The Role of DevOps in Developing Connected Car Ecosystems

We are on the onset of a future where cars talk to one another seamlessly (almost imitating human behavior). The connected vehicle tech with DevOps will completely change the current transportation system.

A lot goes into developing, designing, assembling, testing, and making a car ready to be on the road, and much more goes into making it stand out so that it ends up in the driveway of customers.

Automotive companies were in search of a way to enable rapid development and deployment of connectivity solutions, and DevOps consulting services presented DevOps as the proven solution.

Traditionally, separate development and operations departments led to information gaps where development knowledge was not fully shared with operations. DevOps approach, bridges information gaps and expedites improvements based on feedback.

With shorter feedback loops, improved security, stability, and a smoother development process, DevOps improves the development and deployment of connected cars solutions.

Let's get into the details on how DevOps plays a critical role in developing connected car ecosystems.

Perspective on the Connected Car Ecosystem

Connected cars are hyper-connected vehicles where software is used to add features and functionality like smartphone integration, real-time navigation, in-car internet, over-the-air (OTA) updates, voice assistants, remote diagnostics, and autonomous driving capabilities.

These connected vehicles are made accessible and “connected” to the outside world through internet-based real-time data sharing.

• Software-defined vehicles (SDV) or connected vehicles have disrupted the automotive and mobility space, with estimates showing a projection of over 400 million connected cars in operation by 2025.
• A recent report by McKinsey predicts that more than 90% of vehicles sold in 2030 will be connected.
• Customers have shown a growing preference for connected cars because of the convenience, security, quality, flexibility, and high ROI they provide, with a staggering 55-57% of customers of those surveyed showing a willingness to even switch OEM to get cars with better connectivity.

It has become imperative for automotive companies to deliver cars that offer these high-tech experiences, and this is where implementing DevOps in automotive ecosystems and cloud computing has proved to be exceptionally beneficial.

Software development and IT operations have always been considered to be at two extremes, but the real magic happened when professionals tried to find ways to break the silos arising out of this separation.

This is when Automotive software development services showed the way, where continuous delivery and collaboration between these two teams could become a possible way to smoothen the development life cycle, promote collaboration and communication, and simplify the process of software development and deployment.

DevOps as a service stood as a strategic process involving continuous integration, delivery, and monitoring for those looking to improve the efficiency of connected cars.

Let’s learn more about how DevOps drive innovation in the automotive industry, particularly in the context of connected car ecosystems.

How DevOps Drives Innovation in the Automotive Industry?

The automotive sector mainly worked on the “hardware-first approach”, but the inclination towards developing a more connected ecosystem led to the growth of autonomous driving, smartphone integration, and real-time navigation, making software as important as the vehicle itself, almost like smartphones! This is why automotive giants started testing the waters and searched for a faster, more agile approach to developing and updating software. Automotive software development services provided them with result-driven answers with DevOps.

DevOps was adopted by the automotive sector to speed up the full-spectrum productivity and efficiency of cars. Devops service providers enable hyper-connectivity through CI/CD, testing and integration, infrastructure as code, network security, and data and monitoring, making it a disruptive technology. It was seen as a potent strategy that could accelerate the time to market. Tesla was at the forefront of this revolution and pioneered the adoption of DevOps where OTA updates could improve battery performance, and allow gaming, over-the-air upgrades, self-driving capabilities, and security patches without requiring a physical service visit.

The automotive giant, General Motors, was also quick to adopt the DevOps strategy to enhance their OnStar connected vehicle services, which ensured real-time navigation, emergency response, and remote diagnostics. Other automotive giants like Ford, Volkswagen, and BMW also incorporated DevOps to enable faster updates, quick feature rollouts, develop autonomous driving, reduce development cycles, and real-time remote vehicle control.

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The Importance of DevOps in Powering Connected Car

DevOps's role in the automotive industry has been recognized, and it is considered as a major catalyst for redefining paradigms for the automotive sector.

