The Garage by Sonatus

Recorded live at ACT Expo 2026, this podcast episode features Matt McLelland of Covenant Logistics discussing how the company evaluates diverse fleet technologies, from autonomous vehicles and electric trucks to data analytics. He highlights practical implementations like electric APUs and shares how combining data sources provides the context needed to proactively improve driver safety and wellbeing.

Christoph Loytved, product manager from COMPREDICT, describes their innovative virtual sensor technology. Virtual sensors can offer cost reduction and system optimization by using existing data from the vehicle to derive data points instead of needing a dedicated hardware sensor. Christoph describes a number of example applications of virtual sensors and COMPREDICT's progress with investors and commercial adoption. Virtual sensors are an ideal application of the flexibility that software-defined vehicles provide. This episode was recorded live at AutoTech in Novi, Michigan, in June 2025Chapters:0:00 Introduction to AutoTech Detroit0:38 Guest Introduction: Christoph Loytved0:55 Christoph’s Background and Experience2:25 Overview of COMPREDICT3:07 What is a Virtual Sensor?3:58 Applications of Virtual Sensors5:00 Benefits of Virtual Sensors for OEMs6:01 Data Utilization in Software-Defined Vehicles7:07 Market Adoption and Investments8:34 The Future of Virtual Sensors in SDVs11:49 Conclusion and Closing Remarks

William Dalton, VP and Managing Director for North America and Europe from VicOne, the automotive cybersecurity subsidiary of Trend Micro, talks with host John Heinlein, Ph.D., Chief Marketing Officer of Sonatus about the state of automotive cybersecurity. He addresses the unique challenges and opportunities posed by software-defined vehicles (SDVs), how to enhance vehicle security with proactive security measures, and intrusion detection and prevention (IPDS) systems. He discusses their work to support their white-hat hacking challenge "Pwn2Own Automotive", which encourages ethical hackers to identify zero-day vulnerabilities in the automotive sector. This episode was filmed live at AutoTech Detroit in Novi, Michigan, in June 2025Chapters:00:00 Introduction to Vehicle Cybersecurity00:45 Guest Introduction03:49 Background of VicOne05:42 Transition to Software-Defined Vehicles08:08 Cybersecurity in Software-Defined Vehicles08:59 Deployment of Cybersecurity Solutions14:55 Integration of Cybersecurity Solutions17:36 Pwn2Own18:23 Understanding Zero-Day Vulnerabilities20:14 Pwn2Own Competition Approach23:10 Automotive Vulnerability Disclosure24:46 Cybersecurity Threats in Other Industries29:45 The Role of AI in Vehicle Cybersecurity32:13 Conclusion and Future Outlook

In a live recording from the COVESA meeting in Berlin, Steve Crumb, COVESA's executive director, discusses enhancing connected vehicle value through collaboration and innovation with John Heinlein, Ph.D, Sonatus's CMO. He emphasizes the Vehicle Signal Specification (VSS) for simplifying data communication among OEMs, benefiting data users. Despite challenges for OEMs transitioning from legacy systems, VSS is advantageous. Steve notes growing fleet interest in VSS, and COVESA's efforts to streamline app deployment across OEMs.Chapters:0:00 Introduction to The Garage Podcast0:47 Introducing Steve Crumb2:41 Overview of COVESA and Its Mission4:06 Vehicle Signal Specification Explained 8:59 COVESA Initiatives in Commercial Vehicle Management9:55 AOSP for Android Development11:33 Future Plans and Global Expansion of COVESA12:49 Gathering Input for VSS Improvement13:16 Conclusion and Call to Action

In this episode, filmed live at the Sonatus booth at CES2025, Prashant Gulati, CEO of SDVerse, talks with host John Heinlein, Ph.D., Chief Marketing Officer from Sonatus about the SDVerse vehicle software marketplace. Prashant explains the goals of SDVerse, its member companies, and explains their business model. He shares some success stories about how this marketplace is gaining traction.Chapters:00:00 Overview00:46 Meet Prashant Gulati04:12 About SDVerse07:10 The SDVerse Model08:37 Marketplace Saturation10:00 Software Flexibility in the SDVerse Platform12:10 SDVerse Success Stories 13:22 Conclusion

Francis Chow, VP & GM, In-Vehicle Operating System and Edge, Red Hat speaks with host John Heinlein Ph.D., Chief Marketing Officer, Sonatus about the many changes in software-defined vehicles, with a particular focus on vehicle operating systems. The conversation explains Red Hat’s journey towards a safety-certified Linux, and shares many of the opportunities SDV can bring to the entire vehicle value chain and consumers. Recorded live in Las Vegas at CES 2025 in the Sonatus booth.Chapters:00:00 Overview00:49 Meet Francis Chow01:13 About Red Hat02:35 Fun Fact 04:26 Why is SDV Important?07:18 How to Make SDV Profitable09:25 Red Hat In-Vehicle OS12:21 Safety Certification16:18 Red Hat and Sonatus Collaborations17:42 The Industry Big Picture

Dr. Moritz Neukirchner, Sr. Director Strategic Product Management, SDV, Elektrobit, joins host Dr. John Heinlein, Chief Marketing Officer from Sonatus, to discuss his valuable perspective on the shift to software-defined vehicles. Moritz is well-known in the automotive industry and explains critical technical infrastructure, including how Elektrobit is advancing Linux for vehicles, how SDV suits commercial vehicles, prototyping, CI/CD, and more. Moritz also explains his SDV maturity framework and how it introduces a common nomenclature for the shift to SDV. Filmed live at the Sonatus booth at CES 2025.Links referenced in this episode:Moritz’s SDV maturity level framework https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/sdv-yet-dr-moritz-neukirchner-uuyxf/Chapters:00:00 Overview00:38 Meet Moritz Neukirchner02:26 About Elektrobit03:55 Software-defined vehicles 06:47 V2X08:45 Automotive Development Ecosystems09:47 Linux in Vehicles13:43 Elektrobit Exhibition at CES15:24 Android Based Cloud Instance17:55 Transitioning to SDV: OEM Challenges23:10 Commercial Impediments26:08 Commercial SDV Vehicles