the way that claims are resolved quickly, perhaps automatically, between multiple insurance providers in the case of a complex incidents involving many parties.

You can click here to get the document, but I thoroughly recommend also reading through the OPIN newsletter article to get deeper information and additional thoughts on this great work.

Happy holidays to all!

- Gunnar
Technical Lead, COVESA

For seven years, GENIVI (now COVESA) had a great run of member showcase events at the popular Consumer Electronics Show (CES) each January in Las Vegas.  At our last showcase in January 2019, just prior to the Corona Virus lockdown, we hosted a highly targeted, automotive audience of over 1500 attendees.  These attendees browsed over sixty tables with automotive products and services from big name tier 1 suppliers to small, innovative start-ups.  What a night!  The best place to be to meet, greet and do business with a global, automotive buyers and sellers network.  And way easier than navigating a crowded show floor at the convention center.

It is with great pleasure that COVESA announces the return to this exciting event on 5 January 2022 at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas.  The COVESA team (same as GENIVI) is preparing to bring this event back...and we hope you can join if you are planning to attend CES 2022.  We have already begun our communication about the event, having just completed a similar reception during the Auto Tech Week in November near Detroit.  It felt SOOOOO good to be together again!  Sponsoring and showcasing companies were pleased with that event and many of already booked their tables for the CES event.

The event will be held on 5 January from 6:00-9:00 pm in the beautiful and spacious (22K square feet) Bellagio Ballroom of the Bellagio Hotel and Resort.  This event is not an official CES event (don't look for it on the CES agenda) and CES organizers have granted COVESA approval to continue our long history of excellent, off-hours event.  Attendees can expect a "who's who" of automotive and connected vehicle stakeholders as well as a growing list of sponsors and companies showcasing their latest products and services. 

If your company's products and services are in need of some greater visibility among a highly qualified, automotive and connected vehicle audience, then please consider reserving your space by contacting michael nunnery for more information and options.  If you are interested in browsing products and services from many high quality companies in a single place (with a cocktail in hand), then register today using the passcode "collaboration".  Note that COVESA insists that the attendees qualify as an automotive stakeholder, so pre-registration is required.   

In summary, we are thrilled to be back at CES 2022 and we hope you can attend our next in-person gathering.  If you have any questions about COVESA or the event, please contact Steve Crumb or Mike for more information.  See you in Vegas!

COVESA, formerly GENIVI Alliance, is excited to engage in its first in-person event in quite some time during the upcoming Automotive Tech Week, held near Detroit, Michigan on 16-18 November. 

COVESA is involved in a number of activities during this event, most notably the end of day reception and showcase on the 17th at Bar Louie, just a short drive from the venue.  COVESA members and attendees that pre-register for the this networking event are invited to join us from 5:00pm to 8:00pm along with our generous event sponsors (see below) for an evening of craft beer sampling, cocktails, appetizers, and networking.  With 400+ expected to be in attendance , this is a great opportunity to LEARN MORE about the COVESA community, NETWORK and DO BUSINESS.  To pre-register for this event, please visit https://covesa2021.eventbrite.com and use the passcode "collaboration".

Providing opportunities for our members to network and to engage in a vibrant buyers and sellers ecosystem is one of the primary value propositions of COVESA.  As we emerge (safely) from a COVID-dominated past year, COVESA looks forward to bringing its members and the broader connected vehicle industry together to meet, greet and plan the future of mobility together.

If you have any questions about the COVESA networking event or desire to explore sponsorship, please contact Mike Nunnery, COVESA Marketing Manager, at MikeNunnery@comcast.net.  Please also visit the COVESA website to learn more about the organization.

We have some exciting news to share -- today we announced the rebrand of GENIVI Alliance and we are now the Connected Vehicle Systems Alliance (COVESA).  The new brand signifies the Alliance’s evolving technical focus to connected vehicle systems including in-vehicle, on-edge and in-cloud services, interfaces and data exchange. COVESA is the only alliance focused solely on developing open standards and technologies for connected vehicles, and our new brand and vision reflects the commitment and shared goal of creating a more diverse, sustainable and integrated mobility ecosystem.

Discover more about COVESA, and how we are accelerating the future of connected vehicles, in this short video.

COVESA will expand upon GENIVI’s strong foundation of active technology projects as well as its vehicle signal specification and work on vehicle to cloud connected services. COVESA encourages current and prospective new members to introduce new projects that deliver specifications, open source licensed software and related materials that equip the industry with useful assets for commercial solution development. More information on COVESA projects can be found on the COVESA Wiki. 

