Back in October 2022, BMW Group became the first car company to use the AWS cloud platform to manage the data generated by its connected vehicles. Now, that deal has expanded with the announcement that AWS will be the cloud provider of choice for BMW’s automated driving platform.
BMW Group’s new advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) will be used to equip the company’s Neue Klasse of vehicles, due to launch in 2025, with state-of-the-art technology, and AWS will play a critical role in providing the required infrastructure.
The system will utilize BMW’s existing Cloud Data Hub on AWS and leverage various AWS capabilities including compute, generative AI, IoT, machine learning (ML), and data storage.
“Automated driving is about more than just convenience; it’s also aimed at providing driver assistance technology that helps prevent injuries and saves lives,” said Wendy Bauer, general manager of Automotive and Manufacturing at AWS in a press release.
“Implementing these systems on the BMW Group’s international scale requires an approach that can process and analyze vast amounts of data, as well as learn and innovate, so automakers can develop safer and more reliable automated and ADAS systems. Working with AWS and Qualcomm Technologies, the BMW Group has the tools required to help make its vision of providing safe, premium quality, high performance, and highly automated driving functions to its customers a reality.”
What Is ADAS?
An advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) is a collection of tools and features such as early warning systems, automated braking, and various sensors that make the driving experience safer and more comfortable. They are a critical component in the development of autonomous vehicles.
With AWS as the BMW Group’s cloud partner, the company will be able to fine-tune ADAS systems based on customer demand and feedback and implement upgrades more quickly, the two companies said.
Ultimately, hosting the system in the cloud eliminates the inevitable silos that form during the development process and enables more efficient collaboration and delivery between the many suppliers required to launch a next-generation automation platform.
Another benefit of AWS is its competency to handle the increase in data volume that will inevitably result as the development process continues to grow in complexity. Again, while this cloud functionality will assist the development of features, it will also enable faster deployment.
With a common reference architecture, AWS will help BMW Group accelerate development and scale innovations across the car maker’s wider product offerings. The company can build and test elements of the platform quickly and accurately for safety and efficiency. Real-time driving data from any vehicle can be stored using Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3). Data and engineering teams can build and test models with Amazon SageMaker. Engineers can develop and verify large-scale simulations on AWS compute instances
AWS for Accelerated Development, Delivery
Using AWS, BMW Group hopes to speed up the time to market for its automated vehicles. And this is crucial. Today, there is an ongoing battle for supremacy in the semi- and fully-automated vehicle market.
BMW Group recently announced a partnership with Innoviz to boost the capabilities of the LiDAR technology used to guide self-driving vehicles to overtake Tesla, which is currently stuck at Level 2 on the autonomous driving scale.
However, while hardware matters, especially when discussing a manufacturing giant like BMW Group, software is equally important, and this extended partnership with AWS could give them an edge.
