How vehicles lead the way in an increasingly connected future

Our world is more connected every day as technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) advance rapidly, bringing innovation to every step of the journey. Mobility has come into focus as one of the main beneficiaries of these advances.

In a sea of ​​smart home devices and Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled solutions, smart mobility developments such as Connected Vehicle Data (CVD) are among the most promising, offering a tangible vision not only for the future of the car, but also for the City offer infrastructure, retail outlets, global supply chains and everything in between.

How can networked vehicle data have such a big impact? First, let’s establish what that data is, where it came from, and what it’s doing today.

How does networked vehicle data work?

If you don’t drive a classic car, chances are your car is already capable of deriving valuable information and results from itself that serve an important function for drivers and society as a whole. Ranging from brake data to engine run times to specific traffic patterns, this information paints a comprehensive picture of vehicle performance, driver behavior and how a single traffic flow benefits from these individual inputs.

Connected cars emerge from the use of this data, which is transmitted directly from each vehicle to its car manufacturer. The data is then analyzed by internal or external data scientists to communicate insights and valuable real-time adjustments for traffic flow and more.

This all sounds like a pretty impactful technology, but there is still work to be done for the average person to feel its impact in their daily lives (both on the road and outside of their vehicle). The most common setback today? Most automakers don’t use the same data languages, leaving petabytes of data that cannot be understood by the entire market for greater benefit.

Awareness of the benefits of CVD analysis is already growing – as is the pool of connected vehicles informing automakers, governments and brick-and-mortar businesses. At Wejo alone, we have collected and analyzed data points from over 66.8 billion trips from around 12 million actively connected vehicles.

More broadly, Statista reports that there will already be 84 million connected cars on US roads as of 2021, and that number is projected to grow to 305 million by 2035. This exponential growth in raw data output will require exponentially larger support infrastructure, but could have exponentially larger daily benefits within the same time frame.

What are the advantages?

Today we see microcosms of a connected on-road experience around the world. From government departments of transportation to traffic management companies, connected vehicle data is already providing multiple use cases and benefits, including:

• Lighter traffic jams during peak travel times thanks to optimized traffic light timing with real-time updates based on the flow of vehicles in different sections of a city’s streets.
• Increased safety and reduced risk of accidents They come from communication between connected cars and cloud communication services that can alert drivers to existing accidents and potential risks such as road works, fallen trees and more.
• reduced emissions, which result directly from the relief of traffic and thus the reduction of travel times and the number of idle vehicles.
• Opportunities for increased business visibility based on data showing peak travel times through specific corridors, allowing companies to optimize their operating times or advertising strategies to reach the highest number of drivers throughout the day.

Connected vehicle data is also feeding into the development of future technologies such as autonomous vehicles (AV) and electric vehicles (EV), which will lead to greater benefits for drivers in the future. For example, machine learning systems are now working hard to make vehicle AI smarter and more adaptable to unique road situations.

On the electrification front, range and charging infrastructure have long been a pain point for anxious consumers. With connected vehicle data, automakers and charging providers can customize vehicle design elements and charging locations to optimize energy use for more efficient travel.

looking ahead

Virtually every new car today is a connected car, contributing to a larger network of connected devices and machines that will change the way we live our lives (for the better) in the near future. What will that look like?

First, the vehicles we use will become increasingly intelligent and software-defined, leveraging advanced vehicle architectures and edge computing capabilities to make every journey safer, stress-free, and more sustainable. From complex sensors monitoring the vehicle and its surroundings to new powertrains and in-vehicle experiences, connectivity and connected vehicle data will underpin these advances.

Smart mobility, and connected vehicles in particular, will have far-reaching implications beyond the driver’s seat of a car. Combined with emerging innovations that would otherwise be isolated in specific industries, we could soon see a vast ecosystem where connected vehicles help make our cities smarter, our businesses more profitable, and our travel more convenient, safer and more enjoyable.

Sarah Larner is Executive Vice President of Strategy and Innovation at Wejo.