IoT IN CARS: CONNECTED CARS

The world we are living in today has an increasing demand for smart and connected devices. These devices enable us to complete tasks, enhance experiences and perform processes in a smooth way.The automotive industry has been around for quite some time and it has evolved ever since, but the major transformations are happening rapidly in today's fast developing world. IoT or Internet of Things has a major role in transforming our lives or rather, making it convenient. It has its own share of impact on the automobile sector. Major transformation that is happening now from vehicles driven by humans to vehicles driving themselves have a long term impact on society.  IoT-related technologies will set the path for the automotive industry, and the connected cars will play a major role on the roads and in the economy of the future.

When generalising the concept of IoT to the automotive industry, we can summarize it into three main branches . On one side, we have the connectivity between vehicles, which is related to connectivity from one vehicle to two or more vehicles (vehicle-to-vehicle). On the second side we have the connectivity between vehicles with external infrastructure (vehicle-to-infrastructure). And on the third side we have the connectivity with external hardware or external devices (vehicle-to-devices). Taking this concept,  we can say that a connected car is a vehicle which contains a platform that enables the exchange of information between the car and its surroundings, using local wireless networks, internet or sensors.A number of wireless technologies can be used for autonomous cars, such as 4G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc.

The connected cars can be best described as a platform that enables the exchange of information between the car and its surroundings, either through local wireless networks or via the internet. The exchanged information is acquired by sensors placed on the car. These sensors are able to detect physical, external objects like pedestrians, cyclists, vehicles and more. The sensors are designed to drive safely around these interferences.

 

  MARKET FORECAST FOR CONNECTED VEHICLES

In the semi-autonomous and autonomous vehicles market, in terms of volume, the semi-autonomous vehicles market is projected to grow at a CAGR(Compounded Annual Growth Rate) of 21.36% from 2017 to 2022, whereas the autonomous vehicles market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 68.94% from 2025 to 2030. The semi-autonomous vehicles market volume is estimated to be 10.5 Million Units in 2017 and is projected to reach 27.7 Million Units by 2022. The autonomous vehicles market is estimated to be 0.5 Million Units in 2025 and is projected to reach 6.9 Million Units by 2030.  This increase is triggered by various factors such as the need for ease in driving and the increasing concern for safety and security, which lead to demand for high-end technology resulting in the increased demand for semi-autonomous and autonomous vehicles.

Various features which contribute towards autonomous vehicles and have been in use for a good amount of time such as Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Change Assist, Intelligent Park Assist, Cross Traffic Alert, Traffic Jam Assist and Others.  Automatic Emergency Braking and Intelligent Park Assist segments will be having the fastest CAGR due to government mandates regarding implementation of AEB. In the US, the automatic emergency braking systems are expected to be standard in vehicles by 2022 according to NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Highway Safety Association). By component, the market has been segmented into Artificial Intelligence, radar, LIDAR, ultrasonic, and camera. The market for artificial intelligence is expected to be the largest for autonomous vehicles as it will be the brain of the autonomous vehicle.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF AUTOMATED CARS

As we know, everything has its own pros and cons and this field is no exception. With emerging technologies, new challenges are emerging on a daily basis. Though, we can say that the advantages of  this technologies outweigh its disadvantages, we still can't ignore the drawbacks or cons of connected cars technology. We,as always will see the pros or the 'good' side of connected cars technology:

• Improvements of safety on the roads
• Better mobility for young, elderly, and disabled
• Improvement of fuel efficiency and parking spaces

These advantages would be relevant to developing and poorer countries like India, in particular reduction of accidents that is a bigger issue in such countries than in developed countries, but lack of road infrastructure in these countries will lead to delay in early/timely implementation.

On the disadvantages side, following are some points:

• Potential impacts on public transit sectors 
• Negative growth in automobile insurance and services(due to lesser accidents)
• Cost reduction of driving may result in increasing of traffic congestion
• Increase of Enhancements and maintenance cost and road infrastructure

MAJOR CHALLENGES FOR AUTONOMOUS CARS

Currently, there are a few issues being faced by autonomous vehicle developers such as Lack of good software, we know that potential  software problems as we have in today’s systems could be fatal for car users. Other problems include Lack of good maps(we know maps are improving everyday but still, it needs a lot more improvements to be reliable, especially in developing countries), Lack of good sensors,etc.

Conclusion

Internet of Things along with other disruptive technologies is revolutionizing the complete automotive industry. Evolution in this field has brought in the emergence of trailblazing development in automobiles in terms of connected and automated cars. Its usage has revamped car inspection and maintenance capabilities and presented new mediums of entertainment.With the enhancement in the technology of Internet of Things, more refined automobile technologies  will emerge that will completely change the way in which we interact with our vehicles.