Supercharging IoT: Lotus Technology and AWS are Advancing Intelligent Vehicle Innovations

TGIF, readers. I hope everyone has some much-needed relaxation factored into the weekend head. (Here in Indiana, we’ve hit that “welcomely frigid” part of the season, if any of y’all can relate; our heat is cranked up, and we’re embracing some cozy wintery vibes.)

Before we take off, though, let’s talk about some news regarding Lotus Technology, Amazon Web Services (News - Alert) (AWS), and developments being made for electric vehicles.

Lotus is a maker of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) with a focus on lifestyle and luxury. With over 70 years of racing heritage and standout leadership in the automotive industry, Lotus combines its proprietary, next-gen technology — rigorous ESG standards adherence, too; green production with photovoltaic power, water reuse, ~90% vehicle recyclability, etc. — with an asset-light model, and the company looks to continue breaking ground in electrification, digitization and intelligence in the years to come. (Read here for more info about its BEVs’ fully embedded L4 hardware capabilities, self-developed software, deployable LiDAR system and more.)

And earlier this week, Lotus announced that it officially chose AWS as its preferred cloud provider. With this, Lotus is applying AWS technologies (e.g. IoT solutions, predictive analytics, GenAI) to develop and deliver additional connected features like autonomous driving, immersive in-vehicle infotainment, and exceptionally faster vehicle charging.

Here’s your long-story-short rundown of what the two have in the works:

• By running its “ROBO Soul” self-driving software stack on AWS, Lotus is enabling electric cars and trucks to safely and automatically perform tasks like parking and highway driving. Using AWS, Lotus also developed its “ROBO Galaxy” platform of intelligent driving tools to help fleet managers increase both the accessibility and efficiency of autonomous vehicles in international markets.
• Lotus Connect, another element of its connected-vehicle platform, is running on AWS, as well. This provides customers with remote vehicle control, real-time status monitoring, geofencing, and stolen-vehicle tracking to enable more informed driving experiences. (e.g. this system can provide ongoing monitoring that proactively sends relevant driver notifications, automatically detect maintenance issues, and contacts on-demand, emergency roadside assistance)
• Lotus also uses AWS analytics for business insights, car purchase analyses, and strategic recommendations. Using Amazon Cloudfront, for instance (AWS’s content delivery network), Lotus can offer a.) real-time 3D vehicle rendering and b.) 3D model configuration previews; these allow customers to get a better idea of how their BEV would look with distinctive accessories, colors, trim packages, etc.
• Additionally, Lotus leverages Amazon Redshift and Amazon Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka (Amazon MSK) to create intelligent driving tools, Amazon Glue for data integration, Amazon Aurora (i.e. a high-performance relational database with 99.99% availability), and Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Services (Amazon EKS) to more efficiency deploy, manage, and scale applications.

“AWS’s technologies help us accelerate our global growth by allowing Lotus to build solutions for intelligent driving, connected cars, and personalized experiences,” explained Bo Li, President of Lotus Technology. “We are excited about our work with AWS as we apply new technologies like GenAI, which will help improve Lotus’ automated driving capabilities and develop more responsive customer service.”

“The automotive industry is experiencing a seismic shift to digitization and electrification, and the cloud is helping drive this rapid development,” added Ozgur Tohumcu, General Manager, Automotive & Manufacturing at AWS. “Working collaboratively, AWS supports Lotus as they continuously innovate on more personalized, connected, and intelligent in-vehicle experiences. We look forward to continuing our collaboration to help drive efficiencies, enhance new vehicle features, and memorably elevate customers’ driving experiences.”

Learn more about the far-reaching impacts of Internet of Things applications at the upcoming IoT Evolution Expo 2025! This will be taking place from February 11-13, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Part of the #TECHSUPERSHOW experience, this event combines conference programming with a robust exhibit hall, networking events and other activities, promoting educated togetherness between buyers and providers of business technology products and services that are huge for the Industrial Internet of Things.