The free-to-attend Future of Automotive Testing Conference opened this morning at Automotive Testing Expo North America 2025.
The day began with a welcome from ATTI, followed by an onstage interview. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the interview topic changed from the original plan and focused on the softwarization of the automotive industry, featuring Partha Goswami, former GM executive, futurist, and principal at PG Mobility Analysis.
Then came a presentation from Shyam Raman, principal consultant at Frost & Sullivan, who gave an insight into the struggles proving grounds are facing in adapting to today’s requirements, with the need to offer more services and features than ever before. He noted the fundamental role that infrastructure and testing facilities, privacy, customization, technical/commercial/legal partnerships and location play in a successful business model.
Raman was followed by Stoyan Nikolov, test manager and group lead at Bosch, who talked about integrated, predictive and scalable testing of software. Nikolov told ATTI, “After my talk I had discussions with fellows from GM and Stellantis. It is interesting to hear that the OEMs are having the same problems we have at Bosch. Getting OEM perspectives and exchanging solutions is great.”
This usefulness of the opportunity to learn from one another was echoed by Venkat Adusumalli, software engineering manager at Stellantis, who discussed the acceleration of E/E testing with AI-driven workflows. He said, “The diversity of the panel allowed me to see many viewpoints – from business managers to technology developers – and that was very intriguing for me. I learned a lot from Stoyan Nikolov; it was fascinating to hear how Bosch is leveraging AI. They have a different way of approaching things. We spoke afterward, and while we have different viewpoints, we’re ultimately working toward something similar.”
The one-day conference carries an overarching software theme. The morning concluded with a panel discussion titled, ‘Testing software-defined vehicles’, which was moderated by Goswami and featured Stellantis’s Adusumalli; Ram Mirwani, senior group manager of business development, automotive at Rohde & Schwarz; Rinat Asmus, vice president of software-defined vehicles at Tata Technologies; and Prasanna Nagabushan-Venkatesh, senior engineer of propulsion and hybrid systems at IAV Automotive Engineering.
The panel, pictured below, explored the current state of software-defined vehicle development, the common challenges faced by auto makers in this transition, and how softwarization is reshaping testing and development.
After coming off stage, Goswami said, “The focus of the conference is testing and validation, but also how to make that more relevant in the new age of software-centric vehicle development. Yes, there’s still a traditional component, but we’re having various conversations to bring in this new element that’s emerging today.
“What I heard is that testing has to adapt to the interdependence of various data and subsystems,” he continued. “AI and machine learning tools are absolutely critical to being responsive in a testing environment. The third point is the idea of open platforms to drive more agile and consistent testing and validation – and to enable full-system physical validation, where all the components and systems are much more interdependent than they were in previous years.”
Tata’s Asmus added, “The conference gave me a great opportunity to interact with peers and exchange contradictory opinions on future test approaches, and the inclusion of AI and machine learning. It’s always fruitful to meet new peers in this context.”
The Future of Automotive Testing Conference is on October 22 only. Click here to book your free expo pass to Automotive Testing Expo North America 2025, which continues tomorrow (Thursday, October 23). Alternatively, passes can be acquired on-site. Please visit the registration desk or organizer’s office to find out more
