PREEvision

PREEvision
Name	PREEvision
Developer	Vector Informatik GmbH
Released	2002
Latest release version	(see vendor)
Programming language	C++, Java
Operating system	Windows
License	Proprietary
Website	(vendor)

PREEvision

PREEvision is a model-based development environment for designing and configuring electronic/electrical (E/E) architectures and software for automotive and embedded systems. It integrates requirements, logical and physical topology, communication networks, software components, and configuration data to support development processes used by manufacturers and suppliers such as Bosch (company), Continental AG, Daimler AG, Volkswagen Group, and Toyota Motor Corporation. The toolchain participates in workflows involving standards and organizations like AUTOSAR, ISO 26262, SAE International, MISRA, and IEEE.

Overview

PREEvision provides editors, repositories, and generators to capture system-level artifacts including hardware topologies, software component models, and network descriptions. It targets stakeholders across OEMs and suppliers such as Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Renault, NISSAN Motor Co., Ltd., and Hyundai Motor Company, and integrates with requirements management platforms from IBM and Siemens AG's Polarion and Teamcenter. The environment aims to support compliance with functional safety mandates from European Commission-endorsed standards and regulatory regimes like emissions and crash testing regimes where OEMs coordinate with testing bodies such as Euro NCAP.

History and Development

Initial development began in the early 2000s by Vector Informatik GmbH, evolving in parallel with model-based design trends established by projects from Matlab, Simulink, and standards work at AUTOSAR. Major releases aligned with industry milestones including the spread of CAN bus and later Ethernet (computer networking) adoption in vehicles. Strategic collaborations and customer-driven features followed partnerships and procurement projects with suppliers like ZF Friedrichshafen AG, Magneti Marelli, and tier-one integrators that adopted model-driven approaches pioneered by research labs at Fraunhofer Society and universities such as Technische Universität München. Over time, integrations with tool vendors such as IBM Rational and Eclipse Foundation-based tooling were added to facilitate lifecycle traceability with platforms used by enterprises like Siemens and Capgemini.

Features and Capabilities

PREEvision includes multi-user repositories, graphical editors, variant and configuration management, and code or configuration generators. It supports modeling languages and profiles used by automotive engineers influenced by UML and SysML, and interoperation with exchange formats such as AUTOSAR', XML-based descriptors and ODX. The product offers analysis capabilities for network bandwidth, ECU load, and wiring harness topology to aid decision-making in collaborations between OEMs and suppliers like Aptiv PLC and Lear Corporation. Safety and verification features map to workflows prescribed by ISO 26262 and test documentation exchanged with testing organizations including TÜV SÜD and SGS.

Architecture and Components

The architecture comprises a central model repository, client editors, and generation engines. The repository supports concurrent engineering workflows used by teams at Bosch (company), Intel Corporation, and NXP Semiconductors N.V. and integrates with configuration management systems such as Git and enterprise platforms like IBM Rational DOORS. Editors provide topological views, software component maps, and wiring diagrams, while code generators output artifacts for middleware and runtime environments adopted by suppliers like Vector (company) partners, QNX Software Systems and Green Hills Software. Integration adapters enable exchange with testing and calibration tools from vendors like ETAS GmbH and dSPACE GmbH.

Industry Use and Applications

PREEvision is used primarily in the automotive domain for domain engineering, system design, and production configuration management at companies including BMW, Audi, Porsche, Volvo Cars, and SAIC Motor. Applications span architecture definition for advanced driver-assistance systems where systems interact with sensors from Bosch (company) and Denso Corporation, network design for in-vehicle Ethernet supporting infotainment stacks from Harman International Industries, and configuration of control units supplied by Valeo. It is also applied in industrial machinery projects involving integrators such as ABB and Siemens AG for complex E/E system modeling.

Licensing and Distribution

The product is distributed commercially by Vector Informatik GmbH under proprietary licensing models tailored for OEMs and suppliers, with options for enterprise licenses, per-seat subscriptions, and maintenance agreements. Commercial deployment and training often involve consulting engagements from system integrators such as Accenture, Deloitte, and Capgemini for toolchain customization, and partnerships with academic institutions for curriculum use at universities like RWTH Aachen University.

Criticism and Limitations

Critiques of the environment cite vendor lock-in risks typical for proprietary ecosystems used by conglomerates like Volkswagen Group or General Motors, and challenges integrating heterogeneous toolchains spanning vendors such as MathWorks and Eclipse Foundation-based projects. Users have reported steep learning curves for teams transitioning from traditional ECU-centric workflows to model-based approaches favored by AUTOSAR advocates, and scalability limits when modeling extremely large distributed systems comparable to architectures developed by Tesla, Inc. or Amazon (company). Concerns about traceability granularity and version control alignments have led enterprises to combine PREEvision with lifecycle tools from Siemens Digital Industries Software and IBM to mitigate gaps.

Category:Automotive software