Joint software will accelerate the introduction of new data-driven features, services, and enhancements for drivers, and help automakers advance connected-car and software-defined vehicle capabilities.
Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), an Amazon.com, Inc. company, and the BMW Group today announced a strategic collaboration to develop customizable cloud software that will simplify the distribution and management of data from millions of connected vehicles.
The BMW Group will be the first automaker to use the software, which will serve as the basis for its next-generation, cloud-based vehicle data platform. Moving forward, the new software will be available to other automakers, enabling them to easily integrate vehicle data sources, accelerate vehicle and fleet application feature development, and improve life cycle management, while delivering advanced vehicle features and more personalized driver experiences at lower costs.
Nicolai Krämer, vice president of Vehicle Connectivity Platforms at the BMW Group, said:
“We have 20 million connected vehicles on the road today. With the launch of the ‘Neue Klasse,’ BMW’s next generation of vehicles, our offboard cloud platform, powered by AWS, will process roughly triple the volume of vehicle data compared to the current generation of BMW models.”
“Together with AWS, we will continue to create innovative solutions that enable us to develop and deliver new data-driven functions to customers worldwide, even faster.”
The BMW Group and AWS co-developed solution collects BMW vehicle signals and fleet intelligence data, then securely processes and routes the data in the cloud. Using AWS’s cloud infrastructure and its industry-leading security, the BMW Group ensures that its customer data is protected and processed in accordance with data privacy requirements and customer preferences. Only the BMW Group’s internal domain experts—vehicle application developers, fleet managers, data scientists, and artificial intelligence, business intelligence, and development engineers—gain access to the data via a self-service mechanism that gathers streaming vehicle data, easily adds new data sources, configures access in accordance with governance policies, and monitors the quality and health of streaming sources. The data is then combined with AWS capabilities, including analytics, machine learning, database, storage, and compute, enabling the BMW Group experts to create new vehicle features and applications.
“Rapid, data-fueled innovation is critical to unlocking next-generation vehicle capabilities for automotive organizations, particularly as the industry looks to expand electric vehicle adoption, software-defined vehicle development, new digital service paradigms, and more autonomous vehicle features,” said Sarah Cooper, general manager of AWS Industry Products at Amazon Web Services, Inc. “By teaming up with the BMW Group, we are building infrastructure today that will generate value for the next generation of vehicles. Together, we are excited to make the vision of software-defined transportation a reality and to enhance the capabilities of vehicles on the road.”
The BMW Group is the first to benefit from this jointly developed AWS software that will be part of the AWS for Automotive offering, delivering the technology automakers need to build the next generation of software-centric platforms. The software will help other automakers offer add-on features like electric vehicle range improvements or performance upgrades for a weekend off-road, and it will help fleet managers develop responsive, vehicle-aware applications.
These next-generation platforms give automakers the opportunity to develop centralized, high-performance computing capabilities, continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) software development throughout the vehicle life cycle, near real-time data management, and machine learning for autonomous vehicles. New technologies like these will provide the foundation for future mobility solutions, including autonomous and electric vehicles.