• DevOps Assurance: DevOps enables automotive companies to bring quality high-end cars with all the tech features powered by continuous testing practices where rigorous testing is used to eliminate road accidents, thus earning the trust of customers.
• DevOps Acceleration: Practices have shown a trajectory of rapid transformation in the automotive sector where system development life cycles are shortened, and faster time to market is achieved.
• DevOps Automation: DevOps has been particularly instrumental in automating tasks, and eliminating errors arising out of manual mechanical processes, adding efficiency to the equation.
• Smooth Integration: The best part about including DevOps in the automotive development ecosystem lies in its ability to integrate development and operations for effective results and faster development cycles.
• CI/CD Efficiency: The continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipeline ensures faster testing and validation while complying with regulatory standards.
• Faster Innovation: The incorporation of DevOps strategies has significantly reduced time-to-market, led to enhancement in car quality, and allowed margin for experimentation leading to higher customer satisfaction.
• Built-In Security: The built-in security protocol provides compliance and protects from potential cyberattacks, boosting security even before the car hits the road.
• Cloud-powered DevOps: Combining DevOps in connected cars and cloud computing saves maintenance costs and provides faster and easier access to data while saving time and effort.
• Agile Flexibility: The adoption of Agile DevOps in automotive makes it fit for end-to-end car development regardless of the stage of development.
• Secure DevOps: With DevSecOps, automotive giants have been able to add the strength of compliance along with security to the connected car ecosystem.

12 Powerful Ways in Which DevOps Bolsters Connected Car Ecosystem Excellence

With the DevOps pipeline for connected car applications, automotive giants found a way to facilitate continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines, driving rapid development and deployment of connectivity solutions. This helped them ensure that vehicles remained updated with the latest communication protocols and technologies, thus allowing for real-time data exchange and connectivity.

Here are the 12 Ways DevOps enhances connected car ecosystems for smarter, safer driving:

1. Improving Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS)

DevOps for autonomous vehicles has been instrumental in facilitating faster software updates, real-time data processing, and AI model enhancements. What this means for users of connected cars is lane departure warnings, adaptive cruise control, and emergency braking, along with object detection and road condition analysis. Software-defined vehicles are known to prevent upwards of 90% of traffic deaths driven by autonomous driving (AD) functions.

DevOps in connected cars has helped drivers tackle the unseen nature of terrain by collecting the data, AI training, and validation, ensuring real-time improvements in driver-assist algorithms. Additionally, the Over-the-Air (OTA) updates for ADAS enhancements have been a turning point in vehicle maintenance and operation. Over-the-air (OTA) updates are another key feature of connected cars and are known to reduce software defects by up to 70%. It allows manufacturers to fix bugs, refine ADAS features post-production, and add new features without requiring a visit to the service center.

2. Enhancing Drive Recorder Functionality

Growing incidents of accidents, crime rates, and general safety concerns drove automotive giants to scurry for alternatives that could provide customers and themselves with reliable and secure software handling video and telemetry data. DevOps consulting services showed that with Automotive DevOps practices, this was possible, and implementing drive recorders with solid data management and processing capabilities was soon a reality. With DevOps incorporating new functionalities or security patches became possible and eased the way for a trustworthy connected car ecosystem.

3. Optimizing Smartphone Integration

Customers no longer look at cars as a means of transport or mobility but as a means of entertainment on the go for leisure. A report by McKinsey states that almost half of car buyers would not purchase a vehicle that lacked Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. DevOps opened up the doors for automotive organizations to perform continuous testing and integration of smartphone projection interfaces, and various smartphone platforms like Apple CarPlay or Android Auto with the vehicle's infotainment system, and allowed them to ensure compatibility and an exceptional user experience across different devices and operating systems.

4. Powering Full Autonomous Driving Capabilities

Autonomous driving is the next big thing and has already started catching the fancy of customers who want to try the latest technology. However, developing autonomous driving isn’t as easy and involves complex algorithms and extensive data analysis. With DevOps, automotive companies can try iterative development and testing of these algorithms, allowing for continuous improvement and swift deployment of updates. This helps in improving the safety and performance of the connected cars. Another breakthrough tech adoption in connected cars has been the vehicle-to-everything communication that allows communication between vehicles, between vehicles and infrastructure, between vehicles and pedestrians, and between vehicles and networks.

5. Strengthening Anti-Theft Alarm

Security is a prime concern and is often overlooked as compared to other features like smartphone integration, advanced navigation, in-car entertainment, autonomous driving, and remote control apps. But security is a prime concern which is addressed by incorporating Automotive DevOps practices, where security features like anti-theft alarms are continuously monitored and updated to counter emerging threats. This acts as a robust defense against unauthorized access and theft attempts.

6. Advancing Remote Control App

All the automation that a remote control provides inside the car can be fine-tuned by using Automotive DevOps practices, which manage backend services. Real-time responsiveness and reliability have become easier to use in DevOps. DevOps has been particularly helpful in enabling continuous monitoring and updates, allowing automotive businesses to deliver value to customers by uplifting user experience and functionality.

7. Improving Charging Support

With smartphones becoming an extension of an individual's personality, charging has become an indispensable part of fostering connectivity. DevOps facilitates this by integrating charging infrastructure with vehicle systems. This not only stands as a prime enabler for staying connected, but also enables security, real-time updates, and communication.