Please see the full press release and visit our new website at covesa.global. Also, please take a moment to read what some of our members are saying about COVESA and their enthusiastic support for accelerating the future of connected vehicles. COVESA member quotes can be found here.

GENIVI will be gathering again on 5-8 October for its next event that is open to both members and non-members.  This event will perhaps be one of the more important events in the 12-year history of GENIVI as several projects to evolve the purpose, scope and even brand of the organization will be unveiled.  GENIVI Members can expect an early "reveal" webinar in late September so stay tuned for an email invite.

The theme of the meeting is accelerating the potential of connected vehicles.  As with last Spring's event, the program will emphasize the how connected vehicles and the data they generate impacts services delivered by the automotive industry as well as adjacent industries.  Participants can expect content on core projects like Android Automotive, Common Vehicle Interface Initiative (CVII) as well in-vehicle payments, dynamic insurance applications leveraging vehicle data, and cybersecurity considerations.  If you have an interest in being considered as a speaker during this program, please contact Steve Crumb.

The GENIVI Board of Directors is still considering whether small face-to-face, regional gatherings in Munich and in Detroit-area are possible and prudent given the impact of the latest delta variant of COVID.  This decision will be finalized in mid-August, leveraging the latest information from relevant agencies to ensure the health of all participants is the top priority.  Either way, the event will use a new virtual platform called ExVo by AllSeated.  The platform has a very immersive experience that makes participation in program content and in networking much more intuitive and enjoyable.  GENIVI is able to offer 20 virtual booths for organizations interested in presenting product/service information to event participants.  ExVo feels much more like a virtual showcase experience allowing participants to "browse" content available at the booth, to request additional information with a simple click as well as engage in direct conversation with a company representative.  If you are interested in more information on sponsorship or reserving a booth, please contact  michael nunnery or Karin Hanson .

As with previous events, the program timing will align to afternoon Central Europe Time and early morning for most US time zones.  Content will be streamed live and also captured for on-demand playback by all including Asia-based audiences.

Program content will be published iteratively with a full program available in early September.  If you have any questions about the event, please contact Steve Crumb.  Please put a "save the date" in your calendars today for this important event and stay tuned for more information on the program in late August.

It was over a year ago that the first version of the Automotive Virtual Platform Specification (AVPS) was released, and during the pandemic year the AVPS has made slow but steady progress, leading to a new release.

The contributors to this specification are now proud to present version 2.0. This version carries significant updates in many critical chapters including Graphics, IOMMU, cryptography features, and introduces some new device areas as well.

The AVPS v2.0 is around 50 pages long and keeps its original style of including both a Discussion section and a formal Requirements section for each topic:

The discussion sections make up the bulk of the text so that the requirements can be succinct. Because of the complexity of the subject matter and the fast moving state-of-the-art, the discussion sections provide an overview of the current situation and important context for the requirements. This is not so common for requirement specifications, but seems very useful in this case. That introduction to each topic clarifies the rationale for the requirements and can also be a starting point for any discussions among buyers/users and providers/sellers of virtualization technology.  The requirement section is the normative part and the document includes a specific chapter about what it means to follow / be compliant with, the specification. Regarding the content, the overwhelming industry standard for kernel-to-hypervisor APIs (virtual device APIs) is VIRTIO. For that reason the AVPS requires the use of VIRTIO in many areas, by referring to specific parts of the VIRTIO specification rather than repeating or rewriting those requirements.

AVPS serves a purpose in addition to the existing VIRTIO specification document as follows:

• AVPS selects and specifies which parts of the full VIRTIO specification (some of which is applicable to servers and desktops) are applicable in an automotive environment.  We think it is important that the automotive industry takes charge of its own destiny when it comes to virtualization technologies, and define what it means to have an automotive virtual platform.
• In addition to virtual device APIs that are covered by VIRTIO, AVPS adds platform requirements outside of the device API.  As an example, the boot-protocol defines how operating systems in Virtual Machines (VM) are booted on a virtual platform and is very important for VM portability across implementations. The AVPS is similarly a place where other automotive-specific requirements can be collected, including non-functional requirements (such as performance or other characteristics).
• For features that do not fit into the VIRTIO specification or are not planned to be covered, the AVPS is a place to define another solution and for areas that are not yet completed in VIRTIO, an alternative stopgap solution could be written. In some cases the AVPS is already requiring VIRTIO-related proposals that have been generally agreed, but not yet released into a versioned VIRTIO document.
• Finally, in certain specific areas, automotive products might not be able to avoid specific solutions, such as hardware-specific support.  In certain cases, the only reasonable choice is one that might not match any proposed generic abstraction API.  Graphics is currently one such example where using hardware-assisted features is desired and unavoidable. To be truly useful, and not simply circumvented, an industry-specific requirement specification like AVPS must take into account the design choices that are most likely in automotive products.  This means writing reasonable, tailored requirements. In certain selected areas these may include compromises to better reflect the reality of the industry.

