This year’s congress event highlighted topics such as autonomy and sustainability with a focus on the reduction of carbon emissions, retail, and the role of governments in developing industrial decision-making. Microsoft provided thought leadership around our role in supporting transformation in the automotive industry.

Our focus encapsulates the entire segment known as “mobility” with a distinct concentration in automotive, mobility, transportation, and logistics, or effectively, the movement of people and goods. Within automotive, we provide the “platform for platform creators” and empower companies to innovate around industry opportunities.  

Accelerating the future of mobility

Transform to smart mobility.

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Addressing the industry challenges

While these opportunities are expanding, the industry is hyper-focused on the larger challenges that must be addressed to pave the path forward. These include: 

• Technological disruption: The rapid pace of technological advancements and the challenges for companies to stay ahead of the curve. Existing automotive OEMs and mobility companies need to invest in research and development to keep up with evolving customer expectations and industry standards. 
• Regulatory environment: The mobility industry is subject to various regulations and standards related to safety, emissions, and data privacy. Especially as we evolve autonomous systems and connected data. Companies need to navigate these regulations while ensuring compliance and adapting to changing requirements as new standards are introduced and mature. 
• Infrastructure limitations: The adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) requires a robust charging infrastructure, while autonomous vehicles rely on extensive sensor networks and high-speed internet connectivity. Expanding and upgrading infrastructure to support these emerging technologies can be a significant challenge and highlight the adjacent industries that are a significant factor in supporting the adoption of future mobility.  
• Shift in consumer preferences: Changing consumer preferences, such as the rise of ride-sharing services and the sharing economy, can disrupt traditional business models in the mobility industry. Companies need to adapt to these shifts and develop innovative solutions to cater to evolving customer needs. 

Enabling innovation

While applicable to all industries, digital transformation, and the integration of digital technology into all areas of business are fundamentally changing how businesses operate and deliver value to customers. The automotive and mobility industry is no different and in fact, is heavily impacted by the move from physical to digital. This intersection of boundaries is also seen as the shift towards a “software culture”, that promises to usher in an unprecedented convergence of people, business, and things that disrupt existing business models and create new revenue opportunities in the movement of people and goods.  

As the industry transforms digitally, there are major trends that are having a significant impact in the areas of customer experience—connected, autonomous, shared mobility, and electrification (CASE), software defined vehicle (SDV), edge-to-cloud environment parity through high-performance computing, and AI. This shift acknowledges the drive by traditional OEMs, new entrant OEMs, mobility service providers, and suppliers to develop new digital and software-driven solutions which cloud platforms can enable. As we engage with automotive and mobility companies, we see similar areas of focus for innovation which include: 

Products and services

Product design and development is the single biggest area in the IT budget of most OEMs in the automotive industry. Companies are tasked with innovating top-line growth while holding the line on costs and the challenge of leveraging a labor pool in transition as skilling adapts to newer technology and techniques required to support innovation. This is also a growth area for many traditional OEMs now expanding into mobility service offerings and capabilities like SDVs to ensure product adaptability and create new business models that help companies drive growth beyond traditional practices. Read how General Motors reimagined its development tool chain process to drive innovation and connect people to things that matter here.  

Factory 

At its core, automotive is a significant manufacturing operation and more than ever has an imperative to improve productivity and adaptability to meet evolving customer demands, mitigate risk, and improve efficiency and sustainability to fuel innovative growth. With data as the new currency, many manufacturers are deploying AI tools, maximizing the value of their data to support the decision-making process. Manufacturers are increasing the use of the Internet of Things (IoT) and operational technology (OT) cybersecurity solutions at the edge, cutting OT cybersecurity breaches in half. Companies with manufacturing operations will also prioritize digital literacy as a key skill set during the talent retention process to support digital transformation and enterprise-wide technology adoption. Read how ZF developed its digital manufacturing platform to reduce production downtimes and optimize inventory. 

