IoT applications for autonomous vehicles

Right now, the most-talked-about piece of technological innovation that is poised to transform our lives is the connected cars. As connected cars gain widespread adoption, analysts are predicting by 2020, it is expected that 10 million self-driving cars will be on the road while there will be more than 250 million smart cars—cars connected to high-tech networks—sharing the road with them.

Connected Car - the presence of devices in an automobile that connects the devices to other devices within the car/vehicles and or devices, networks and services outside the car including other cars, home, office or infrastructure.

Internet connections can provide connections that warn of traffic, collisions and other safety alerts. Concierge services from apps or automakers alert the driver of the time to leave to arrive on time from a calendar and send text message alerts to friends or business associates to alert them of arrival times. For example, BMW Connected NA.

As the number of connected vehicles continues to grow, automotive use cases can be grouped into five main categories:

• Infotainment: Voice communications, personalized music
• Navigation: Traffic information, online route planning
• Safety: Smart SOS (eCall), roadside assistance
• Cost-efficiency: Insurance telematics, remote diagnostics, and condition-based maintenance
• Payment: Electronic toll collection, parking reservation, and payment

The evolution of the connected vehicle from pure V2I to V2V, and increasingly V2X, present vehicle manufacturers with the opportunity to differentiate from their competitors, based on the digital services available to their customers. Here are several examples:

A decade ago, people couldn’t fully imagine the way smartphones would give rise to the app economy. Today we are at the threshold of something equally momentous – that’s why entrepreneurs and investors are now beginning to imagine the economic possibilities tied in with connected cards.

The Future of Connected Cars

The next phase of connected cars through the 20-teens is when cars connected to services and information outside of the car including but not limited to the following:

LTE data connections & Wi-Fi to passengers – AT&T  in the spring of 2014 announced services in which drivers can add their car with LTE to their AT&T mobile share plans.  The connection to LTE enables passengers to perform web surfing and connected apps. It also allows for the app in the head/dash unit to connected to data services such as stream audio services like Pandora, iHeart Radio, and Slacker Radio. 4G LTE in the United States will is available in GM (Chevy, Buick, Cadillac) cars via OnStar. HSPA+ connectivity is available in Tesla and  Volvo from AT&T. More car makers may find a demand for 4G  LTE connectivity because it will enable them to update software over-the-air.  Verizon Wireless is expected to offer 4G LTE to  (Hyundai) in the future.

Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure – for the everything from traffic management to stopping a car from entering a dangerous intersection, V2V and V2I are communications systems that interact for the safety of the auto and its surrounding environment.  The U.S. Department of Transportation is working on guidelines to enable V2V systems that connect to municipalities and for safety and better traffic control. Research on V2V is being done by the University of Michigan Ann Arbor.

Systems to Show Offers Based on Driver Behavior 

As this field grows, services that may be offered are automated text messages to a spouse or family member when the traffic going home is bad or coffee discount coupons in the morning on your way to work or even travel/hotel offers when you drive to different cities.

Automated-Automatic-Auto-Piloted-AUTO-Mobiles-AUTO-Connected-Car

Now, cars will drive themselves and the human driver will take over the wheel only when necessary.  This realm is also called “robotic vehicles.” Vehicles such as the Ford auto-driving research car and the Renault Kwid are few examples of research and concept vehicles that may drive themselves.

Other companies working on autonomous cars include Nissan, Volkswagen, Peuegot, and other.  Polls show people many people are not ready to driverless cars. Research shows that Google and IBM will profit.  Driverless cars use ADAS features to drive the car.

This relates to the field of predictive driving systems to shorten response time for controlling aspects of the vehicle.