A substantial technological disruption is knocking on the doors of the auto industry and will change how people travel. One such disruption is fuelled by connectivity in modern vehicles. It is forming the foundation for technologies that make car journeys comfortable and safer. After tablets and smartphones, connected cars have been identified as commodities where technological growth will the fastest.
Technologies like navigation, vehicle tracking, media, etc. have already become a norm in our cars. This makes us imagine the kind of revolution we will witness in the coming future. Harikrishna Khandavalli, Head of Engineering, Connected Car Networking business unit at Continental Automotive India has shared five reasons why your next car purchase should be a connected vehicle:
Safety
Connected cars can overcome some of the biggest challenges, including safety and growing emission concerns. Connected cars exchange safety-critical information between the infrastructure and nearby cars, which eventually helps in reducing the number of accidents and casualties. One such example is ehorizon. It assists the vehicle to see around the corner and beyond sensor vision, which ultimately makes driving more efficient, comfortable, and safe. Also, in the cloud, eHorizon processes the data collected from the entire vehicle fleet with the aid of artificial intelligence and other technologies, which again increases the reliability of the predictions.
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Emergency Services
While connected mobility takes significant steps to enhance the safety of the vehicle and prevent accidents, it also aids in cases of emergencies. It reduces the impact of emergencies on other drivers on the road. Being able to connect during emergencies has been one of the primary reasons to introduce connectivity in automobiles. The eCall feature in cars has been made mandatory in many countries. Furthermore, the evaluation of data collected from various sensors enables the vehicles in front to predict critical traffic situations, before they lead to a dangerous situation for subsequent drivers. Likewise, data about crashes are sent to vehicles travelling on the route so that further accidents can be avoided.
Infotainment
With infotainment systems like CAN Radios, MultiViu Media, and several multimedia components like control units, high-performance computers, etc., drivers can get targeted information about the vehicle and the route along with the communication with infrastructure without any bargain with the driver’s or passenger’s security. Passengers can indulge in entertainment during the journey where they get essential instruments, modules, and systems that connect everyone and the other devices.
Connectivity has also enhanced the way passengers access infotainment. Applications that used to be integrated directly in the head unit have now moved over to the cloud, where they are processed before being displayed on a powerful browser. This ensures that the system is always up-to-date and that new functions can be added at any time. Through connectivity and Machine Learning, infotainment solutions of today can deliver personalized experiences to each driver.
Efficiency
Connected cars can utilize the data to assist the driver. IoT could generate the most efficient routes to wherever you are headed to, refraining road accidents, traffic jams, packed streets, or under construction roads, which ultimately saves a lot of time. It can also help the driver track the location of the vehicle with GPS and examine the vehicle’s maintenance condition, helping increase its efficiency. Over-the-air updates are one such example that can update the whole vehicle, including infotainment systems and powertrain.
Intelligent Access
Connected cars provide more comfortable access and start systems. It includes remote keyless entry systems and simple mobilizers, hands-free access solutions, digital keys, and bidirectional keys with near field communications, which makes the connected cars easily accessible and convenient to drive. Connected cars will significantly reduce road accidents by minimizing human errors, change the way we consume information, and improve environmental conditions by reducing emissions. Rears facing cameras, a head-up display, GPS navigation, driver assistance systems for changing lanes without any human inference are making connected vehicles a revolutionary step towards transportation.
The industry is amid a transformation, and connectivity is one of the technologies driving it. Eventually, it will open the gates to intelligent and safe mobility, which is the goal a country like India must achieve for recording the highest number of road-related fatalities in the World.