IoT Drives The Future Of Connected Cars
Connected cars will transform the way we interact with our vehicles. At the MWC earlier this month, it was clear that the Internet of Things, along with M2M connection, is speeding this transformation along.
BARCELONA – A new generation of connected cars is on the horizon that will make many of us rethink our relationship to our vehicles. Automobiles are just one of the many places where the Internet of Things (IoT) is showing itself to be at the root of the next great wave of wireless innovation.
By December 2014 there were 12.6 billion connected devices. By the year 2020, it is expected that machine-to-machine (M2M) connections will represent 10% of the world's mobile connections, powering smart homes, smart cars, and smart workplaces, according to the Groupe Speciale Mobile Association or GSMA, a trade group that represents about 1,000 different mobile operators and companies worldwide.
Automotive firms such as Ford, BMW, Mercedes, and GM are not the only ones thinking about connected cars and what IoT means for these vehicles. It was evident earlier this month at Mobile World Congress 2015 -- the GSMA hosts the show -- that wireless service providers are also taking connected vehicles seriously. The GSMA Innovative City display at MWC featured AT&T, Jasper, KT Corporation, Qualcomm, Sierra Wireless, and Vodafone. These are among the many companies that are looking at the connected car as the wave of the future -- a proving ground for what IoT and M2M technologies can do to transform everyday life.
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In addition, car and tech companies have to consider and account for the large amount of data these sensors and devices will collect, and how they can use that information to make additional improvements, while protecting the data and the driver.
On the following pages, we offer glimpse of what the future will bring in terms of the connected car, and how IoT will make that vision possible.
(Susan Fourtane attended Mobile World Congress earlier this month and took all the photos in this story.)
Qualcomm detailed its Snapdragon X12 LTE modem (9x40) and Qualcomm Snapdragon X5 LTE modem (9x28) as part of its Snapdragon Automotive Solutions, which will support connectivity across all tiers of the automotive industry. Qualcomm reports that its Snapdragon automotive technology can deliver a highly-integrated platform that offers a number of leading-edge capabilities. These include features such as connected Infotainment -- a series of smart connected experiences including enhanced 3D navigation, multimedia streaming, HD video, mobile device content sharing, surround sound, and gear seat entertainment and gaming. In addition, the Automotive Telematics include security, location services, safety, and vehicle diagnostics.
Mobile-connected technologies are transforming industries through partnerships in connected cars. Jointly, AT&T and IBM envision a city transportation manager who watches for road conditions, as well as accidents and other events. This manager monitors and analyzes data with information provided by connected vehicles that utilize AT&T's M2M services and IBM's IoT technology. A powerful dashboard will drive timely process completion and the inter-agency coordination of information that will be sent to decision-makers to help them develop a clearer picture of current events. This combination of technologies is designed to allow city managers and traffic coordinators to offer suggestions about improving safety and traffic flow based on real-time information.
Vodafone has partnered with Accenture, Huawei, and Porsche to bring its M2M technologies, which connect the IoT to a variety of applications. For the automotive industry, these include connected cars such as the Porsche Panamera, which features telematics services for vehicle management, safety, and security, as well as a usage-based insurance plan. By synchronizing the car with a smartphone, the driver can keep tabs on the car's security, location, diagnostics, mileage, and fuel consumption.
After its 25 initial experiments announced at CES in January as part of its Ford Global Mobility Plan, the iconic car company has been adding even more experiments to its portfolio, some of which were announced at MWC. The Innovative Mobility Challenge Series aims to create solutions for specific mobility challenges in England, Portugal, North America, South America, Africa, India, and China. The series continues in Australia this year. The global plan includes technology to identify open parking spaces in urban areas, better ways to navigate crowded cities, and the use of navigation and other tools to improve access to medical care in remote areas. With its project UK Autodrive, Ford expects to join the driverless and connected cars initiatives, providing two prototype cars with vehicle-to-vehicle communication capability in order to test a public transport system.
Sierra Wireless highlighted the role played by its modules in the M2M and IoT space. The company's 2G, 3G, and 4G modules are integrated with its secure M2M cloud services, including AirPrime Embedded Wireless Modules, AirLink Gateways and Modems, and AirVantage M2M Cloud.
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