GM to roll out new centralised computing system across its vehicle range

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 22 Oct, 02:38 · Archive

General Motors will expand its new centralised computer architecture beyond electric vehicles to petrol-powered SUVs and pickups.

General Motors has confirmed its new centralised computing architecture will roll out across petrol-powered crossover SUVs, full-size SUVs and light-duty trucks, expanding beyond the Cadillac Escalade IQ where it will debut in 2028. The system will come to three-row petrol crossovers including Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Chevrolet Traverse, as well as GM's next-generation electric vehicle platform.

Today most cars spread processing across dozens of separate control modules handling brakes, steering, climate and other functions independently. GM's new architecture replaces this with a single liquid-cooled central computer with about 40 times the processing capability of the outgoing system, which Gary Cygan, GM's director of vehicle software and electronics engineering, said is roughly equivalent to 35 laptops. Aggregator boxes around the vehicle funnel data to the central computer over high-speed Ethernet.

GM chief product officer Sterling Anderson said the architecture cuts wiring by about 30 per cent while delivering up to 50 per cent faster cellular connectivity for quicker downloads and more responsive connected services. Mr Anderson distinguished GM's approach from some rivals' 'zonal' systems, which still handle some processing at the edges, saying 'you want your actuators to be effectively dumb'.

How it is being reported

• GM's next-gen 'brain' coming to petrol SUVs and utes – and it'll get new chips every two yearsGM's new centralised computer won't just be for electric Cadillacs, with pickups and more SUVs confirmed – plus a smartphone-style hardware refresh cycle.Perth Now · 22 Oct, 02:13
• GM's next-gen 'brain' coming to petrol SUVs and utes – and it'll get new chips every two yearsGM's new centralised computer won't just be for electric Cadillacs, with pickups and more SUVs confirmed – plus a smartphone-style hardware refresh cycle.The West Australian · 22 Oct, 02:13

In this story: General Motors · Cadillac · Buick · GMC · Chevrolet · Gary Cygan · Sterling Anderson

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