Elly Yates-Roberts |
Microsoft is collaborating with Volkswagen Group’s software company Car.Software Organisation to build an Automated Driving Platform (ADP) on Microsoft Azure. Microsoft says that Car.Software Organisation will then use the service to simplify its development processes in an effort to “bring automated driving solutions to the Group’s cars even faster”.
Through the partnership, the two companies will address some of the challenges facing automated driving – such as the vast amount of data needed to train machine learning algorithms used in advanced driver assistance systems – by using one database which comprises real traffic data from the Group’s vehicles, as well as simulation data.
Microsoft says that the ADP will “help reduce the development cycles from months to weeks and efficiently manage the huge amount of data”.
“This is the next evolution of our foundational work with the Volkswagen Group to enhance their transformation as a software-driven mobility provider,” said Scott Guthrie, executive vice president of cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) at Microsoft. “The power of Microsoft Azure and its compute, data and AI capabilities will enable Volkswagen to deliver secure and reliable automated driving solutions to their customers faster.”
The new initiative builds on a longstanding partnership between Microsoft and Volkswagen, which in 2018 saw the companies start collaborating on the Volkswagen Automotive Cloud (VW.AC), to drive Volkswagen’s digital transformation and mobility offerings. The first VW.AC connected fleets are expected to begin road tests in 2021.