OEMs worldwide are developing wireless technologies linking individual vehicles to central traffic monitoring and control facilities. Known by numerous names, such as connected cars, smart cities, intelligent transportation and the like, these systems deliver a host of benefits to urban environments. Easier and quicker commutes, fewer traffic jams, less air pollution and a better quality of life in general are among the attributes.
“Automakers are expending significant resources and effort to develop V2V (vehicle to vehicle) safety technologies because of the potential to significantly reduce automobile crash fatalities, injuries and congestion on our highways,” says Michael Cammisa, a director at the Association of Global Automakers, which represents international vehicle manufacturers, original equipment suppliers and other automotive-related trade associations.
“We work with industry leaders, legislators and regulators to create the kind of public policy that improves vehicle safety, encourages technological innovation and protects our planet,” he adds, citing recent lobbying efforts to ensure that governmental agencies – such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the U.S. – allocate adequate interference-free frequency space to operate the various systems coming to fruition.
Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Fiat, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, Mazda, Nissan, Peugeot, Renault, Toyota, Volvo and Volkswagen are among the automakers belonging to the London-based Groupe Spéciale Mobile Association (GSMA) that supported February’s Connected Living mAutomotive project and Connected Car Forum at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.
“The Connected Life will have a positive impact on many industries. However, capitalizing on this enormous opportunity requires cross-sector collaboration to fully realize the power of mobile for the benefit of billions of people globally,” says Michael O’Hara, the GSMA’s chief marketing officer.
He points out that “the automotive industry has the potential to play a transformative role in the connected future” by offering services such as on-demand, in-car entertainment; low-cost pay-as-you-drive insurance; location-enabled security features; and real-time fleet management.
The Machina Research firm, in cooperation with the GSMA, anticipates that 90 percent of new cars in 2020 will have some form of in-vehicle connectivity, amounting to a worldwide industry worth $600 billion in the automotive sector alone. (Some of the other applications in a future $4.5-trillion connective marketplace include healthcare, utility infrastructure and automated building management.)
GSMA target figures aim for more than half of the global vehicle sales in 2015 to be connected in some way, either by embedded sensors, tethered connectivity or smart phone integration; eventually every car is to be connected via multiple methods.
“By 2020, there is no doubt we will live in a much more connected world, which will have a fundamental impact on the way we live and work,” notes Machina’s Matt Hatton. “This impact will not only open up new revenue opportunities for operators, but it will also facilitate a host of new business models, improve the way that companies do business and improve efficiencies in innumerable ways.”
As the next decade approaches, “mobile connectivity in cars will increasingly become a must-have as demand grows for services such as stolen vehicle recovery, insurance telematics and entertainment,” according to Hatton. “This will be driven by manufacturers seeking to differentiate their offering and build new revenue streams as well as the growth of plug-in electric vehicles, which will demand connectivity.”
Among Machina’s international marketplace predictions for 2020 are $75 billion in electric vehicle charging, $245 billion for pay-as-you-drive car insurance and $100 billion destined toward traffic management.
International attention
Referred to as “the original smart city” and “cradle of bus rapid transit,” Curitiba, Brazil was a pioneer in the connected field when it leveraged private-public partnerships to debut an overriding bus network in 1968. Its traffic design principles have been applied in part to more than 83 worldwide metropolises, including the U.S. cities of Los Angeles, Seattle, Honolulu, Houston and Boulder, Colo.
The master plan’s architect, Jaime Lerner, went on to serve multiple terms as Curitiba’s mayor as the populace, which now stands at 3.2 million people, enthusiastically embraced an affordable and efficient transportation system that has reduced urban sprawl, traffic congestion and air pollution.
“They dealt with transportation for a city that’s developing so it wouldn’t be too costly,” explains Fulbright Scholar Dr. Frank J. Costa, professor emeritus at the University of Akron’s Department of Geography and Planning.
“They’re getting international attention for what they have done,” Costa tells Aftermarket Business World, adding that the focus on bus line integration is far more economical than constructing a train or subway system. “Light rail is terribly expensive for a city that’s not well-off,” he says.
Supplier Ericsson’s HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access) system has since been applied to coordinate connectivity among the buses, passengers and Curitiba’s infrastructure.
“As we have the buses connected with mobile broadband, we are now able to implement endless solutions,” reports Marcos Valente Isfer, president of the Society of Urbanization of Curitiba (URBS). “With this solution, we can have better fleet management. We can reduce the time spent on buses, which reduces carbon emissions and improves our sustainability.”
