Building full virtual vehicles on Google Cloud: From AAOS to the smallest MCU
Google Cloud and RemotiveLabs introduce a cloud-native approach to develop and test entire virtual vehicles, including microchips and control modules, enabling faster software-defined vehicle integration before hardware assembly.
Traditional automotive development relies on physical hardware for core vehicle systems, creating inefficiencies where updates and testing occur late in the process, often after defects are costly to fix. Google Cloud’s Horizon platform, developed with partners like RemotiveLabs, aims to shift this model by allowing teams to build, test, and integrate virtual vehicles entirely in the cloud. This addresses a key gap where cockpit systems are software-defined but underlying control modules remain hardware-bound, limiting flexibility and speed.
Android Automotive OS (AAOS) already runs in Google’s virtual testing environment, Cuttlefish, on Arm-based Google Cloud instances, enabling developers to test infotainment stacks virtually. The recent launch of Android 17 and AAOS SDV extends this capability to additional domains, but the challenge remains extending the model to the full vehicle, including diverse operating systems and hardware. RemotiveTopology bridges this gap by simulating the vehicle’s electrical and electronic architecture, connecting AAOS in Cuttlefish to a complete virtual vehicle with data networks and live signals.
RemotiveTopology automates the creation of a virtual vehicle’s network using manufacturers’ existing design files, treating the electrical architecture as executable code—vehicle-as-code. This allows entire vehicles to be spun up on demand, with cockpit software interacting with other systems as it would in a physical vehicle. The approach provides real-time system visibility and runs on standard Linux tooling, enabling use in both local development and continuous integration pipelines on Google Cloud.
The approach accelerates the slowest phase of vehicle development—integration—by enabling all systems to be tested virtually before hardware assembly. Early customer engagements show over 10x faster integration cycles, while AI-assisted workflows can rapidly generate and refine software. RemotiveTopology is available in Horizon and integrates with existing toolchains, offering an open-source simplified vehicle example on GitHub for immediate use without new third-party tools.