Software-defined vehicles are becoming more and more commonplace — particularly as automakers seek to integrate more advanced driver-assistance systems and higher levels of automation in today's cars.
With that, Continental and Amazon Web Services are teaming up on a new, open automotive software development platform that they say will expedite the development of these automated and autonomous driving systems.
The partners are collaborating on a high-performance platform, Continental Automotive Edge, coined CAEdge, the German supplier said Thursday, with AWS serving as the partnership's cloud provider.
CAEdge is the first collaboration between Continental and AWS.
Continental said in a statement that the platform helps "develop, supply and maintain software-intensive system functions" and will better enable downloading updates in software-defined vehicles.
CAEdge, "a modular hardware and software platform that connects the vehicle to the cloud," is being tested in an undisclosed automaker's series development.
This first application of the CAEdge platform will virtually simulate a highly automated driving system using data from a vehicle fleet's camera and radar.
The platform enables sensor data collection and processing, data management, model training and virtual simulations and secure over-the-air software updates throughout the lifetime of a vehicle. It will be available to other customers starting at the end of this year.
"Software is at the forefront of innovation in cars," Dirk Abendroth, Continental Automotive chief technology officer, said in the statement. "With our CAEdge platform, we are establishing a new approach to developing vehicle architectures and software in the automotive industry."
Continental has increasingly been developing advanced vehicle architectures and software, while Amazon Web Services has been bolstering its position as a cloud provider for automotive applications.
AWS announced in December a joint data platform with BlackBerry that guides automakers and third-party developers in personalizing and improving cloud-connected vehicles.
