The Renault-Nissan alliance has signed a multi-year, global contract with Microsoft to work on future technology to guarantee advanced connected driving experiences. It will be assisted by Microsoft’s Azure which is an intelligent cloud computing platform.
The ‘connected driving’ technology will help improve customer experience through an advanced navigation, remote monitoring of car features, settings that are transferable between vehicles, external mobile experiences and over-the-air updates for the vehicles. It will also help drivers to stay connected to work, entertainment and social networks, and offer vehicle-centric services that will simplify and enhance engagement with the car through usage-based information. It can also do a remote vehicle diagnostics and a preventive maintenance.
The Alliance expects to develop connectivity technology for more than 10 autonomous vehicles by the year 2020 in the vehicle which are currently been developed by them. This technology of connected experience will further assist in the autonomous car in order to fully utilise the ‘in-car free time’ courtesy of the self-driven cars.
Microsoft Azure was chosen for this venture due is it’s proven, secure global cloud platform, unlimited scale, with its enterprise -grade security. Additionally, it supports multiple operating systems, programming languages and tools, providing flexibility and choice to build a common platform for Renault-Nissan to deploy services to both Alliance brands.
Ogi Redzic, Renault-Nissan Alliance senior vice-president, Connected Vehicles and Mobility Services said, “A car is becoming increasingly connected, intelligent and personal. Partnering with Microsoft allows us to accelerate the development of the associated key technologies needed to enable scenarios our customers want and build all-new ones they haven’t even imagined. We aim to become the provider of connected mobility for everyone with one single global platform.”
“While the connected car experience is in its infancy, we believe there’s so much potential to dramatically change the industry. We are partnering to accelerate Renault-Nissan’s mobile and cloud strategies and unlock new experiences for their customers. Renault-Nissan is an exceptional partner thanks to its global presence and range of brands, which enable it to bring entirely new mobile and digital experiences to so many people. This collaboration will bring a new standard to connected cars,” Executive vice president and president, Microsoft Global Sales, Jean-Philippe Courtois said.
