On Tuesday, Stellantis announced that making use of BlackBerry technology and Amazon’s computing power, it had created a ‘virtual cockpit’ to develop and test new versions of car systems and controls in one day instead of months.
They explained that it can create ‘realistic virtual versions of car controls and systems, making them behave just like they would in a real car, but without needing to change the main software that runs them’ reducing development time ‘to 24 hours in some cases.’
In 2022, a partnership was announced by Amazon and the third-largest automaker by sales for Stellantis to use Amazon Web Services to create software-based products for its cars and provide regular updates.
‘With out virtual cockpit, we’re revolutionizing not just our approach, but also that of our suppliers and partners in the industry,’ said Yves Bonnefont, Stellantis chief software officer. ‘We’re able to get closer to our customer’s needs through this technology with faster development cycles.’
Now, Legacy automakers are being pressured to speed up the cycles of vehicle development from new Chinese electric vehicle makers who can develop new models in a fraction of the time.
These Chinese electric vehicle makers are also at the top of the charts in producing in-vehicle software and infotainment.
Using BlackBerry technology, Stellantis stated that the virtual platform ‘offers little to no difference between running systems in the cloud versus on real hardware.’
Canadian technology company BlackBerry has shifted from hardware and devices to enterprise software and cybersecurity.
Stellantis stated that it can also increase the speed of customer feedback on a particular vehicle and brand, and ‘make changes in real time to optimize the experience for the driver.’
By Marvellous Iwendi
Source: Reuters