Michael Strong at TheDetroitBureau.com reports that Continental AG and Cisco (CSCO) recently demoed a highly connected car using the internet to improve vehicle safety and infotainment options at the recent Center for Automotive Research Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, MI.
The firms believe they’ve produced a connected car that provides a balance between giving consumers a safe, connected driving experience while providing companies with a chance to offer services that enhance the driving experience: for a price.
According to the article, the companies involved in bringing the Internet to cars collect an enormous amount of information about drivers. This presents a variety of challenges when it comes to privacy, who owns the information, how can or should it be used and what’s it worth?
While privacy and data ownership issues are still up in the air thanks to the U.S. government. Andreas Mai, director of product management at Cisco, believes data generated by a connected car is worth about $1,400 a year. He breaks it down this way:
- Drivers can save $550 through better fuel economy, less time stuck in traffic, lower insurance rates, etc.
- Society can save $420 by employing car platoons to speed up traffic and increase a road’s capacity.
- Service providers can earn $150 by providing traffic guidance, navigation, parking, emergency services, etc.
- Automakers can save $300 in lower warranty costs, profitable apps, etc.
The key, according to the article, is to maximize the information that can be collected (and re-sold) is convincing drivers that they get a tangible benefit from releasing the data, such as shorter commutes or lower insurance rates (thanks Flo). According to a survey by Cisco, 74% of drivers were willing to share vehicle information. However, who or what owns that information still needs to be sorted out, he said. They must balance all of those things against the driver’s wants and needs: connectivity, infotainment, and cutting-edge safety features.
The firms believe they’ve produced a connected car that provides a balance between giving consumers a safe, connected driving experience while providing companies with a chance to offer services that enhance the driving experience: for a price.
Continental and Cisco teamed up to keep the bits flying. As a vehicle moves it needs to prioritize the critical needs of drivers and passengers for network connectivity, according to the article. Digital Trends explains that Continental will supply the hardware and Cisco will provide the software. The car can switch between 3G, 4G, WiFi, and Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) on the go, depending on service quality and cost to the customer. DSRC system is part of the emerging vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) technology system that allows cars to communicate with each other directly – and autonomously.
A Cisco software router loaded in Continental hardware performs the network switching. The router sends signals first to a Cisco-managed “Connected Car Cloud,” which then relays information to whatever network appears optimal at the moment.
The Cisco on-board software system can seamlessly switch between available 3G, 4G, and other wireless networks based on cost and quality of service preferences. “Connected vehicles are opening up a vast field of opportunities for services to make driving safer, more efficient, and more comfortable,” said Ralf Lenninger, head of innovation and strategy, Continental’s Interior Division. “This is why we are looking at ways to connect the moving vehicle in a highly secure, fast, and reliable way.
The Cisco and Continental proof-of-concept connected car show how auto manufactures can provide the same amount of network security that is available at home (oh NO!) or in the office. Cisco provides one highly secure software gateway that delivers Cisco’s core networking capabilities and optimizes multiple communication links and mobility services to and from the vehicle. Security against cyber attacks will become more important as more vehicles include connected functions.
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I recently covered Ford’s efforts to understand connected cars by studying the commlinks of space-based robots here.
The savings claims seem suspicious to me. The “lower insurance costs” are just cash savings. Oh, yeah Walmart is still in business. What is going to be the costs to the drivers after the insurance companies get their Hadoop big data analytics on the data from the magic boxes they are installing? Will they use the data you provided them to change the rules on your policy to raise your rates? It only takes a small leap to think about what the NSA could do with the data.
Just in case someone at Cisco or Ford or anybody else is reading this, here are some suggestions from Veracode to secure connected cars..
Infographic by Veracode Application Security
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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.
What Ford is particularly interested in are the redundancies that St. Petersburg Polytechnic is developing for its robot telematics networks. As you can imagine, having your control link to a robot cut isn’t something any astronaut wants to deal with — in the hazardous environment of space or in the limited confines of a space station, retrieving your suddenly unresponsive robot is a lot harder than it sounds.
The blog says that the same principle applies to the connected car. As cars become more intelligent and autonomous, they’ll 
Then there are the privacy concerns. I wonder what Ford or worse yet the Feds will do with all the data generated by these vehicle-to-vehicle communications systems. I think it is likely the automakers will make the data available to GPS or navigation providers of traffic problems on a road if too many smart brake lights go off.