If you've tuned into almost any podcast over the last decade, you've almost certainly encountered Squarespace. The ads are practically memorized by now: "Whether it's for your business, your blog, your side hustle..." and so forth. Squarespace is essentially a standardized website-creation tool, and Google is now setting out to build something analogous for the automotive world with Android Auto.
Google has unveiled a new open-source variant of Android Auto dubbed Android Automotive OS for Software Defined Vehicles, or AAOS SDV. The platform represents an expanded version of the existing Android Auto system (AAOS), drawing comparisons to Apple's new CarPlay Ultra — though Google's iteration pushes the concept even further.
Vehicles like the Volvo EX90 already run AAOS, where the Google-powered software governs the infotainment displays and provides occupants access to a range of apps. The new AAOS SDV platform takes aim at a much broader set of vehicle functions, including seat actuators, climate systems, lighting, cameras, mirrors, vehicle telemetry, and infotainment.
Eser Erdem, a senior engineering manager on the Android Automotive team, described AAOS SDV in an Android Developers blog post as a "lightweight Android-based operating system incorporating low-level automotive specific frameworks for communications, diagnostics, software updates, and more."
Google has stated that it is already collaborating with automakers, suppliers, silicon providers, and software companies to ensure the system can slot into the automotive ecosystem smoothly when it goes live later this year.
The standardized approach may well cut down on complexity and free automakers to concentrate elsewhere, but it also risks homogenizing the in-car experience and dulling individuality. Brands like Subaru or Nissan, which have historically trailed on the software front, are likely to welcome the plug-and-play solution. Automakers like Tesla or Rivian — both of which have developed genuinely impressive proprietary software — will probably have a less enthusiastic reaction to AAOS SDV.