Spurring development
The global ramifications go far beyond monitoring bus traffic, according to Matilda Gennevi Gustafsson, Ericsson’s director of sustainability. “In order to meet the needs of the 9 billion people estimated to populate the world by 2050, there must be a shift from incremental to transformative solutions to solve climate change,” she asserts. “The opportunity for the transformational power of ICT (Information and Communications Technologies) to put us on the path of a low-carbon economy and spur socio-economic development has never been greater.”
And while you may have qualms about enhanced bus lines, unless your aftermarket business specializes in bus fleet maintenance, the technological concepts are being applied to autos and other vehicles with ongoing vigor. Curitiba has one of the highest private car ownership rates in Brazil with nearly 400 cars registered per 1,000 people, yet the city posts the lowest level of atmospheric pollution in all of the country.
In February, Siemens announced a partnership with Acyclica Inc. to exclusively distribute Acyclica’s BlueCompass, BlackCompass and CrossCompass hardware to the North American market. Utilizing Bluetooth or Wi-Fi-based sensors with Acyclica’s analyzer software, the systems “are one of the most versatile travel-time and origin-destination data measurement solutions in the intelligent transportation industry,” according to the company, which also produces the Osram lines of automotive lighting.
“As cities continue to implement intelligent transportation solutions to improve the quality of life for their citizens, the ability to gather data in real-time is essential,” says Terry Heath, president of Siemens’ mobility and logistics division. “This data solution is not only a cost-effective way to measure travel time and make adjustments to traffic control systems, but an innovative solution to aid in evacuation routes and other situations where delays can be an issue.”
ATOP in The Netherlands
In the Dutch city of Eindhoven, IBM and NXP Semiconductors have recently completed a year-long pilot program that “demonstrates how the connected car automatically shares braking, acceleration and location data that can be analyzed by the central traffic authority to identify and resolve road network issues.”
“The trial successfully showed that anonymous information from vehicles can be analyzed by local traffic authorities to resolve road network issues faster, reduce congestion and improve traffic flow,” says Ab Oosting, European Union project manager for the Collaborative Region of Eindhoven. “By receiving the information in real-time, road authorities can utilize mobile technologies to immediately deploy emergency response teams and road workers to resolve issues. Traffic center staff can promptly respond and manage traffic flows away from accidents and dangerous traffic situations.”
During the trial, IBM, NXP and its partners equipped 200 participating cars with a device containing the NXP telematics chip (ATOP) that gathers relevant data from the central communication system of the car (CAN-bus). Relevant sensor data – such as indicators of potholes or icy roads – was collected in-vehicle and transmitted to the cloud-enabled IBM Smarter Traffic Center.
Consisting of some 1.8 billion sensor signals, the resolved incidents included heavy rain, the switching on of hazard lights and driving under foggy conditions. This information enables road officials to act in near real-time on dangerous road conditions, wrecks or growing traffic density. It also informs motorists in the vicinity through a smartphone or a built-in navigation device.
Bold new directions
As part of a multi-year contract, BMW of North America has teamed with INRIX to provide drivers with real-time traffic, traffic-influenced turn-by-turn directions and alerts to crashes and other incidents along their route.
“BMW is taking in-car navigation in bold new directions,” says INRIX CEO Bryan Mistele. “Together, we’re shaping a future of the connected car that puts drivers at the center of an experience that’s personalized, localized and optimized in ways that make navigation indispensable to the daily driver.”
BMW’s Advanced Real-Time Traffic Information (ARTTI) service is being incorporated into the latest onboard navigation system that is standard on all of the 2013 7 Series models along with the 550i Sedan, 550i Gran Turismo and ActiveHybrid 5 Sedan. ARTTI is offered as an option on the 2013 528i and 535i Sedans, the 535i Gran Turismo and the ActiveHybrid 3.
The Renault-Nissan Alliance recently expanded its presence in the Silicon Valley by opening a new advanced research center that will initially be specializing in autonomous driving and connected cars.
The stated goals of the Nissan scientists and engineers include:
- Research of autonomous vehicles to realize a future with safe, stress-free mobility;
- Research of connected vehicles that can tap into infrastructure and the Internet to maximize energy and time efficiency; and
- Research in the area of Human Machine Interface to enhance the experience of autonomous and connected vehicles.
“As we continue to expand our R&D capabilities throughout the world,” says Nissan Executive Vice President Mitsuhiko Yamashita, “we aggressively pursue our activities to create new values of mobility by harnessing the latest information and communication technologies.”
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