Edge Computing and the Future of Connected Vehicle Services
The AECC recently held a panel at ITS World Congress in Los Angeles to discuss the future of connected vehicle services, its Proof of Concept (PoC) program, and how it is unlocking the connected vehicle services opportunity using the AECC’s distributed edge computing approach. The distinguished presenters included Ludovico Fassati, AECC member and SVP America at Nexar, Roger Berg, AECC Communications Vice Chair and Vice President of DENSO’s North American Research and Development Group, and Said Tabet, AECC Board Member and Distinguished Engineer at Dell Technologies.
The panel, “Edge Computing and the Future of Connected Vehicle Services,” began with a discussion about the state of the connected vehicle services landscape, its challenges and its opportunities. Following that, Tabet dove into some of the specific challenges, noting that current networks can’t manage data volumes and that emerging services such as intelligent driving, HD mapping, and mass mobile communication will only increase data needs further.
The AECC brings together a combination of OEMs, MNOs, and Cloud and App providers to address this daunting data challenge. Together, these cross-industry leaders work to develop new specifications and protocols that will help pave the way for connected vehicle services advancements.
Edge computing technology is a cornerstone of the AECC’s approach and is said to be a permanent growing point for the future of all mapping projects. The value of edge computing, in conjunction with other technologies, is on display in the AECC’s PoC program. The PoC Committee is focused on developing technology demonstrations to showcase how AECC solutions can be executed and utilized in real-world environments to help with these expanding data management needs. As part of the ITS World Congress presentation, panelist Ludo Fassati of Nexar went into the details of a recent PoC presentation that included his company, KDDI and Oracle Japan. Vehicles were sent across town to detect curbside parking availability. The data was collected through Nexar dashcams, simultaneously transferred to the edge and then back into the cars looking for parking, alerting drivers of available spots.
Fassati noted after analysis that “the cost is 100 times less than it would have been if this data had been sent to the traditional cloud instead of using edge.” Along with drastically decreasing costs, edge technology also allows for increased storage capacity because everything can be deleted with the touch of a button when the data is no longer needed.
Panelists then went on to discuss another PoC proposal, conducted by Toyota, Ericsson, and Vodafone, which provided a great example of how non-AECC members can participate in this valuable program. In this example, Vodafone, a non-member, joined member companies Toyota and Ericsson to test the use of distributed edge and centralized compute, to enable vehicle connectivity from one edge to another through a gateway. It’s very important to be able to travel long distances and not worry about losing that edge connection. Through this collaboration, they were able to test the capability to store, transfer, and process data, all while still being connected to the gateway.
The AECC PoC program is on a journey to overcome the challenge of managing high volumes of data while simultaneously improving compatibility between vehicle data transfer and edge technology. We invite you to contribute to this effort. As Vodafone demonstrated, the PoC program offers a great opportunity for an introduction to AECC’s work without committing to membership. It’s a wonderful way to begin your involvement and collaborate with one or more of our member partners.
After a few years of missing out on in-person events, we could not have been more delighted to bring AECC and our new PoC program to ITS World Congress, our first event in over two years! We look forward to more and hope to see folks at our next planned event, Mobile World Congress, in Barcelona next year.
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