Practical use cases that leverage the power of real-time data for predictive analysis are happening right now.

The secret is co-development, as traditional industries such as transportation and manufacturing team up with digital giants, such as Amazon Web Services Inc., which is a master of data, artificial intelligence and machine learning, according to Sarah Cooper (pictured), general manager of IoT solutions at Amazon Web Services Inc.

“You’ve got a company like AWS that has strong digital expertise and a history of product innovation working with customers that are very innovative themselves but typically have been innovative in traditional hardware products,” Cooper said. “The two worlds are coming together to make sure that we can solve some of the big challenges that are facing our society today.”

Cooper spoke with John Furrier, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio, during AWS re:Invent. They discussed two practical use cases where AWS is partnering with more traditional industries to revolutionize operations through the application of advanced technology. (* Disclosure below.)

AWS and Carrier catalyze cold-chain innovation

Use case number one centers around AWS’ collaboration with refrigeration giant Carrier Corp. on the Lynx connected cold chain platform. Essential for the transport of perishable items, such as foods and medicines across the globe, the cold chain is comprised of a complex series of links. Thanks to Carrier’s breadth of products, Lynx can monitor items as they move from grower or manufacturer to semi-truck, trains, boats and airplanes, back to trucks, and eventually to the supermarket shelf or pharmacy and onto the consumer.

“What Lynx does is it pulls the data from all of the Carrier equipment and then pulls that data and looks across all of this information, using things like machine learning to draw inference and relationship and then allows us to be able to make smart recommendations,” Cooper stated. “It allows us basically to provide that transparency end to end, which is so difficult because of the number of players. And with AWS, we’re bringing the digital technology side. We’ve got the IoT, the ML, the AI, the big data processing pieces.”

The goal is to reduce waste through spoilage, and it has a bigger impact than you’d think. Each year millions go hungry every day while rotting food contributes to global warming, and lost medicines costs affect more than big-pharma’s bottom line when patients can’t receive medicine to relieve their conditions.

“It’s great to wake up in the morning and get to work on a project that has that kind of impact,” Cooper stated.

BlackBerry (yes, THAT BlackBerry) is back on the cutting edge

For the second use case, Cooper describes the intelligent vehicle data platform, known as IVY, that was born by linking AWS technology and the BlackBerry QNX embedded software systems.

“QNX, which is a division of Blackberry, is in 175 million vehicles,” Cooper said.

As well as running under the covers providing a safety security layer and a real-time operating system in vehicles, QNX technology can be found in many industries, from nuclear power plants to manufacturing automation.

“It’s one of those products that you probably benefit from but you didn’t know it,” Cooper stated.

Does this mean AWS is entering the automated vehicle market?

“No,” said Cooper, emphasizing that the original equipment manufacturers remain in control.

“This isn’t something where BlackBerry or AWS owns the data. The auto manufacturers do,” she said. AWS and BlackBerry are there to make the platforms “a delightful experience,” she added. “We’re just helping to make sure that that’s as easy as possible and opening up the potential innovation.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of AWS re:Invent. (* Disclosure: The AWS Partner Network sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither AWS nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE