Client Spotlight: Automotive Edge Computing Consortium

Q&A with Tech Consortia Client, Automotive Edge Computing Consortium (AECC)

What is the Automotive Edge Computing Consortium?

AECC: The Automotive Edge Computing Consortium (AECC) is an association of cross-industry, global leaders working to explore the rapidly evolving connected vehicle industry and the significant data and communications needs involved in instrumenting millions of vehicles worldwide. SBD Automotive estimates that by 2025 there will be more than 400 million vehicles on the road – all with embedded connectivity. Yet, today’s network and computing systems aren’t optimized to handle this volume of data in real-time. The AECC’s goal is to develop an open, global technology framework designed to support the automotive ecosystem as all vehicles become connected.

Technology agnostic, the AECC’s working groups focus on the open-standards, solutions, and technologies needed to support the transfer of data and communications between the vehicle and local networks, near the source of the data, and then to a centralized cloud in a seamless, safe, reliable and optimized manner.

What types of members do you have and what do they do?

AECC: AECC members are key players associated with the automotive, high-speed mobile network, edge computing, wireless technology, distributed computing, and artificial intelligence markets. Individual collaborators share deep experience with many roles, such as:

1. Academia and Commercial Researchers
2. Aftermarket Consumer Electronics Vendors
3. Automotive OEMs
4. Big Data/Analytics Service Providers
5. Cloud Computing Service Providers
6. Communities involving telecommunications and infrastructure; Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC); and Open Edge Computing
7. Mobile Network Equipment Providers
8. Mobile Network Operators
9. Policy and Standards Groups

How can I get involved with AECC?

AECC: AECC has a corporate engagement plan in which companies can join as members, which provides full access to the Use-case Development Working Group, Technical Solutions Working Group, Proof of Concept Committee, Liaison Relationship Strategy Committee and the Marketing Steering Committee. The AECC also attends many industry events to promote and showcase its work, such as Mobile World Congress, as well as holds webinars open to the public. The AECC is also in the process of developing a path for non-member companies to participate in AECC’s proof of concepts – more information to come in the near future!

Can you tell me about AECC’s Driving Data to Deliver: Addressing the Connected Vehicle Challenge?

AECC: Over the course of the last year, AECC has been executing on our Driving Data to Deliver campaign, which is designed to highlight the future data management challenge associated with the growing connected car ecosystem and how the AECC is working to address them. The campaign included four analyst-led webinars in which AECC Board members addressed the challenges and opportunities for the three key industries making up AECC membership, automotive OEMs, MNOs and computing/network technology providers.. We also published a series of complementary analyst-led white papers on the same topics and produced video and blog thought leadership content around the issue. Speaking and panel engagements at industry events have been another important aspect of this campaign. Over the course of the year, AECC Board members have participated in seven industry events, which have provided a great platform for educating the broader community on AECC’s mission and garnering interest in the data management issues it seeks to address.

What makes the AECC different from other Consortiums that are looking at 5G, edge computing, and automotive services?

AECC: A big differentiator is that the AECC isn’t focused on all aspects of 5G or 4G or 3G, nor is it focused on all aspects of mobility. We look solely at the mobile edge computing section of that broader landscape of connected vehicles. We focus on those particular use cases that take advantage of mobile edge computing and work on solutions that will be useful for not just the mobility domain, but also other possible adjacent markets, like virtual reality.

How has AECC had to adapt due to the COVID-19 pandemic?

AECC: The most obvious impact has been moving to all-virtual platforms and not being able to travel. As a globally distributed group, we always relied on virtual meetings to some extent, but we also had three member meetings each year across the globe that allowed us to meet and collaborate face-to-face, and we also looked forward to getting together at industry events. We’ve been able to effectively move our All Member Meetings online during the pandemic, and the virtual gatherings allowed us to continue sharing and collaborating as a global team. Similarly, our presence at industry events has been all virtual. While we’ve made the best of the situation and continue to glean significant value from these events – both internal and industry – we do look forward to resuming travel and in-person gatherings and to benefitting from the collaboration and networking opportunities they afford.

About Automotive Edge Computing Consortium

AECC works with leaders across industries to drive the evolution of edge network architectures and computing infrastructures to support high volume data services in a smarter, more efficient connected-vehicle future.

For more information about Automotive Edge Computing Consortium, www.aecc.org, or submit an inquiry aecc.org/contact