Supply chain

The automotive ecosystem and the many players that support it are all linked by an intricate supply chain. The industry is rebalancing its supply chains seeking more resilience to endure future disruptions which now may arise from many different vectors—economic, geo-political, natural, and technological for example. Strategies such as multi-shoring sourcing will enable a more proactive stance against risk in supply reliability. In addition, actively managing carbon footprint as a key metric to execute sustainability initiatives is a goal beyond simply reporting. Read how Daimler Truck North America optimized supply chain processes to reduce downtime. 

Customer experience

OEMs are overhauling marketing, sales, and service processes, with a deliberate shift to centrally managing the complete customer journey and providing additional channels beyond the dealer network. Currently, customer experience projects face highly fragmented data and identity. In marketing and sales, central management of marketing and sales processes requires rapid experience innovation including metaverse. In service, connected vehicle data is utilized to improve traditional vehicle maintenance processes, reduce warranty expenses, and innovate with new business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) offerings like insurance, subscription, fleet, and other services. This is a strong growth area where technology-savvy companies are acting as disruptors to existing business models and are driving innovation leading to new services and business models. For OEMs, it is a focal point for driving deeper customer engagement and building brand loyalty. Read how Porsche Cars North America created an improved service experience for technicians and customers with mixed reality. 

Data and AI

It is said that data is the new currency—at least when it comes to intelligence that is driving innovation, informing on strategy, and powering decision-making. Generative AI and capabilities like ChatGPT have opened a world of opportunity across all the business areas mentioned above. It seems everyone is involved in pilots or projects in one way or another as companies seek real value in deploying them to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Read how Amadeus created personalized, on-demand mobility experiences with AI.

Security

Along with data comes the absolute requirement for data sovereignty and security. The foundation of any data-driven transformation strategy must include security measures to combat cybersecurity threats that not only impact data but also can threaten vehicles, assets, and infrastructure that are becoming increasingly connected. Read how automotive quality control leader Hollen grew its business through enhanced security.  

Microsoft at Automotive News World Congress 2023

We are witnessing a great inflection point in the industry—one that will dramatically evolve the landscape of automotive, future mobility, and related industries and ecosystems. Most importantly, this transformation will impact people. We enjoyed the engagement at Automotive News World Congress 2023 and welcome you to learn more about Microsoft in automotive.

The post Enabling innovation: Microsoft at Automotive News World Congress 2023 appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

• Metaverse and the future of car buying.
• Mixed reality transforming service and customer experiences.
• Connected, autonomous, and software-defined mobility.

The Future of Automotive Industry Solutions

Your transformation to smart mobility services starts here.

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The theme for CES 2023 is “Human Security for All” and intends to highlight how innovations in sustainability, transportation and mobility, digital health, and the metaverse are addressing the world’s greatest challenges.

In a CES Insider Look video, Sanjay Ravi, General Manager, Automotive, Mobility, and Transportation Industry, highlights some of the key disruptions, and innovations creating what he termed a “once-in-a-century transformation.” The common industry goals of Connected, Autonomous, Shared mobility, and Electrification (CASE) have expanded into more impactful end goals of improving the societal, sustainability, and safety impact of mobility and improving the interactive and connected experiences that make our daily lives more productive and enjoyable.

Microsoft is working closely with our customers, partners, and the community and enabling them to drive the future of mobility. Data and AI are playing an increasing role in mobility. In a recent podcast interview, Sanjay talked with Alex Kendall, CEO of Wayve, who is advancing the safety and testing of autonomous vehicle technology using AI.

Transportation and aviation also featured at CES, are navigating their own roadmap to the future with a keen focus on sustainability. Contributing to more than one-third of all carbon emissions globally, we see nearly all players finding unique ways to reduce this impact, including an Alaska Airlines and Microsoft partnership to help the advancement of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in key routes. Along with our customers and partners, we highlight our own emphasis on sustainability to be carbon negative by 2030, and by 2050 to remove our historical emissions since our founding in 1975. In addition, Microsoft is helping our customers fulfill their sustainability mission with Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability.

