What will be the IoT Vehicle of the Future?

29 November, 2015

Nobody knows for sure what the future will look like once Automotive IoT is fully established. However, there is consensus that significant change is coming

What will be the IoT Vehicle of the Future?

Nobody knows for sure what the future will look like once Automotive IoT is fully established. However, there is consensus that significant change is coming

By Mark O’Donnell, Senior PM,Automotive MCUs, Freescale

A growing number of connected cars are on the road today. These cars have navigation systems, emergency call systems, internet access and wireless local networks. Some of these features are embedded from the factory, and others are brought into the car like a smart phone that connects you to your navigation systems, music and other content.

In the near future, your behind-the-wheel experience and view will not change. However, the roll-out of V2X technology will provide secure communication between cars, roadside infrastructure and even people – this plays a huge part in the IoT.

Each car will be more aware of its environment. Cars will know when the lights are about to change. Cars will “predict” if another car is heading into a collision. Securing and analyzing each of these connections as quickly as possible will be essential.

Jump forward a few years and imagine how different your daily journey to work could be when fully connected cars (if they are still referred to as “cars”) autonomously navigate busy city streets and fast-moving highways.

The reason you get in your car is still your end-destination. But now getting there is more fun, relaxing and flexible. You don’t have to focus on driving the car yourself. The car’s sensor fusion system, which uses radar, vision and V2X takes care of the driving for you.

Traditional car window will become a work surface

No more accidents, cheaper insurance premiums, running costs, zero emissions and significant reduction in commute times are all achieved. Your traditional car window becomes a viewing and work surface, flexible and fun to suit all occupants’ needs.

Cars as mobile environmental monitoring station

With the growing bank of onboard car sensors, the car could become a mobile environmental monitoring station. Providing real time secure information to local and national agencies allowing them to take action when required to improve the quality of the air we all breathe.

The data the car is generating and collecting is now valuable and sharing that data securely through trusted partnerships will be paramount. We are working to establish what we believe are the the necessary partnerships to provide secure solutions at every stage in the Automotive IoT.

Even when the car is sitting in your driveway, it will be in communication with its manufacturer, using secure wireless technology. The information that is being shared is about the performance and maintenance of your car, with software updates being transferred over the air (OTA), to make your car more reliable, efficient and to fix any problems before they have an impact on your car’s drivability.

Roadside infrastructure
In the future, our town and city streets could fundamentally be transformed, as the need for traditional roadside infrastructure is first scaled back. The term road safety is then consigned to the history books as cars no longer cause accidents, by operating autonomously and being always connected to the IoT securely sharing information.

FREESCALE-FUTURE-CAR

Car ownership models are revolutionized. The car now becomes a mobile space that can be rented and used for what you want, when you want it. It is no longer just a mode of transport, but also a destination itself. Nobody knows for sure what the future will look like once Automotive IoT is fully established. However, there is consensus that significant change is coming.

More about the future possibilities for mobility, and the Freescale solutions enabling that future:

Automotive IoT: Future of mobility?
V2X: i.MX6 family
Radar: MPC577xK family
Vision: ADAS solutions
Sensor fusion: S32V230 family