To spur the development of cloud-linked services utilizing vehicle data, Renesas Electronics Corporation announced the availability of its Connected Car Software Development Tools. Using the new tools, developers working with the R-Car system-on-chip (SoC) family can create applications, such as predictive safety infotainment applications that link dynamic data from the vehicle and the cloud in real time with algorithms developed based on big data in the cloud. This enables out-of-the-box development of innovative applications instead of the traditional approach of simply connecting the vehicle to the cloud, making cloud services available in the vehicle.
Due to the unique challenges of managing vehicle data and the need to develop applications under conditions where in-vehicle testing is difficult or impossible, it has been difficult for software developers to leverage the rich cloud services that Amazon Web Services™ (AWS™) provides through vehicle data at the edge, such as predictive driving support applications. Renesas’ new software development toolset makes it possible to generate new services that combine, in real time, vehicle data (e.g., the driving status and the state of the drivers) and cloud-based data (e.g., construction, congestion, or other road conditions) as well as weather reports and maps.
To link the cloud and the edge, Renesas has adopted AWS’ cloud services and the Greengrass for its software development tools. The software development tools have been validated by both AWS Greengrass and AWS IoT core and have been tested to run on the R-Car Starter Kit under Automotive Grade Linux environment.
Furthermore, scalability of such applications could be extended to enable coordination with additional data from driver monitoring. For example, predictive driving assistance can be realized in which the application would make calculations based on data from the vehicle, such as information on driver emergencies, driving skills, fuel, or tire pressure, plus forecasts of weather or road conditions from the cloud, and determine the optimal route or provide coaching to the driver. Realization of these new services will not only enhance convenience and safety for drivers, it will also help “mobility businesses” such as automakers, dealerships, insurance companies, and car rental agencies to expand and provide more added value to customers. This leads to accelerate the entry of new businesses in the service layer and bring innovations leading to a new age of mobility.
The new toolset includes:
- A simulator that can generate vehicle data from the accelerator, brake pedals and the steering angle.
- An edge controller that maintains the vehicle data
- A vehicle Application Programming Interface (API) that links with applications such as driver monitoring
- Interfaces that connect vehicle data to the cloud
- Out-of-the-box cloud service application development using vehicle data on a PC
- Low-Risk Investment and Full-Customization Options
- R-Car Compatibility and Reduced Risk for Greater Peace of Mind
The evaluation version of the new software development tools, which include R-Car deployment tools, will initially be made available in December 2018 to members of the R-Car Consortium, and a general release of the commercial version is planned for Q1 2019. (Availability is subject to change without notice.)
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