Innovation must lead from trust, data sovereignty, and cybersecurity and these are the core foundations at the center of empowerment for our customers and partners. Over the next five years, we are investing more than USD20 billion to continue the expansion of our cybersecurity capabilities, an imperative in our increasingly connected world.

Microsoft at CES 2023

The Microsoft CES theme of “Drive the future of mobility” embodies our vision to empower—not compete with—the industry to shape our mobility future. It is often out of duress that innovation sparks and grows. And there’s no doubt that the larger global ecosystem is under great pressure from both macro and micro influences. Organizations and individuals are having to do more when more may not always be readily available.

But as we’ve seen, the human resolve is strong and perhaps more vibrant than ever given our recent challenges. Part of the CES mission is to expose this resolve and technical prowess to the world as innovation will power us forward. Once again, we join the global community to showcase and celebrate the impact of innovation in automotive, mobility, and transportation at CES.

Subject to modifications, we are supporting these industry endeavors across five key areas:

1. Empowered Organization

To lead external transformation, organizations must first transform internally. The pandemic created unique opportunities to improve inter and intra-organizational productivity, ushering in an opportunity to drive efficiencies through a diverse, inclusive, and hybrid workforce. Here we will showcase the impact these trends have on accelerating transformation of productivity, frontline workers, citizen development, and most importantly, security.

Key showcase:

• Lynk & Co.: Improving enterprise efficiency isn’t the only area of focus companies have. That efficiency is now extended to the vehicle and leveraged through Microsoft Teams to bring on-the-go, safe, and efficient productivity integration while keeping eyes on the road.  

2. Resilient Operations

We have all been directly impacted by the vital links to a global supply chain and operations. Whether as a consumer, supplier, or someplace in between, improving operations is a key focus. Companies must find ways to create sustainable, agile, and collaborative supply chains that improve visibility and resilience. Many may not know that Microsoft operates a significant global manufacturing and supply chain operation. That experience along with our partner ecosystem has enabled our customers to drive rapid transformation in operations.

Key showcase:

• Creating resilient, sustainable supply chains with Microsoft Supply Chain Platform.
• Factory supply chain transformation with PwC and ZF and the creation of the ZF cloud in partnership with Microsoft as a platform for innovation across factories, products, and services.
• Powering the future of electric vehicles (EVs) with Rockwell and advanced battery technology leveraging the Internet of Things (IoT), mixed reality, and product lifestyle management (PLM) integration to power the electrification of mobility.

3. Accelerate Innovation

At the core of transformation is the need to innovate. Disruptions impacting the industry have created a sense of urgency creating rapid transformation opportunities that are truly moving the industry forward at a rapid pace in many areas.

Here we highlight:

• Autonomous simulation with Ansys and Applied Intuition enables advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicles (AV) engineering and product teams to safely develop, test, and deploy autonomous vehicles at scale.
• AI, cognitive services, and the future of in-car interactions.
• Developing the future of software-defined vehicles with Eclipse Foundation.

4. Customer Experience

A benefit of transformation at its core is creating engaging experiences that build long-term value for the customer. After all, the customer is the ultimate beneficiary of technological advances in mobility. Whether it is integration with entertainment, productivity, sales, or service—opportunities are being created that offer unique, connected, and immersive experiences.

Examples include:

• Re-imagine the car-buying experience with the Fiat Metaverse Store supported by a Fiat 500e on display with an interactive, digital customer purchase experience powered by Touchcast, Annata, and Sitecore.
• Revolutionizing the end-to-end automotive retail ecosystem with Tekion.
• AI, cognitive services, and the future of in-car interactions with General Motors (with the all-electric Cadillac LYRIQ in-car demonstration at the General Motors OnStar booth).

