Q: Please describe your role at Intel and how you are involved in the different standards organizations and industry forums.

A: Intel is a global company enabling our partners and customers with solutions for computing and communications. I work on wireless standards and new technologies at Intel. My teams represent Intel at many global standards development and industry fora including 3GPP and IEE802. We are at the front end of Intel’s wireless access and networking technology pipeline. During convergence of computing and communications, we were already moving toward next-generation platforms. Intel is playing an increasingly important role in developing underlying technologies for these platforms. It’s why we participate with system partners in different standards groups and other bodies and in industry forums such as the Automotive Edge Computing Consortium. Personally, I am head of Intel’s delegation to 3GPP, and I also serve as a director at several industry forums.

Q: Intel is one of the founding members of the AECC. What was Intel’s role in that founding partnership and why did you decide to form this organization?

A: Intel is part of a broad collaboration for creating enabling technologies for the industry around the world. Our OEM/ODM customers use Intel’s hardware and software platforms to develop their final products, whether it’s a PC at work, a server in a data center, or an access node on a 5G network. We feel strongly that working cross-industry enables stakeholders to go beyond just working through technical issues and helps everyone address systematic solutions for different business sectors. The automotive industry in particular is of high interest to Intel, and for that reason Intel was one of the founding members of the AECC. We have been working well with all our partners in the AECC. We’re making great progress.

Q: As a founding member and a board member, describe the AECC’s mission and goals.

A: It’s about how computing, communication and data are coming together in the next generation of systems. AECC’s purpose relates to the integration of these three capabilities, which will enable machines to think and talk to each other, to operate autonomously, and to adapt to users’ needs and changing environments. This technology transformation creates unlimited possibilities beyond what we have today. Being a founding member of the AECC means we are working with key companies such as Toyota, Ericsson, KDDI, AT&T, Dell and Cisco and others. Collaborations like these give us the ability to really expand the technologies beyond the traditional basic issues for computing and communications. The AECC helps members to bring together enabling technologies and integrate them into proposed solutions that have a greater impact and benefit to society.

Q: Where do you see the connected vehicle market and the ecosystem going? Where will growth occur?

A: We clearly see the market demand and the market requirements for connected vehicles and for autonomous will accelerate demands for extra computing right to the edge of the network. Imagine the many fantastic new use cases we could enable! That’s what we are getting very excited about. We think of the AECC as a platform where we can work with our partners to make that happen.

Q: You’re in other standards bodies, including the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA). How does one differentiate between the AECC and typical standards bodies?

A: Intel has broad participation in international standards development organizations. The AECC is of special interest to Intel because its compact size allows close collaboration among member companies and enables developing a detailed system design and implementation. AECC’s implementable reference designs offer a unique value not usually found in a standards development world. The ability to go into the technical details is one unique feature of the AECC, and that is of tremendous value to the industry and to Intel.

Q: You serve as chairman of the AECC’s Liaison Sub-committee. What are your goals for the Liaison Committee?

A: The world is increasingly interconnected, and technology has never developed as fast as it is now. This is also true for all standards bodies and industry forums like the AECC. We are working with broader standards developing bodies and industry forums, and for that reason, we created the liaison relationship strategy committee. I’m very honored and pleased to be named chairman of that committee. We are reaching out and working with the broader industry and standards development bodies to make sure that the designs and technologies developed in the AECC can produce the impact we want and bring about exciting new capabilities to the industry.

Q: As a founder of the AECC, what do you enjoy about being a member in its transformational work?

Being a founding member has allowed us to get involved with a fantastic group of colleagues from the very beginning. The past two years of setting up the forum has been a learning exercise for me and Intel. Membership enables us to work very closely, like a family. Collaborators work together with common goals, starting from scratch to develop and prioritize use cases. These allow us to approach the technical solutions that make a system function. Working out the details is a tremendous journey and a very satisfying experience for me. I’m pretty sure it’s the same for many of my colleagues at the AECC.

A: What is the primary benefit of joining the AECC and why would you urge other people to become a part of it?

The primary benefit of AECC membership is being able to work on teams of leading stakeholders in the connected vehicle ecosystem. It’s how the member companies work together for a common set of reasons and goals. Teamwork lets us really get into the details. It helps us focus, produce, and deliver impactful technical reference solutions to stakeholders in the connected vehicle industry. We need more participants and we urge other companies to join us on this very exciting mission and journey.