The company Stellantis, which manages car brands such as Citroen, Peugeot or Jeep, and the world's leading provider of IT cloud solutions, Amazon, announced a partnership earlier this year with the aim of making life easier and more convenient for drivers. The data-intensive automotive industry is integrating more and more cloud services, and manufacturers seem more open to new solutions than ever. So what's driving this trend and what's in it for drivers?
It will better understand what a specific person expects
Flexibility and convenience are often the biggest benefits of using IT cloud services in cars. For example, one of the most striking features of the collaboration between Stellantis and Amazon will be the universal STLA SmartCockpit platform, which will control multimedia systems in cars in the future.
The innovative platform will allow the multi-manufacturer company to offer special functions for a specific model, which means that the operation of the system will be able to be precisely adapted to the needs of a specific driver.
For example, in Citroën family cars, the STLA SmartCockpit will provide recommendations for travel planning or nearby establishments such as restaurants, while in Jeep SUVs, the multimedia system will explain and even train the driver about off-road features and relevant car functions.
Collaborations with technology companies will enable new vehicles to incorporate technologies that were previously only available on smartphones. For example, cloud services will be able to be used for video calls. Rear seat passengers will be able to access streaming services.
According to automotive expert Matas Buzelis, in the near future, thanks to the Internet of Things (IoT) technology and these collaboration solutions, people will always have the functionality that is relevant to them at hand.
"The new generation of cars employs significantly more data. Such technologies will allow manufacturers to use them more purposefully and create additional value for drivers," the communications manager of carVertical, a car history verification platform, is convinced.
According to him, such partnerships will not only encourage drivers to use the offered functionality, to appreciate its convenience. Of course, this will also help sell cars, as manufacturers will have another trump card to highlight the advantages of their models.
"Maybe there will be some sort of built-in Spotify that doesn't require you to link your car to your phone." Just by connecting the app to your account once, you will be able to listen to the music you want whenever you jump into the car", the interviewer gives an example of the nearest services.
Software updates will arrive faster
The growing integration of cloud services in the automotive industry is driven by the need to provide increased security, speed and smart features that can be unreasonably expensive to build from scratch. As a result, car manufacturers often base their services on cloud-based tools developed by hard-working professionals who have already seen billions of dollars worth of investment.
For example, by choosing Amazon Web Services (AWS), automakers will have access to hundreds of different services and be able to build the products they want for their customers. And drivers will be able to be sure that software system updates and security patches will download significantly faster in their cars and system reliability will be ensured at all times.
According to Mr. Buzel, it would be much more expensive for car manufacturers to create this level of functionality from scratch than using experienced partners. The issue of security is no less important - such players as Amazon have accumulated enormous experience in working with data, ensuring its transmission and operational security, high-speed operation between different devices, etc.
AWS customers include well-known companies such as Twitter, Netflix, Facebook, the BBC, as well as various government agencies. The strong point of the American company is the almost continuous operation of services and first-class security.
"As we approach the time when cars will become almost or fully autonomous, they will inevitably need to be connected to each other and to the infrastructure." Then the role of data security will be even greater, so it must be given great attention now. I would think that such partnerships together can increase protection against cyber attacks," the specialist notes.
New and faster services
While Tesla has so far been a leading beacon of innovative software solutions in the automotive industry, the collaboration with AWS will allow us to offer even more innovative solutions for all vehicles of the Stellantis concern.
In order to bring new products to customers faster, Stellantis and Amazon are jointly developing a cloud-based Virtual Engineering Workbench development environment that automates some software development and machine learning development processes. This means that in the future, manufacturers will be able to respond to market needs more quickly, and new products should reach vehicles much faster.
Also, Amazon isn't just a place to store servers. AWS offers hundreds of tools and additional services to its customers.
In the context of the automotive industry, this means that manufacturers do not have to invest in servers and their maintenance. With managed cloud services, they can quickly and easily build services for their customers. For example, drivers of future Citroen models can expect to quickly integrate state-of-the-art services into their cars, even after they purchase them.
Voice commands and entertainment
In addition to making it faster and easier to create new digital services, the partnership with Amazon enables manufacturers to add the smart assistant Alexa to cars, which makes it easier to search for information and control various vehicle functions.
Many car manufacturers have been offering a voice control system in their vehicles for years, but it often works far from perfect or has limited functionality. Since large companies with a global reach have invested hundreds of millions of euros in the development of their assistants, their integration can offer drivers significantly more functionality than before.
Today, many manufacturers have adopted similar solutions, and in addition to the Stellantis brands, Alexa lives in cars from the Jaguar Land Rover group, Alfa Romeo and Audi. For the driver, the collaboration with the technology giant means that controlling the various functions of the vehicle is easier than ever before.All new products developed by Stellantis in collaboration with Amazon will reach cars in the next few years.
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