Hyderabad: Joining several companies that are expanding their operations in Hyderabad, Bosch Global Software Technologies (BGSW) has decided to double its manpower to 3,000 from the current 1,500 in the city in a year or two, said RK Shenoy, Member of Executive Leadership Team, Mobility Solutions, Bosch Global Software Technologies.
“We were a late entrant in Hyderabad. But we are happy to see quality talent here. We came just a year ago but there are already 1,500 people here. We see the headcount doubling in the next one to two years. We are into development of software that goes into different vehicles and domains,” he said.
“There is a thriving startup ecosystem including T-Hub and T-Works in Hyderabad where we can work together. We will work with other OEMs. We will enhance our capabilities to develop mobility solutions in Hyderabad for the world,” Shenoy said.
He lauded the efforts of Telangana in nurturing various industries. “The support from the Telangana government is great. There is vibrancy and energy to support companies like us. This will allow new innovations,” he said. Among others, it will work with institutes like the IIT, Hyderabad. It will work on curriculum development, lab infrastructure, faculty development and internships. “We want to make the students job ready not just for Bosch but for the mobility industry,” he said.
On the trends in the mobility segment, many vehicles are now supported by software and electronics and their mix will grow rapidly in the next few years. High compute power is available and a number of sensors are being added. There will be more updates. Even in the non-electric segment, there is a considerable use of artificial intelligence. In a nutshell, personalised, automated, connected vehicles will come with new features and each of these can be updated over time. The entire ecosystem will grow,” he said.
However, with increased connectivity and automation happening, it is important to make the vehicles safe from cyberattacks. The overall features should make the cars secure. These have to be taken care of from the development stage itself, said Shenoy.
Electric vehicles come with a lot of self-diagnosis tools that identify the likely problems. These will be able to predict when certain parts need to be changed. The idea is to use the information harnessed to optimise costs to reduce the total ownership costs as well as make vehicles secure. “We try to make available a lot of data from the systems. For instance, we had a project with one of the States on how harsh the drivers are on the brakes. The wear and tear is different for each. So is the fuel efficiency. The service teams can use this info to improve on these or it could be the insurance companies offering more customised products. There will surely be more pay-per-use modules,” he said.
“OEMs, Tier 1 component suppliers, startups, technology providers and others are coming together in a departure from the earlier business models in the automobile segment. Cell chemistry is evolving. More investments are needed in the battery segment. Safety standards will continue to evolve and these regulations have to be adhered,” he said about the industry.