Automotive Research Network Established at McMaster

November 9, 2010

The Network on Engineering Complex Software Intensive Systems for Automotive Systems (NECSIS), a $16.6 million national research network, has been created to tackle the technological challenges related to the growing complexity of automotive software systems.

The network will be based in the new McMaster Automotive Resource Centre (MARC) being developed at McMaster Innovation Park. It is the same facility that will house research initiatives related to new hybrid power train and lightweight materials.

Under this new university/industry R&D collaboration, General Motors of Canada and IBM Canada are leading software engineers at seven Canadian universities and a Montreal research center. NECSIS also includes the participation of Malina Software Corp., an Ottawa-based consultancy focused on advanced software engineering methods.

“Taking a leadership role in this new software engineering network expands McMaster’s contributions to yet another growing area of automotive research, adding to our expertise in hybrid power trains, material lightweighting, and advanced manufacturing,” said Patrick Deane, president and vice chancellor, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.

“As a leading supporter of collaborative research in Canada, we have helped build a strong automotive innovation network,” said Kevin Williams, president and managing director of GM of Canada. “NECSIS is a key initiative as we rethink the automobile and deploy innovative approaches to develop tomorrow’s technologies.”

Other universities in the network are the University of Waterloo, McGill University, Queen’s University, University of British Columbia, University of Toronto, and University of Victoria, as well as the Centre de Recherche Informatique de Montreal.

Backed by a five-year $10.5 million grant from Automotive Partnership Canada, of which the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) is the lead agency, research by NECSIS will focus on the advancement of an emerging methodology called model-driven engineering (MDE). MDE reduces the complexity of developing software by focusing on models and their relationships, reflected in the designs, code, and documents that developers work with, enabling them to test and verify models even before the code exists.

Functions managed by computer systems in today’s vehicles include braking, stability, safety, and fuel systems; systems to reduce emissions; and systems to protect, entertain, and communicate with the driver. Hybrid and all-electric vehicles involve even more complex software-based systems.

For more information, visit www.mcmaster.ca.