5. Mobility Services

Traditional automotive, transportation, and logistics providers see themselves as part of a larger mobility ecosystem, not just creators of a product to move throughout it. Mobility is vibrant with blurred lines between old and new business models, and the creation of entirely new categories that address the future needs for the movement of people and goods.

A significant enabler of mobility services is the introduction of Microsoft Connect Fleets. A new reference architecture that creates an interconnected ecosystem of partners and makes use of common architecture, data models, and business applications from the Microsoft Cloud. Look for this announcement at CES and visit the booth to learn more.

Here we represent:

• Turning connected vehicle data intelligence into actionable insights and business system integration for efficient fleet management operations with Connected Fleets, a Microsoft reference architecture. Learn how Accenture utilized Connected Fleets with the campus Connector transportation system at Microsoft campus headquarters to improve mobility options and efficiency.
• Enhanced visibility of vehicle data and insights through Connected Cars and Wejo, offering insights from more than 13 million active vehicles and 18 trillion data points.
• EV charging management as demonstrated by HCLTech, enhanced by the Connected Fleets reference architecture.

Learn more

If you’ll be in Las Vegas for CES 2023, stop by and visit us in booth #6017 in the Las Vegas Convention Center West Hall for hands-on, immersive experiences and an opportunity to talk with mobility experts from many of our customers and partners.

To learn more about Microsoft in automotive, mobility, and transportation, visit the Future of Automotive Industry Solutions homepage.

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An organization has several options available to manage their computing requirements—on-premises, cloud, and hybrid cloud—are the primary scenarios you are most likely familiar with along with variations of each. Utilizing a cloud computing environment to develop, deploy, manage, and use applications to support the business is one of the scenarios we are all most familiar with.

On-premises high-performance computing

But what about computing operations that require dedicated computing power to run complex calculations such as machine learning, AI, or simulation work? A traditional on-premises environment would be built around a complex network of servers and computing resources including storage (hot, cold, and archive), power, networking, and complex management by dedicated technology resources. Not only is this extremely capex intensive, but it also tends to be less efficient as these computing resources are often designated by department or workload where we see high idle or low utilization time, resulting in higher energy consumption and cost. And, from a utilization standpoint, many traditional licensing agreements for on-premises applications and resources may be built around capacity limitations which can hamper the ability to drive larger, more complex jobs without making adjustments that could require additional costs and complexities.

The nature of many HPC workloads like AI, simulation, and testing, is that while they are intensive, they are often only required in “bursts” of activity, particularly to support specific projects like engineering or product development within the specific organization or organizational structure. In the automotive, mobility, and transportation space, for example, this can be highlighted in autonomous driving simulation, testing, verification, and validation, or analyzing complex routing or global logistics simulation scenarios for transportation and logistics operations. With an on-premises environment in these situations, you may be constrained by the amount of time or permutations of the scenarios that you can manage at the same time. Again, the long-term cost implications of this scenario make inefficient use of capital investments and technical resources which could be leveraged for other projects.

Cloud-based high-performance computing

Continuing with the automotive industry example, advances in mobility are driving intense investment around the core industry initiatives supporting C.A.S.E—Connected, Autonomous, Shared Mobility, and Electrification. Modern vehicle engineering is considered a large control loop involving the physical world, sensors, controllers, and actuators. An excellent example of leveraging a cloud-based HPC environment involves the engineering around Autonomous Driving (AD), Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), and Autonomous Vehicles (AV). These advanced systems require a plethora of sensors and computer systems on the vehicle which must be aware of, sense, and respond to stimuli both within the vehicle and in the vehicle’s immediate surrounding environment. Everything from weather, road conditions and markings, traffic and traffic control devices (TCDs), pedestrians, street signs, and other anomalies need to be recognized and processed to enable an appropriate vehicular response that ensures, above all else, safety.

