How in-vehicle operating systems and edge computing will transform cars

Ski boots are among the latest consumer-facing devices employing edge for the purposes of improving customer experience. Cars, too, have entered this space.

Edge computing should be no longer looked at as simply networks and computing for telco, manufacturing and retail, according to Francis Chow (pictured), vice president and general manager of in-vehicle operating system and edge at Red Hat Inc.

“Consumers can expect, over time, a similar experience [to] what you have with your mobile device,” Chow said, speaking with theCUBE industry analysts Dave Vellante and Paul Gillin during the recent Red Hat Summit event, an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed how the automotive industry will be adopting a platform approach to in-car automotive features, creating more economical development environments with less recall risks. (* Disclosure below.)

Reusing components will speed auto development

Faster time to market and lower development costs are among the advantages for automaker General Motors Co. The automaker is collaborating with Red Hat on what the company calls on its website “software-defined vehicles.”

A “platform approach” is the answer to automotive edge, according to Chow. He’s referring to a method for reusing components throughout automotive brands and models. Automating the safety certification process is a principal use case.

“We aim to cut back that kind of certification time to a fraction of what is needed today,” he said.

Traditionally, certification is a time-hog in automotive development. A validated pattern will also be developed for the automotive industry, Chow added. Validated patterns are, in this case, Red Hat products built for a specific use case. Validated patterns can make development more repeatable.

Zero-touch provisioning is also among technology upgrades Red Hat intends to apply to edge compute. Zero-touch is increasingly thought of as being crucial for edge computing adoption to reduce costs and cycle times.

“You’re going to have to deal with a very diverse set of environments on how deployments happen,” Chow said.

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Red Hat Summit event:

(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for Red Hat Summit. Neither Red Hat Inc., the sponsor for theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE