Braunschweig, Germany – May 26, 2015. In May 2015, Symtavision is celebrating its 10th anniversary – ten years of global leadership in timing analysis for embedded real-time systems.
Symtavision was founded in 2005 by Dr Marek Jersak (CEO) and Dr Kai Richter (CTO) to commercialize timing analysis for automotive software and electronics using tools they had developed during their doctoral research at Braunschweig University of Technology, Germany. Today, Symtavision provides market-leading tools, SymTA/S and TraceAnalyzer, and professional services for planning, optimizing and verifying the timing and performance of ECUs, networks and E/E architectures, facilitating the reliable integration of advanced system and software functions.
“Ten years ago timing analysis was in its infancy,” said Dr Kai Richter, CTO of Symtavision. “But with the trend towards networked software functions in automotive electronics and with the industry’s commitment through AUTOSAR to the standards needed to drive a connected future forward, we knew it would have an increasingly crucial role to play. What we were not exactly sure of was when the topic of timing would reach economic scale.”
Today, Symtavision’s tools and services are deployed globally at leading premium and volume car manufacturers and Tier-1 suppliers including Audi, BMW, Bosch, Daimler, Denso, Fiat-Chrysler, General Motors, Hyundai-Kia, Toyota and VW amongst others. SymTA/S is used in the traditional domains such as powertrain, chassis control, and body electronics, in the network and E/E departments, and for the development of new functions for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and automated driving. Momentum and take-up in this sector continues to build as companies seek to find better ways to manage how software can be integrated within the context of increasing complexity without ruining project budgets, destroying timelines or compromising quality.
Development of Symtavision’s tools – SymTA/S for model-based timing analysis, optimization and verification and TraceAnalyzer for analysis of actual traces from ECUs and networks - has been continuous over the past decade with improvements made in response to customers’ specific requirements, technological developments in automotive electronics and the enhancement of the industry standards. Today, Symtavision products cover a broad spectrum of timing-related fields from network development (CAN, CAN-FD, Ethernet, FlexRay and LIN) and ECU development with RTOS (OSEK and AUTOSAR-OS) including multicore. The tools are complemented by consulting in system architecture design, software integration and function development. Symtavision achieves this with a relatively compact and efficient team that operates on a global basis.
“The adoption of timing analysis in design methodologies has been an evolutionary rather than revolutionary process,” said Dr Marek Jersak, CEO of Symtavision. “In the early days, we spent a lot of time raising awareness that timing analysis is needed to manage the future and avoid getting stuck in testing the ‘here and now’. More recently, with timing becoming a key issue in practically all automotive electronics projects, companies have really begun looking at timing analysis and dynamic software architecture in a systematic way. Our customers save time and money by optimizing and verifying concepts before committing to implementations. Any remaining timing and performance issues are fixed early and continuously until final verification.”
Dr Kai Richter concluded: “A decade ago, when we founded Symtavision, timing analysis was an emerging trend. Today, with the increased levels of design complexity and continuing pressures on unit costs as well as development timelines, timing analysis for embedded real-time systems is on the verge of becoming a global standard.”
About Symtavision
Symtavision® provides market-leading tools and associated consulting/engineering services for system-level timing design and timing verification – from early-phase estimation to final verification. Symtavision’s tools are used extensively in automotive electronics with support provided for all industry standards as well as a variety of other industry sectors including the aerospace, automation, multimedia, telecommunications and transportation markets. Symtavision is headquartered in Braunschweig (Germany) with subsidiary offices in Munich (Germany), Cologne (Germany) and Troy (Michigan, USA), and is supported by a global network of distributors. Symtavision is an AUTOSAR development member and also a founding member of the Real-Time Experts Alliance. For more information visit: http://www.symtavision.com.