For these systems to be put into use, they must be simulated, and tested, based on a defined verification and validation environment for a specific global region and Operational Design Domain (ODD). You’ve probably seen road-going autonomous vehicles plying local streets with their array of spinning sensors and protruding appendages. Even before this critical on-road data collection phase, these sensors must be rigorously tested in a simulated environment built on HPC, requiring intense computing resources to simulate real-world conditions. For many original equipment manufacturers (OEM), this capability would typically be supported by a traditional, mostly on-premises computing environment. But with autonomous development workloads that support multi-physics, perception training, and simulation, for instance, an enormous amount of data and computing power are involved. To put the scale of this problem into perspective, sensor simulation work can generate over four gigabytes of data per second, per vehicle. Managing this amount of data and running the required scenarios can strain even the best on-premises environments.

Hybrid cloud high-performance computing

In support of autonomous driving, multi-physics, and perception training, vehicle sensors such as cameras, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), or RADAR, must be on-par and in many cases better than human perception to support anticipatory and near-immediate responses. Think of the scenario where a driver encounters a hidden object in the roadway at the last moment but cannot take a certain evasive action due to an oncoming vehicle. These split-second human decisions must be made by the autonomous vehicle planning system based on the sensor or perception environment and these precise scenarios must be simulated with extreme granularity. Even physical and environmental elements such as the location of sensors, the impact of weather, road conditions, as well as vehicle dynamics, must be simulated to understand autonomous system impact. This software-in-the-loop (SIL) and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation regimes must be run with exhaustive permutations to yield the best results which can become critical restraints in a non-HPC environment. Other challenges include inflexible software contracts, restricting the amount of software utilization for a given job, fixed resources that can hinder the amount of computing power available, storage management, orchestration obstacles, and geographic disparity, all adding to longer development cycles and lost time to market.

To combat these challenges, companies in automotive and other industries with complex computing requirements are finding relief by leveraging hybrid cloud extension models. In this model, complex jobs can be assigned to cloud-based HPC environments at will with efficient orchestration. The advantages include the ability to rapidly scale up to provide optimal resource availability and then rapidly scale down to avoid costly underutilization of HPC resources when they are no longer needed, greatly minimizing the impact to on-premises resources, and reducing the costly overhead associated with upscaling or maintaining a long-term on-premises environment. Critically, this model enables a business to maintain select, mission-critical, or other applications or processes in their own on-premises or other environments, such as HIL, while enabling practically unlimited computing resources to complete other complex workloads in a cloud environment, creating enhanced agility. In the above automotive simulation example, an HPC environment can simulate billions of miles over millions of scenarios enabling the shortest, most cost-effective path to production.

While leveraging a hybrid cloud scenario to work these complex scenarios can yield significant benefits, getting there can require a significant shift in strategy and approach. Critical to enabling this transformation is the orchestration of on-premises and cloud workloads. For complex training of machine learning algorithms for AI and simulation like we see in automotive, an HPC environment works very well. It enables a focus on continual optimization cycles through iterative training to improve AI results. The value, in this case, is a “mature” and accurate solution that requires increased computing time and resources to achieve.   

For other workloads, a company may want to create rules in the orchestration process that requires specific thresholds and requirements to be met to define when jobs will run in either a cloud or on-premises environment and work to integrate the two environments. The orchestration process can also be aware of data sources and security requirements as well.

From a business opportunity perspective, leveraging a hybrid HPC environment can provide the best of both on-premises access and cloud extensibility, agility, and access to a vast amount of computing resources to tackle complex modeling and simulation jobs, in a cost-effective manner.  

Benefits of hybrid or cloud high-performance computing

One other very important benefit to leveraging a hybrid or cloud HPC environment is the environment itself. In company boardrooms of all sizes, sustainability is no longer discussed as an option. It’s imperative that all facets of business operation can be viewed through a sustainability lens. There is no exception from a computing standpoint where a Microsoft study has shown cloud to be as much as 93 percent more energy-efficient, and as much as 98 percent more carbon-efficient, than on-premises solutions. A win-win for your bottom line and the environment as well.

