The car is well on its way to becoming the most sophisticated mobile device in the Internet of Things (IoT).
Linked to the cloud by way of wireless technologies, smart chips, onboard computers and mobile apps, connected vehicles are driving new business models and disrupting old ones. By 2020, there will be a quarter billion connected vehicles on the road, enabling new in-vehicle services and automated driving capabilities, according to Gartner, Inc.
Over the coming years, social and behavioral changes will continue to redefine the basis on which people decide to buy a car, with vehicle technology becoming relatively less important, and in-car digital services – and the convenience of the selection process – playing a growing role in consumers’ choice of vehicle.
As connected vehicle capabilities continue to evolve and roll out, Quectel thinks connected car developments continue to center on the seven following areas:
1. Telematics. Vehicle telematics encompass a wide range of computing and communications services located within a car. They focus mainly on safety, security and convenience, and include features as varied as stolen vehicle recovery, emergency calls, concierge services, remote door unlocking and remote diagnostics. Most in-car telematics solutions are managed by service providers through call centers.
2. Advanced driver assistance systems (ADASs). These services focus primarily on accident avoidance and driving efficiency, and do not always require internet connectivity. However, more recent ADAS innovations are increasingly leveraging cloud connectivity to augment the information gathered from embedded onboard systems. Falling prices are boosting adoption, and future services will focus on autonomous driving capabilities.
3. Mobility services. These solutions collect vehicle-specific data through various technologies – positioning technology, wireless communication modules, vehicle sensors and mobile device integration – and then leverage it by linking to an internet-based application via mobile connectivity. Mobile services include vehicle access as a service, and usage and mileage-based services. The most current mobility services are operated by non-automotive vendors, but this may change as OEMs extend their offerings.
4. Infotainment. This category includes information services— like navigation, traffic services, weather and mobile apps, and email—and also entertainment. Infotainment features can be offered either via technology embedded in the vehicle or via device-to-vehicle integration, using consumers’ separate mobile devices as a hub for accessing internetbased content. These offerings focus strongly on ease of use and safety-related services. To offer infotainment services, OEMs generally collaborate with non-automotive vendors.
5. Well-being. Optimization of the driver’s health and competence. The growing group of affluent older drivers will pay for technologies that monitor their well-being while driving. There is significant potential to prevent accidents and save lives with systems that detect conditions that impair driving abilities. Examples include electronic alerts that detect or mitigate fatigue, and other forms of individual assistance.
6. Home integration. Links to homes, offices, and other buildings. As the Internet of Things connects more household appliances and systems to the Web, consumers are embracing home automation, which in turn will drive demand for integration of these systems with the car. Examples include the integration of the automobile into home alarms or energy monitoring systems.
7. Autonomous driving. Operation of the vehicle without a human driver at the controls, existing only on a partial basis. Examples include self-parking cars, motorway assistance, and the transportation of goods by trucks on well-delineated routes.
Autonomous driving is the fastest-growing connected car feature. Many technologies are developing faster than expected. There is strong demand in China. At present, 10 Automakers and Tech Firms are esearching Self-Driving Cars. That is Tesla, Google& Ford, China’s Baidu, Toyota, General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Volkswagen, and Apple. Quectel’s point of view is that it is a great opportunity for auto makers and also a long journey for fully aumomation since it faces the chanlleages of unclear legal and regulatory frameworks and liability issues.
But today, as modern automobiles have evolved to moving machines bristling with sensors, software, processors and networks, future predictions are all about technology, cars will be much more personalized in 2016, thanks to algorithms and context-aware software.
- The Birth Of Algorithm-based Everything
Intelligent technology is the driver of personalization, but this is just one aspect of how smart software will move into the vehicle world. Year 2016 will see the start of algorithm-driven businesses in which companies will focus on offering flexibility and personalization in all aspects of their services.In automotive insurance, as an example, machine learning algorithms will predict insurance premium based on an individual’s driving abilities and behavior as well as the driving conditions for the area.
- Ethernet Reaches The Car
Having a single network — the Ethernet — in the car will be a big disruptor. To begin with, it will be applied in areas like infotainment audio and video, highly impacting the content available in the car. But the real significance is down the road a bit.
Imagine the benefits of moving from one megabit to gigabits of network speed in the vehicle. Cars need speed to handle capabilities like automatic braking in case of hazards and other features, and looking further, this is a must-have technology for the semi-autonomous and autonomous vehicles that with collect and process data from a large array of radars, cameras and other sensors.
- The Car Will Retort
In 2016, not only will car receive software updates over the air (OTA) like mobile phone in order to e.g. improve fuel efficiency through the latest and greatest releases, it will also be able to share information about user patterns and driving. This data will start going back to the cloud and give car manufacturers and app makers a world of information and the drivers a superior driving and owning experience.
Connected cars are the leading edge of disruptive technology that’s changing not only the automobile, but the nature of the automotive industry. As connectivity paves the way for autonomous driving, digital content and services have become the industry’s primary source of growth. These services create new opportunities for auto makers, but also for technology companies such as Google and Apple. To succeed, auto makers must not only shift more investments to digital content, but also change their business models, build new capabilities, and drive cultural change through their organizations. More fundamentally, OEMs oriented to their traditional role as product manufacturers must embrace a new identity as service providers. Those that can make this shift — while providing the security assurances consumers demand — will flourish in the digital era.
