Connected Car: Mobility of the future

from | 6 November 2020 | Basics

The Connected Car is one of the key concepts when it comes to the mobility of the future. Learn in this blog article what distinguishes the Connected Car and why the future belongs to this concept. One of the megatrends of the 21st century is urbanisation. Already in 2007, more people worldwide lived in cities than in the countryside. In the coming years, this proportion will rise to 75 percent. In 2050, about 7.2 billion people will live in cities. This means a massive increase in traffic in cities.

If the current concept of individual transport remains, the streets will become crowded - the prospect of a smooth flow of traffic or a parking space is diminishing. One of the most promising solutions in this context is the Connected Car. Networking is leading to the transformation of entire industries. In our article on the networked production in the automotive industry you can find out more.

What is a Conntected Car?

This term generally refers to internet-capable vehicles with telematics functions that can communicate with the associated systems via the radio network. This means that the vehicle is both a receiver and a transmitter of data.

The solution to current challenges

In view of the challenges, mobility must be fundamentally rethought. First and foremost, this means asking ourselves what the future of the car looks like. Even if in the area of autonomous driving great progress has already been made, we are still a long way from level 5 of autonomous driving, in which the vehicle takes over all driving functions, both technically and legislatively.

Alternative solutions for the aggravated situation in conurbations are already emerging. The connected car or the concept of the Connected Caris one of the most important. The Connected Car is the central component of a data-based mobility concept.

The road to autonomous driving is a process. Already today digitalisation and networking have already found their way into the car. The Connected Car is already a reality.

The Connected Car is networked in two ways:

  1. Sensors measure and check the current operation and perceive the environment.
  2. In addition, the Connected Car is connected to the internet, making further services and external data sources available.

Both types of networking together result in the potential that makes the Connected Car the car of the future. Cars are no longer individual, isolated objects on the road. Rather, they will Part of a large, networked ecosystem. It is precisely from this networking that decisive advantages are derived.

History of the Connected Car
© Wikipedia

The advantages of connected driving

Today, road users already receive real-time information about the current traffic situation and suggestions about possible alternative routes. Intelligently avoid traffic jams, in this respect represents ease for networked cars. The optimal planning From routes is also gaining in importance, as the availability of charging infrastructure and corresponding residence times must be included in the calculation in the context of electromobility.

Also the Driving in a convoy becomes much easier with a Connected Car. When driving in a convoy, it is often difficult to maintain visual contact - both for the person in front and for the person driving behind. A convoy consisting of networked vehicles can be of any length and there is no need for visual contact. This advantage applies in particular to freight traffic. Forming columns is a major challenge for HGV traffic, which can be made much easier by networking.

The new services in a Connected Car -

From booking the next workshop appointment to streaming music, modern cars want for nothing. The fact that the Connected Car is connected to the internet makes a multitude of new services possible:

  • Making an appointment at the workshop
  • Remote maintenance
  • Hotel or table reservation (for example via Open Table)
  • Sending an emergency call directly from the car via digital assistants

The more the 5G standard the more important services such as music streaming, which can be used via the Internet, will become.

Other interfaces also allow the Connected Car, to perceive its surroundings. The Beacon technologyin which small radio transmitters transmitters emit a weak signal into the surrounding area can be used to send important can be used to send important information. For example, how many restaurant you are driving past in a Connected Car, or information about a special or information about a special offer of the day. Other sensors can use lasers to perceive the surroundings so that a Connected Car can Car can park itself.

The networking

Up to now, we have mainly talked about the advantages and possibilities that arise from the networking of the Connected Car with the Internet. A Connected Car is characterised by a further form of networking - the internal networking.

A Connected Car in the premium segment is already equipped with well over equipped with well over 100 sensors that enable the car to perceive itself and its and its surroundings. A wide variety of values are measured for this purpose. Starting with temperature, pressure conditions, inclination, speed, vibrations, distances and much more, vibrations, distances and much more. Autonomous parking without the driver's intervention driver's intervention, which many OEMs already offer today, is just as possible as automatic braking if an obstacle unexpectedly appears.

The sensor data provide the basis for the Self-diagnosis of the Connected Car. Instead of visiting a workshop every two years or every 100,000 kilometres, it decides for itself whether and when a service appointment makes sense. Only when a pattern emerges in the analysed data that indicates a defect does maintenance become necessary.