For more information, visit the Azure high-performance computing for automotive webpage. Learn how Audi AG leveraged HPC and cloud to meet their complex storage and computing challenges.

The post High-performance computing for accelerated vehicle innovation appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

Microsoft is certainly no stranger to transforming industries, from financial services and healthcare to retail, manufacturing, and others, we are focused on empowering companies to innovate and thrive in today’s evolving business environments. Automotive has been no exception and we now have expanded scope on mobility and transportation to provide a more holistic view on the movement of people and goods.

CES has acknowledged the increasing role that technology, data, and evolving consumer experiences have played in the automotive industry by creating a dedicated automotive industry hall at the annual electronics show. Given this opportunity, Microsoft will again participate at CES, January 5 through 8, 2022, where the industry represents the latest advances, industry innovations, and future ambitions. Register for CES 2022 today. Microsoft will focus its innovation on the future of mobility with an on-floor and digital presence where we will demonstrate our unique industry capabilities supported by our core Microsoft solutions including, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams, and Microsoft Power Platform, built on an intelligent and secure cloud. Together, these solutions enable an “ecosystem of innovation”, including:

Accelerated innovation

Beginning with innovation, we will focus here on advanced engineering, connected, autonomous, and software-defined vehicles. The static display of a turbo-hybrid Formula 1® car in the Microsoft booth will certainly gain attention but not for the reasons you may think. This is not a focus on the speed of Formula 1®, rather the speed of engineering. Alpine F1 leverages real-time data analytics to dramatically shorten the cycle of design to production in the high-pressure environment of a Formula 1® race weekend, highlighting what is possible with advanced, digital engineering capabilities. With Ansys, we will demonstrate the power of high-performance computing (HPC) and simulation to rapidly innovate and validate design ideas over traditional methods. With the advancement of driver-assisted and driverless systems, dSPACE will demonstrate how they are improving the success, safety, and homologation of advanced driver assistance systems, autonomous vehicles, and toolchains. As the shift to digital continues, we see Bosch advancing the platform to support the development and deployment of the software-defined vehicle.

Mobility services

According to a Mckinsey industry study, one-third of all miles driven will be shared in 2030. With the increase of electric vehicles and growing opportunities for connectivity, driven by advances in communications like 5G, mobility is transitioning far beyond just single-car ownership. Mobility itself will evolve from singular experiences inside the vehicle as a single system to a much broader ecosystem encompassing players far beyond core automotive. We will see collaboration across financial services, retail, gaming, and logistics as well as energy, utilities, and smarter cities. With our presence at CES, Wejo, Accenture, and Brightdrop will show us how the new data currency is enabling and monetizing these transactions across the ecosystem, and, how advances in electrification are providing smart fleet and delivery solutions for a more sustainable transportation network.

Customer experiences   

As in other industries, customers are demanding more personalized, and seamless interaction with the world around them through more frictionless interfaces. These very impactful disruptions drive opportunities for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers to create new experiences that can drive deep engagements over the lifecycle of product ownership, including Mercedes-Benz, and MØller Mobility Group, a customer example that demonstrates how Annata is transforming digital sales, service and customer engagement.

Resilient operations

Nearly every industry has felt deep impacts by supply chain disruptions. Having an efficient, resilient supply chain is no longer a “nice to have”. It is the imperative that will mark the success or failure of future advancements in the industry. With a focus on smart factory and supply chain innovation, PwC and ZF will light up a key success story along with PTC who will demonstrate data-driven industrial IoT solutions that optimize operations and improve KPIs.

Driving the future of mobility.

