Who Does What? Understanding the Reference Architecture for Automotive Edge Computing
Delivering connected vehicle services requires coordination across many organizations. Automotive manufacturers design vehicles, telecom operators manage networks, cloud providers supply computing resources, and software developers create digital services.
Without a clear architectural model, integrating these components becomes difficult. Systems can become fragmented, performance suffers, and new services take longer to deploy.
The Automotive Edge Computing Consortium (AECC) addresses this problem in its Industry Blueprint 1.0. One of the blueprint’s most important contributions is a reference architecture that defines how distributed automotive edge computing systems are structured and how responsibilities are shared across industry participants.
This architecture creates a common framework for building scalable connected-vehicle platforms.
The Physical Infrastructure
At the foundation of the architecture is a distributed infrastructure that spans multiple layers.
Vehicles connect through access networks, which include cellular technologies such as long-term evolution (LTE) and 5G, as well as Wi-Fi networks. These connections allow vehicles to transmit telemetry data and receive updates from external systems. Data then flows to an appropriate edge site, which might be a far-edge site located within or very close to the appropriate access network, or a near-edge site located in a regional data center. Data might be preprocessed in the vehicles so that unnecessary data is filtered and data to be transferred is compressed. AECC calls such vehicles device edges. Above these layers sits the central cloud, where large-scale analytics and long-term data storage occur.
This distributed structure allows data to be processed at the most appropriate location based on latency requirements and computational needs.
The Key Industry Actors
The reference architecture defines the responsibilities of several key participants in the connected-vehicle value chain.
Automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers
Automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) build the vehicles and integrate communication systems that connect them to the broader infrastructure.
OEMs determine what data vehicles collect and how that data is used. They also deploy services such as remote diagnostics, teleoperation support, and over-the-air (OTA) software updates, which allow vehicle software to be updated remotely.
Within the AECC architecture, OEMs act as the primary providers of vehicle data and as the operators of many connected-vehicle services.
Tier-1 Suppliers
Tier-1 suppliers provide hardware and software components that enable vehicle connectivity and data processing. These components may include sensor-fusion modules, gateway electronic control units (ECUs), and onboard data management systems.
An electronic control unit (ECU) is a specialized embedded computer that manages a specific function within a vehicle, such as braking, steering, or sensor processing.
Tier-1 suppliers ensure that these components remain interoperable across multiple vehicle platforms and manufacturers.
Network Operators
Network operators provide the communications infrastructure that connects vehicles, edge nodes, and cloud systems.
Modern networks can offer advanced capabilities such as network slicing, which creates virtual network segments tailored to specific service requirements. For example, safety-critical vehicle communications may operate on a dedicated slice with guaranteed performance characteristics.
Operators may also provide multi-access edge computing (MEC) platforms. MEC brings computing resources closer to users, allowing applications to process data with lower latency.
Through standardized application programming interfaces (APIs), operators can expose these network capabilities (and others) to developers and service providers to improve a variety of services. There’s almost no aspect of connected vehicle services that could not be improved through standardized APIs, including quality on demand (QoD) differentiated connectivity, security, location services, and more.
Edge and Cloud Infrastructure Providers
Edge and cloud infrastructure providers operate the distributed computing platforms that run automotive workloads.
Their responsibilities include:
- Managing compute and storage resources across edge nodes and cloud systems.
- Scaling workloads dynamically based on demand.
- Ensuring high availability and security for distributed services.
These providers form the digital infrastructure on which connected-vehicle applications operate.
Mobility Service Providers
Mobility service providers (MSPs) build applications that deliver value to drivers and transportation systems.
Examples include cooperative perception services, high-definition mapping platforms, traffic management systems, and vehicle-centric digital services.
MSPs rely on APIs and data access policies defined by OEMs and infrastructure providers to deploy their applications across distributed edge environments.
Control Plane and User Plane Functions
The AECC architecture also distinguishes between control plane and user plane functions.
The control plane manages orchestration and policy enforcement across the system. It monitors network, compute, and data resources and determines where workloads should run.
The user plane handles operational data flows. It processes vehicle telemetry, sensor data, and application workloads that deliver real-time services.
Separating these functions allows large distributed systems to operate efficiently while maintaining centralized coordination.
Why Standardized Interfaces Matter
A major risk in complex distributed systems is interoperability failure. When vendors implement proprietary interfaces, systems become difficult to integrate and scale.
The AECC blueprint addresses this issue by defining standardized interfaces for communication between vehicles, networks, edge nodes, and cloud systems.
These interfaces enable:
- Secure identity and authentication management.
- Data governance and access policies.
- Monitoring and telemetry across the system.
- Service exposure for application developers.
Standardization helps ensure that solutions from different vendors can work together without extensive customization. Standardized interfaces are key to enabling interoperable and scalable ecosystems across multiple providers.
Lessons from Industry Trials
Proof-of-concept trials conducted by AECC members confirm the value of this architectural approach.
For example, distributed edge deployments have demonstrated faster processing for high-definition map updates and improved resilience through dynamic traffic routing across multiple edge nodes.
These trials show how a coordinated architecture allows different industry participants to deliver services more efficiently.
A Blueprint for Collaboration
Connected vehicle services depend on collaboration between industries that historically operated separately. Automotive manufacturers, telecom operators, cloud providers, and software developers must now work within a shared technical framework.
The AECC reference architecture provides that framework. It clarifies roles, defines interfaces, and establishes a scalable model for distributed automotive edge computing.
For organizations building connected-vehicle platforms, understanding this architecture is a critical step toward deploying reliable services at global scale.