The visit to the TÜV is thus also digitalised - the transmission of the Data would be sufficient to check the condition of the car. If the results are positive, a digital TÜV sticker would be issued and sent to the car.

There are five categories for classifying the connectivity of vehicles and their environment as well as communication.

V2I - Vehicle-to-Infrastructure

This technology collects data generated by the car and provides the driver of the vehicle with information about the infrastructure. Information about safety, mobility and environmental conditions is passed on.

V2V - Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communication

This type involves the exchange of information and data between cars. The aim here is to inform the driver about critical and dangerous situations. The vehicles are to collect data, evaluate it and pass it on to the other road users via radio. Direct V2V communication enables the following safety systems, among others: Collision protection, lane departure warning, collision warning and many more.

V2C - Vehicle-to-Cloud Communication

In this category, data is collected and shared with a cloud through and for applications. This allows the car to use information from other areas but only connected to the cloud service, including energy, transport and smart home.

V2P - Vehicle-to-Pedestrian

This technology collects information about the environment and communicates with other vehicles. Information about infrastructures and personal mobile devices is shared. In this way, it is possible to communicate with pedestrians and should thus improve safety and mobility on the roads.

V2X - Vehicle-to-Everything Communication

This technology was developed in 2010. The vehicles are supposed to communicate with the environment but also with each other. The exchange of data between neighbouring cars is a special case of V2X and is called V2V. The transmission works in both directions. V2X does not process image and video data, but sensor data. This technology is intended to increase road safety, lead to energy savings and increase the efficiency of traffic.

What are the advantages of connected cars?

This trend does offer interesting advantages. This progress makes road transport safer, as processes and procedures can be improved and modernised. These advantages are important factors in many respects. Hybrid drives and electric motors, for example, become more efficient and ensure fewer emissions. Drivers receive traffic-relevant information and efficient countermeasures. The new infotainment system offers new possibilities for entertainment and work and many other benefits.

The potential of the Connected Car data

The data from the sensors provide many advantages for the driver as well as for the manufacturers and insurance companies. The data analyses that a Connected Car makes possible lead to more safety in the car.

Example "Big Data Car Seat": This has a large number of sensors that monitor the driver's sitting behaviour in real time. By comparing data with sitting behaviour when awake and sober, a Big Data car seat can reliably detect changes in sitting behaviour. In this way, a Connected Car knows, for example, whether a driver has drunk too much alcohol or whether fatigue is becoming so great that a break is necessary.

A Connected Car can also be a valuable tool in another respect. Increasing road safety contribute. The owners of a Connected Car who agree to share their data with the Insurance can receive reduced rates or refunds if they drive well. Not only does this reduce the cost of insuring a Connected Car, it also reduces recklessness on the roads, thereby reducing the likelihood of causing accidents. It becomes safer on the roads overall. Read also our blog article about Telematics tariffs in the insurance industry.

The future of mobility: connected and the vision of autonomous driving

The supreme discipline is the autonomous driving. The driverless car, which automatically scans its surroundings and can navigate without outside intervention, bundles all the advantages of the Connected Car. Anyone sitting in an autonomously driving car will experience a new feeling of mobility - a self-driving car is more like a moving car. Living room or a travelling Office than a classic car.

The Interior of an autonomous vehicle will be completely be redefined. Passengers could just as well be sitting facing each other or or lie in a bed during the journey. The self-driving car will be the norm in metropolises in the future and thus solve many challenges to mobility in large cities. Already today, many of the possibilities offered by a Connected Car are no longer dreams of the future, but have long since become part of reality.

With the Increasing digital networking within the framework of the Internet of Things comprehensive, new ecosystems are emerging. The smart city, the smart home, smart clothing and connected cars will become a matter of course for customers. The benefits of the Connected Car will excite car customers: more comfort and service, personalisation and intelligent networking, new mobility concepts and more safety on the road.

Author

Michaela Tiedemann

Michaela Tiedemann has been part of the Alexander Thamm GmbH team since the early start-up days. She has actively shaped the development from a fast-moving, spontaneous start-up to a successful company. With the founding of her own family, a whole new chapter began for Michaela Tiedemann at the same time. Hanging up her job, however, was out of the question for the new mother. Instead, she developed a strategy to reconcile her job as Chief Marketing Officer with her role as a mother.

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