LIVE FROM MWC21 LOS ANGELES: Amazon Web Services (AWS) automotive technical lead Dean Phillips outlined goals to employ edge infrastructure to enable autonomous vehicles, tapping the lower latency the proximity will bring.

AWS’ worldwide technical leader for automotive explained it wants to use Wavelength infrastructure installed at operator service aggregation points in self-driving scenarios, arguing the approach would simplify the transmission of location data and speed feedback.

Phillips used the example of an ambulance broadcasting its location while on route to an emergency to alert nearby vehicles.

There is also an opportunity in fleet vehicles which he said could autonomously drive to service areas for maintenance.

“We will see operating vehicles remotely using Wavelength in controlled spaces”, Phillips predicted.

In August, AWS announced the availability of Wavelength Zones in 13 US cities. It partnered with Verizon to deploy the zones at the operator’s service aggregation points, enabling them to combine 5G, edge compute, and cloud-based applications.

During the panel session, Peter Virk, VP of BlackBerry IVY Product and Ecosystem, explained it is working to provide a “safe and secure platform” for autonomous vehicles.

Virk envisions vehicles operating as dynamic systems capable of supporting continuous software updates.

“With the software-defined car, it’s not about what options I need to take when I first order the car”.

“It’s going to be what capabilities can the car take on over the life of the vehicle”.