At AutoSens USA 2025, Stellantis’ Emily Robb will take the stage to explore how central compute is transforming sensor architecture—and why collaboration is key to scaling it. As high-performance embedded platforms become foundational to ADAS and automated driving, OEMs are rethinking how sensor data is processed, consolidated, and shared across applications. Her keynote will spotlight how centralizing sensor processing—via shared SoCs and multi-application ECUs—opens the door to greater efficiency, new features, and smarter vehicle intelligence. But this transformation demands more than hardware innovation; it requires a robust, integrated partner ecosystem across the automotive supply chain.
Thursday 12th June | 2:20pm EDT | AutoSens Exhibition Stage
Ahead of this, be sure to check out our exclusive interview with Emily below…
1) Your keynote focuses on partnership ecosystems for centralised sensor processing. Why is a collaborative approach essential for developing high-performance computing architectures in modern vehicles, particularly in the ADAS and automated driving space?
Modern vehicles are moving towards centralized computing architectures where multiple separate ECUs are consolidated into a single ECU using one or more SoCs. This centralization allows for more efficient processing of high-bandwidth sensor data, which is crucial for enhancing the performance of various customer feature applications.
Centralized architectures provide the opportunity to access more raw sensor data than ever before, which can be leveraged to improve existing features and develop new customer features. This access was previously restricted by low-bandwidth network connections to edge ECUs.
This creates opportunities for new customer features as well as engineering services and platforms to enable multi-application sensor access and optimization. The amount and complexity of the features the automotive industry delivers to its customers are increasing, so the need for collaboration is only getting stronger.
2) Centralised sensor processing demands a highly integrated ecosystem: OEMs, Tier 1s, software providers, and semiconductor partners all play crucial roles. What are the biggest challenges in aligning these stakeholders, and how do you overcome both technical and organisational hurdles?
The systems architecture of a product often reflects the organizational structure of the teams and companies involved in delivering its sub-components. With the centralized vehicle compute platforms and sensor processing, significant changes arise in the work products necessary for delivering a sensing and compute system within the automotive sector.
This evolution pressures the reallocation of responsibilities among Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers, as well as the OEM specification and integration interface. A product that was once delivered as an ECU to the vehicle integration bench may now evolve into an embedded software component tailored to a specific semiconductor IP within a SoC. This software component must seamlessly coexist with other applications, which may be supplied by different vendors or developed in-house by the OEM.
The implications of this transformation are extensive, affecting various aspects such as the types of architectural artifacts that OEMs must create before sourcing, strategic platform development by suppliers, collaboration models, and the expertise required to execute projects effectively. While there is a tendency to rely on existing processes and organizational structures, this approach risks producing work products that align with outdated architectures, leaving critical gaps. Therefore, organizational structures and processes should be designed with a clear understanding of the architecture that their work products will ultimately support. A robust systems architecture grounded in first principles thinking is essential for defining these work products.
3) As the industry moves towards central compute, how are traditional supplier relationships evolving into more dynamic, co-development partnerships?
In many cases, traditional supplier relationships are evolving into co-development partnerships as companies recognize the need for shared innovation and resource pooling. This shift allows for more agile responses to market demands and technological advancements.
Key insights from Stellantis’ journey include the importance of establishing trust, maintaining open lines of communication, and being willing to invest in joint research and development efforts.
4) Interoperability and scalability are critical in the deployment of centralised, high-performance sensor fusion platforms. How do you see partnership strategies enabling cross-platform adaptability while maintaining safety, efficiency, and performance?
In the realm of sensors, centralization can help mitigate interoperability challenges. By minimizing the processing done at the edge, the interfaces for sensors tend to standardize around video and/or point clouds. Further centralization involves distributing parts of the traditional single-sensor signal processing chain to the central ECU, which can even include raw ADC data.
However, the advantages of these approaches must be carefully balanced against potential risks such as vendor lock-in, increased central compute load, and transmission link costs. Here, partnership strategies play a crucial role in enabling cross-platform adaptability by promoting collaboration among various technology providers to develop standardized interfaces and protocols. This collaboration ensures effective communication between different systems while upholding safety and performance standards.
Regarding scalability, catering to diverse vehicle segments and brands with a core product can significantly benefit from scalable sensing solutions within the supply chain.
Emily Robb’s insights reveal how the move to central compute is not just a technical evolution—it’s a structural one. Ahead of AutoSens USA, Stellantis is fostering cross-industry collaboration to scale intelligent, adaptable sensing platforms that serve both performance and safety in next-gen vehicles.
Interested in in-cabin monitoring technology?
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