Through these experiences at the Microsoft booth, we will share our key differentiators that are enabling a sustainable, secure, and open ecosystem. As stated by Sanjay Ravi, General Manager for Microsoft’s automotive, mobility, and transportation industry:

“There has been tremendous dynamics affecting the automotive, mobility, and transportation industries. The past two years have been exceptionally challenging but has also created opportunities for companies to drive significant innovation. You will get to experience many of these innovations with our customers and partners at CES. We are excited to demonstrate how we are uniquely positioned to enable, and not compete with the broader ecosystem to innovate. Built on the foundation of security and trust, our partner and core Microsoft solutions empower a hybrid, diverse workforce to do their best work to create solutions that drive real impact.”

We are excited to share our vision for innovation around automotive, mobility, and transportation at CES 2022 and encourage you to visit with us at booth #4029 in the Las Vegas Convention Center West Hall.

Register for CES 2022 today.

To learn more about Microsoft in automotive, mobility, and transportation, visit the future of automotive industry solutions.

References: ¹McKinsey, Accenture Microsoft Analysis

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As an automotive enthusiast and racing fan myself, this one caught my attention. The Indy Autonomous Challenge, led by Energy Systems Network, an Indianapolis-based non-profit, set out an ambitious challenge: empowering university students to develop and demonstrate autonomous technologies in a live race event featuring the same Dallara AV-21 cars used during the IndyCar season, outfitted for an autonomous mission. The goal of this challenge? Drive awareness to the positive impact automation can have to address real-world issues such as improving road safety and reducing vehicle energy consumption.

While safety is one key area impacted by vehicle automation, the Indy Autonomous Challenge also recognizes the barriers that are impacting the advancement of these technologies. The group strives to remove these barriers by bringing cases to light which address extreme safety scenarios, Increasing the talent pool and engineers to develop new intellectual property, and public engagement to bolster understanding and confidence in automated vehicles and the benefits they can provide to individuals and society.

As with any race, the stakes for this challenge were high—a $1 million USD prize to the university displaying the most autonomous prowess during the October 23, 2021 challenge event. One of the highlights of this initiative that is in-line with Microsoft’s capabilities in the automotive industry is high-performance compute and simulation. These capabilities enable automotive OEMs to accelerate innovation in the areas of advanced driver assistance (ADAS) systems, and autonomous driving (AD) systems. As a sponsor of this initiative, Microsoft provided an Azure high-performance cloud computing environment to support development efforts associated with the initiative.

Like our support of the Indy Autonomous Challenge, Microsoft is empowering our customers to drive accelerated innovation in automotive, including autonomous vehicle development. Customers such as Audi AG and others are leveraging Azure High-Performance Computing (HPC) to cost-effectively manage engineering simulation environments such as prototyping, aerodynamics, physics, sensor performance testing, and autonomous driving validation.

It’s an exciting time in the autonomous space right now as we’ve seen with recent announcements and developments in areas from alternate fuel-cell technology and autonomous deliveries, to autonomous shared mobility services. In addition to the latest investment into advanced mobility brought by the partnership of Cruise, GM and Microsoft to commercialize a new generation of self-driving vehicles.

My name is Aaron Lee, and I’ve recently joined our exciting automotive, mobility, and transportation team at Microsoft as Product Marketing Lead. I look forward to engaging with you on views and insights into the automotive industry, and along with my esteemed industry colleagues, share how Microsoft is helping our customers drive innovation in the movement of people and goods.

While I still enjoy cheering on my favorite drivers in the intricate and harmonious blend of human and machine in racing, it is also exciting to see opportunities like this challenge our way of thinking to solve complex problems in innovative ways. Be sure to follow to learn more about Autonomous driving and other industry imperatives that Microsoft is leading in the fields of automotive, mobility and transportation.

With a mission to impact the movement of people and products, Microsoft accelerates the transformation of automotive companies from traditional manufacturers to mobility service providers building omnichannel personalized experiences for their customers. Utilizing insights collected across customer touchpoints, the vehicle, employees, and manufacturing, Microsoft empowers these organizations to accelerate technology innovation and monetize their own data through new services, redefining mobility as an industry. Microsoft does this by focusing on trust, innovation, security, and compliance, all powered by our extensive global partner ecosystem.

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