To meet consumer expectations and stay ahead in this competitive industry, automakers must utilize advanced technologies to provide increasingly innovative features in new vehicle models.
This is where automotive IoT enters the picture.
In the automotive industry, the Internet of Things is facilitating improved transportation efficiency, advanced vehicle management capabilities, and a superior driving experience, paving the way for what was once considered a vision of the future: autonomous vehicles.
Read on to learn more about what automotive IoT is, and how the Internet of Things is transforming the automotive industry.
What is automotive IoT?
Automotive IoT is the integration of gadgets, sensors, cloud computing, applications, and other such components into vehicles to function as a complex system for the connection of cars, predictive maintenance, fleet management, OEMs, insurance, and more.
The integration of the Internet of Things in the automotive industry allows manufacturers to implement sought-after innovations that can ultimately transform cars into near-artificial intelligence.
As embedded automotive IoT solutions develop, more complex innovations will enter the picture. And the continual rapid advancements in the speed of mobile communications and the technology inside connected cars enable automotive manufacturers to continue to offer more new and exciting services.
The benefits of automotive IoT
The Internet of Things has brought numerous benefits to the automotive industry for manufacturers and users alike.
For manufacturers, four benefits of automotive IoT include:
- Better data collection and analysis,
- A faster and improved manufacturing process,
- Reduced risks and higher industrial safety standards,
- Equipment theft monitoring, and more.
A wide range of opportunities has also become available to car users, including the following three benefits:
- Predictive analytics about vehicle conditions which help to reduce operating costs and improve vehicle safety,
- The ability to easily access information about and activate features of a car via a mobile app, e.g. checking fuel levels and parking location, starting the engine, and connecting to your calendar,
- Upgraded in-car infotainment experiences, and more.
How IoT is transforming the automotive industry
The Internet of Things in the automotive industry allows connected cars to stay in real-time continual communication with the surrounding connected ecosystem. This is making advanced innovations possible and steadily transforming the automotive industry in many different ways, including the following:
Autonomous vehicles
The integration of IoT technologies in the automotive industry is already bringing us connected cars and smart cars, paving the way for the future of the automotive industry: autonomous vehicles.
As automation technology and artificial intelligence advance, autonomous vehicles gain traction in the automotive industry. So much so that last year Statista predicted that by 2023, the autonomous vehicle market will grow by almost 60%.
Autonomous vehicles benefit both commuters and commercial drivers. They can assist with tasks such as:
- Driving,
- Braking,
- Parking,
- Lane-changing, and more.
This not only brings a new level of user comfort but can also increase road safety by reducing human error, which leads to safer road conditions for everyone.
It also enables advances such as Robotaxi – an innovation announced by Tesla which, via a smartphone app, will enable every Tesla owner to share their car with other people during particular hours of the day. This can also have a positive impact on the environment, as it reduces the number of cars on the road and thereby also vehicle-related air pollution.
Predictive maintenance
Cars manufactured with IoT capabilities have embedded sensors that collect performance data on specific parts of the vehicle. They then transfer the collected information to the cloud where predictive analytics:
- Process the data,
- Evaluate the condition of individual components,
- Assess the risk of malfunction, and
- Predict when parts need to be upgraded, serviced, or replaced.
Predictive maintenance is a feature that benefits consumers industrial and commercial alike. From monitoring fleet performance to notifying the driver of any issues and advising them on potential service or repairs, predictive maintenance improves the user experience for all.
Driver monitoring system
Through low-power in-vehicle cameras and advanced vision technologies, a driver monitoring system monitors driver behavior and actions and sends notifications to avert accidents and disasters.
An AI-based driver monitoring system includes benefits such as:
- Driver behavior analysis: Detects driver drowsiness, rash driving, distracted driving – and even driver emotions. If the driver is e.g. drowsy or texting while driving, the system notifies the driver through SMS, visuals, sounds, or vibrations, enabling them to stay alert on the road.
- Driver position monitoring: Assesses whether the driver is wearing a seatbelt or not, and can also be customized to detect whether the driver is seated in the optimal position for hazardless airbag deployment.
- In-cabin occupancy: Detects cabin occupancy and notifies the driver if any passengers are missing from the cabin.
Road condition analysis and navigation assistance
One of the most exciting applications in automotive IoT is road condition analysis and navigation assistance. This innovation enables AI-powered smartphone applications to detect road conditions in real time and continually update the driver with data on:
- Speed limits,
- Construction work,
- Road closures,
- Accidents, and more.
Empowered with this information, the driver can choose an alternate route to their destination. Navigation assistance facilitates this: Based on real-time road and traffic conditions, this integrated feature provides the most optimal path and helps guide the driver to their destination. This is particularly invaluable to drivers traveling via unfamiliar routes.
Automotive IoT eases the problems of urbanization
The above are but a few examples of trends in automotive IoT. Although autonomous vehicles tend to steal the headlines, the increased use of sensors and the ADAS systems in vehicles today – e.g. automatic parking and re-routing to avoid congestion – are just as important on the journey towards a connected transport ecosystem.
Such systems are building blocks for future solutions for:
- Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication,
- Vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, and
- Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication.
These are important solutions for problems of urbanization such as increasingly congested roads, busier bus systems, and packed subway carriages during rush hour.
This means that in the future, smart cities can work better as a result of the information connected cars provide, including locating available parking spaces and locating potholes to improve road surfaces and warn drivers of hazards on the road.
As automotive IoT eases the problems of urbanization, consumers increasingly expect to always be connected. This means that automotive manufacturers need to provide systems that are open, futureproof, and meet the highest standards of reliability and security.
How Connected Cars scales their automotive IoT solution with Onomondo
Connected Cars is an auto-tech company that leverages car data to provide valuable insights into car health. In turn, they’ve built an aftermarket solution for car dealerships on top of these car health insights.
They recognize the importance of digitizing customer relationships to improve loyalty for dealerships and workshops. The car health insights they gain with IoT give dealerships, fleet managers, and mechanics the ability to offer predictive maintenance and have the right parts on hand for the car’s arrival at the workshop.
Onomondo helps Connected Cars connect over 10,000 make, model, and device combinations deployed in over 20 countries to connect to the cloud. For them, globally scalable connectivity is more accessible thanks to simple IoT SIMs and one connectivity provider.
IoT can seem complex, but as with many fields, simplicity helps solutions to thrive. Onomondo does this by putting less logic on its SIMs and putting logic in their core network instead. Simpler SIMs mean there’s less to manage on devices, connectivity is more interoperable, and users can enjoy plug-and-play simplicity. Something that all automotive IoT solutions could stand to benefit from.