The team is proud of the achievement of getting version 2.0 out the door, and it is time to again spread the word of its existence and welcome further additional community input!   The AVPS document has an open-source (Creative Commons) license which is a guarantee for your time investment.

In combination with VIRTIO, the automotive industry industry now has a strong starting point for a shared virtualization standard, and additional input can increase its scope and quality even further.   Join the work to improve this important area of automotive technology!

      – Gunnar Andersson - Technical Lead, GENIVI Alliance

On 1 July starting at 1600 CEST, GENIVI, W3C and interested contributors will gather for our next, extended working session on Common Vehicle Interface Initiative (CVII) topics.  As you can see in the agenda below, the topics will include a broad range of existing and new topics.  We want to thank those who completed the pre-workshop survey and the working session will kick-off with the important findings of that survey.

The Agenda for the working session is as follows:

• Welcome and Agenda Review
• CVII Survey questions and results
  • Tailoring CVII priorities to industry needs
• Vehicle Service Catalog, and the potential of an industry-common Service Interface Description Language:
  • Including a proposal for VSC language, Franca IDL, OpenAPI, AsyncAPI and other options
• Alignment:  ISO Extended Vehicle specification – status and future discussion
  • Learn what the ISO ExVe specification contains and does not, outlook for the future and a discussion of data standardization   

B R E A K (at approximately 17.30)

•  Connecting to and with AUTOSAR
  • Discuss opportunities and plans for connecting data and service models used in-vehicle and outside
• AOS – A new cloud-and-vehicle framework  
  • Another example of CVII-compatible full-stack development with potential for collaboration
• Building the full “CVII technology stack”
  • Plans and open discussion

Webex details can be found on the CVII Wiki page.  If you have questions, please contact Philippe Robin,  Gunnar Andersson or Ted Guild.

As a follow-up to the productive collaboration experienced during the Common Vehicle Interface Initiative (CVII) workshops held at our all member meeting last May, GENIVI and W3C are planning a 3-hour follow-up working session to advance the active projects of the initiative.  In advance of the working session, attendees of previous workshops, webinars and other CVII-gatherings have been requested to complete a survey to bring the projects to more rapid decision points for current and future work based on the information gleaned from the survey.  Working session organizers are measuring perspectives in a variety of areas, some of which include:

• Viability of GENIVI and W3C producing standards in the areas envisioned in CVII
• Alignment to other organizations vital to reaching CVII goals
• Participant's interest in contributing to a variety of topics of focus in CVII
• Relative importance of in-vehicle, vehicle-edge and in-cloud standardization and collaborative development
• Greatest benefit to the industry of reaching the goals of CVII.

If you have an interest and some degree of understanding of CVII, we welcome you to complete the survey prior to 22 June, to give the session organizers time to process the data prior to the working session.  

The final agenda will be published late in the week of 21 June, but expect some of the topics to focus on advancing the Vehicle Signal Specification (VSS), continued discussion a an approach for a standard Vehicle Service Catalog (VSC), status of alignment to related collaborative organizations and building a supporting technology stack to support data exchange and management.  The details for attending the extended working session can be found on the CVII Wiki landing page.  If you wish to present or participate in this working session, please contact Philippe Robin or Gunnar Andersson.

As was discussed during the early May all member meeting, GENIVI and the Open Insurance Network (OPIN) have agreed to collaborate on a combined data standard that incorporates both vehicle and insurance data.  This collaboration kicked-off on 26 May with a discussion of three areas of work: technical analysis, business analysis and data privacy and compliance. 

During the technical analysis, the joint teams will compare their respective standard data models (including VSS), identify overlaps, and produce an aligned view representing both vehicle and insurance-related data.  The teams will also document impacts of an aligned data model to current and future interface definitions.  During the business analysis, the team will focus on producing end-to-end use case scenarios that combine vehicle and insurance data to validate the combined data model.  These scenarios will have both real-time and event-related orientations that will impact insurance modeling, pricing and underwriting.  And last but not least, the teams will explore issues of data privacy, security and compliance with regional and national regulations on data ownership and management.

The collaboration is settling into a regular, every other week cadence of meetings and welcomes active participation from others interested in the intersection of vehicle and motor insurance.  For more information about this activity, please contact Steve Crumb.