Building together, learning together: The Eclipse SDV Hackathon at Bosch Innovation Campus Berlin
Bosch welcomed participants to its Innovation Campus in Berlin in early October 2025, serving as the host for the third Eclipse SDV Hackathon, which concurrently unfolded for the first time at 42 Porto. More than 100 participants from industry, academia, open-source communities, and startups formed 22 teams to collaboratively explore and prototype ideas around software-defined vehicle (SDV) technologies.
Right from the start, hack coaches from Bosch, Woven by Toyota , ETAS, Red Hat, Elektrobit,T-Systems and others worked closely with participants to support environment setup and onboarding across varying development environments. This early collaboration demonstrated the value of cross-company and cross-toolchain cooperation, reflecting the openness that characterizes the SDV ecosystem.
The Bosch Innovation Campus provided an environment well-suited to this style of collaborative work. Open project spaces, casual seating areas, and accessible breakouts encouraged hands-on discussions, iterative refinement, and fast decision-making. Many teams made use of the flexible layout to continuously switch between ideation, prototyping, and testing.
Teams tackling real use cases
The participating teams focused on diverse and practical use cases - from enhancing driver experience and safety to exploring orchestration of vehicle applications and update workflows. Across the board, the projects demonstrated how SDV technologies can be combined to address real-world challenges in vehicle software design and operation.
ArbytesMoral and “CarMate”
The Berlin-based team ArbytesMoral received first place for their project "CarMate", an AI-supported, voice-driven, context-aware driver companion aimed at improving well-being and sustained attention on long or solitary journeys.
Fatigue and monotony are known contributors to reduced awareness and increased error risk during extended driving. CarMate addresses this by providing supportive voice interaction that adapts to the driver’s emotional and cognitive state, helping maintain focus without becoming a source of distraction.
The team integrated several SDV technologies to build their solution:
| Technology | Purpose in the System |
|---|---|
| Technology |
Purpose in the System
Communication between services and components
|
| Technology |
Purpose in the System
Standardized and safe access to vehicle data
|
| Technology |
Purpose in the System
Coordinating and orchestrating in-vehicle applications
|
|
Technology
MQTT & CARLA Simulator
|
Purpose in the System
Testing interactions in realistic driving conditions
|
The result demonstrated how SDV building blocks can be combined into a coherent application centered on driver support and safety. They proposed their solution as a new Eclipse SDV blueprint.
Key observations from the Hackathon:
- Collaboration across organizations and toolchains proved to be an important enabler for rapid progress.
- The open-source SDV ecosystem continues to provide a flexible foundation for experimentation.
- Teams actively explored practical, experience-oriented use cases, reflecting increasing interest in human-vehicle interaction and operational software workflows.
The event showcased how collaboration and shared learning can move the SDV ecosystem forward.
A sincere thank you goes to all teams, hack coaches, and contributors, to 42 Porto for co-hosting, and to the Eclipse Foundation for handling all organizational matters.
The community looks forward to the next edition and to continuing the joint exploration of the future of vehicle software.