Elly Yates-Roberts |
Microsoft is looking towards the future of automotive with a range of exciting developments and partnerships that will help enable customer innovation and shape a sustainable strategy for the automotive, mobility and transportation industry.
Set against the backdrop of an industry that is transforming as vehicles become electric, connected and increasingly data-driven, Microsoft technologies will help customers move towards a future in which autonomous vehicles and shared mobility services change the way people move.
The organisation is emphasising the need for innovation in driving the future of mobility and is focusing on the topics it believes will be essential to the industry as it adapts to the coming change. These include: embracing electrification and autonomy in the design of vehicles; how companies are building the technical talent required for a software-defined world; creating connected supply chains to manage quickly changing market conditions; transforming the customer experience with digital journeys; unifying data by creating a digital feedback loop; and leveraging that data to create and monetise new mobility services. Microsoft is working with partners and customers to help take advantage of the range of new opportunities presented by these radical changes in the technical and commercial landscape.
The solutions leveraging Microsoft technologies to take advantage of this opportunity were set to be highlighted this year at CES 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. However, with the emergence and rapid spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, Microsoft decided to pull out of in-person attendance to help ensure the safety of its employees, attendees and the wider community. In the absence of this flagship showcase, however, Technology Record is highlighting the exciting work being carried out by Microsoft and its partners.
For example, the Renault Alpine Formula 1 team has worked with Microsoft and its technologies to use connected vehicle data to improve racing performance. Also involved in Formula 1 is engineering simulation software provider Ansys, which has implemented high-performance computing and simulation to drive innovation in the digital engineering process.
Connected vehicle data company Wejo has shown how making vehicle data more broadly available and leveraging the power of distributed processing will help to develop sustainable mobility, while also addressing concerns that consumers might have about information privacy. Meanwhile, PTC’s extensive industrial internet of things solutions leverage Microsoft technology to help automotive enterprises transform manufacturing and operations.
BrightDrop, a new company specialising in electric transportation vehicles introduced by General Motors this year, is working to explore sustainable automated delivery services. These development efforts come as part of the partnership between General Motors, Cruise and Microsoft, in which they are bringing together their respective resources to commercialise self-driving vehicles. In addition, Microsoft, engineering and technology company Bosch and the not-for-profit Eclipse Foundation have teamed up for the development of software-defined vehicles.
As the automotive, travel and transportation industry continues down a path to profound change, Microsoft is helping to create the solutions that will come to define this challenging but opportunity-filled future.
This article was originally published in the Winter 21/22 issue of Technology Record. To get future issues delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for a free subscription.