With a passion for open source and a drive to shape the future of automotive software, Michael Engel, Project Lead of Eclipse BlueChi, has become an active leader in the open source community. He collaborates within the Eclipse SDV Working Group to advance interoperable, software-defined vehicle solutions. In this edition of our Meet the SDV Committers series, Michael Engel talks about his path into automotive software, the transformative role of open source, and his contributions to advancing the software-defined vehicle ecosystem.
When and how did you start your career in automotive?
Around two years ago, when I joined the Red Hat In-Vehicle Operating System (RHIVOS) project which aims to create an ISO 26262 safety-certified, Linux-based OS for automotive.
How has open source software influenced or changed your work and career?
Being part of the open source community has given me the opportunity to collaborate with a wide range of talented people on a variety of exciting projects, allowing me to grow – and hopefully continue growing – as a software engineer. As a maintainer and project lead, for example of Eclipse BlueChi, the most rewarding aspect is the interaction and exchange with the community, from documentation improvements to discussions around bugs and new features.
What has been your #1 benefit of joining the Eclipse SDV Working Group?
It has granted us the opportunity to collaborate directly with industry leaders and innovators to co-create open, interoperable solutions to shape the future of the Software-Defined Vehicle and challenge the status quo.
What’s your 1-sentence pitch for Eclipse BlueChi – why is it worth getting involved in the project?
Harness the power of systemd – one of the most widely used service managers in Linux – through Eclipse BlueChi, a deterministic, lightweight, and soon-to-be ISO 26262-certified in-vehicle multi-node service orchestrator, to manage both containerised and non-containerised applications.
How would you describe Eclipse SDV in three hashtags?
#OpenSourceByDefault
#NextGenAutomotive
#ReinventMobility
Previous SDV committer interviews:
Luca Cominardi (Eclipse Zenoh)
Frank Märkle (Eclipse OpenDUT)
Kerstin Keller (Eclipse eCAL)
Elena Gantner (Eclipse S-CORE)