8. Enabling In-car internet

Network management and security protocols are prime concerns when connectivity is involved and any discrepancy can mean loss of confidential data or being stuck by seamsters.DevOps ensures smooth implementation of in-car internet services that are reliable, secure, and can be easily updated to adapt to new technologies and user demands.

9. Refining High-End Navigation

Mobility is no longer a concern where traveling in known or unchartered territory is risky thanks to DevOps which enables continuous updates to navigation systems, incorporating real-time traffic data, map updates, and user preferences. This allows the user to stay on track because of the accurate and efficient route planning that DevOps enables.

10. Transforming Gesture Control/Voice Assistant

Staying safe and adding ease to mobility, while enjoying the features, and functionalities of the modern connected car is possible by adopting technology where a small hand gesture can make the features work. However, the integration of gesture and voice recognition technologies requires continuous refinement. DevOps supports the iterative development and deployment of these features, building a connected car ecosystem driven by accuracy and user satisfaction.

11. Enhancing Adaptive Suspension Upgrade

The journey of whether the ride will be pleasant and comfortable or rocky and strenuous depends on the vehicle's ride comfort, handling, stability, and safety. A major part of this is based on the tires’ consistent contact with the road surface, smooth driving on uneven terrain, proper cornering, and optimal braking performance. By incorporating Automotive DevOps practices, organizations have been able to develop and deploy software updates that adjust suspension settings based on driving conditions and user preferences. This has changed the way mobility and maintenance are perceived and enhanced ride comfort and vehicle performance.

12. Revolutionizing In-car Gaming

Increased connectivity, high-speed internet, and 5G have been instrumental in making in-car gaming both pleasurable and smooth. However, gaming on the move isn’t as easy and integrating gaming platforms into vehicles requires robust car software development and continuous updates. This is where DevOps strategies have ensured that entertainment systems are secure and responsive and provide a smooth gaming experience.

An Era of Hype-Connected Cars Powered by DevOps Strategies

“The connected vehicle is a trend that is here to stay”, says Anya Ernest, Exploration Lead at Polestar.

With wireless tech and personal communications devices, connected cars can provide drivers with 360-degree awareness and data from cars that have similarly equipped tech. Car owners and drivers will receive warnings that inform them of potential hazards on their dashboards or with seat vibrations. Connected cars can alert drivers that are far behind about crashes ahead in other cars or warn them about an unmanned rail crossing that was captured on camera by a fellow connected car. It is like learning from other car drivers in real-time and creating a more aware state of driving vehicles.

DevOps strategies play a crucial role in the development and maintenance of these connected car systems. The adoption of DevOps practices in the automotive industry is not limited to software development. It extends to the entire lifecycle of connected cars, from design and manufacturing to maintenance and updates.

From slippery roads to blind spots, from traffic issues on the next street to a stalled vehicle a few miles ahead, connected cars can provide info that will lead to safer drives. The best part is that the data will be sent to the traffic management systems and personnel who can take real-time decisions to improve the traffic conditions.

Further, the 5G technology is transforming connected car systems with its superior speed, bandwidth, and low latency, enabling advanced vehicle-to-vehicle communication and autonomous driving features.

With China mandating CV2X and automakers like Ford adopting it, 5G will shape the future of smart traffic and autonomous vehicles.

Powered by 5G that offers better range and security, it is easier to process massive telematics data for real-time decisions. DevOps methodologies are essential in managing the complex infrastructure required for 5G-powered connected cars.

Wrapping Up

Though technology has grown exponentially over the past few decades, automotive manufacturers have been late in judging the pulse of the customer. A survey revealed that only 17 percent of those surveyed were satisfied with their existing connectivity offers. These statistics show that automotive manufacturers and OEMs need to buckle up and provide the level of connectivity that their customers are looking for.

It’s time for automotive companies to refine their connectivity offerings and offer consumers feature-rick cars that are ace in connectivity. Intelligent parking-spot finders, in-car payment, and vehicle Wi-Fi hot spots are at the top of the list of connectivity features for customers, and the automotive segment needs to partner with companies providing automotive software development services and DevOps consulting services.

X-Byte offers DevOps as a service and works with some of the leading names in the automotive segment to deliver the connected car of the future through its DevOps consulting services and automotive software development service. We collaborate with automotive leaders to enable continuous integration, real-time data processing, and secure over-the-air (OTA) updates, helping automakers accelerate innovation, enhance vehicle intelligence, and deliver next-gen driving experiences.

Want to spearhead DevOps-led success for the automotive sector? Connect with X-Byte to discuss automotive software development needs now.