Industry Insight
CONNECTED VEHICLE: FEATURES & TRENDS RICHA TYAGI Telematics Wire
T
he automotive industry is witnessing a radical change with car manufacturers introducing new technologies that seem to be pulled straight from the future. The modern carmakers are investing heavily in developing their own operating systems and apps which they have offered in almost all their products. Connected cars have become the new norm in the automobile industry, and we can only expect it to get safer and convenient. Connected cars designs are being continuously refined, making them more ergonomic and futuristic. Today, connected car comes with many convenient and smart features. These features help to improve the overall driving experience, make travel safer, reduce congestion and provide real-time information, and also add a safety net with its advanced safety features. Below are some of the feature update of connected vehicle:
Internet A connected car owns its connection to the Internet via an embedded chipset or SIM Card, provided there is a stable wireless network coverage. Connected Vehicles can also provide download over-the-air updates issued by the manufacturer and provides access to other online apps and services. Hyundai has come up with an inbuilt Vodafone-Idea eSIM card for its compact SUV Venue. The SUV does not require the user’s smartphone to be connected to a plethora of options like entertainment, navigation and emergency response, etc. MG Motors has entered the race with an SUV named Hector with an embedded SIM card from Airtel. Embedded eSIMs identify individual vehicles, encrypt communications and ensure secure global connectivity to smart
36 | Telematics Wire | April 2022
vehicle systems including eCall emergency solutions, vehicle telematics, navigation and more. eSIM has already been selected by the European Commission to form a part of the emergency call system in the car. As per GSMA, eSIM would help car manufacturers to offer any type of in-car connected service through SIM, which can be provisioned with the profile of the mobile operator after the car is shipped, as well as at the end of the contract, without the SIM needs to be changed.
Apps Connected vehicles are equipped with dedicated smartphone applications, which connect to the vehicle via a wireless network. These apps allow users to remotely operate car functions such as locking/unlocking doors, opening the sunroof, engine start/ stop, climate control, headlight on/off and horn sound. The app will also help in locating the car through the on-board GPS. Google Maps, Scanner Radio-Police Scanner, Autovaras: Android Car Assistant, Spotify: Music and Podcasts, Telegram, Audible: audiobooks & podcasts, Waze:GPS, maps, traffic alerts, & live navigation, Pocket Casts, TomTom GO Navigation, Poweramp Music Player, TuneIn Radio, Player for Rainwave etc. are some apps that you can use by integrating your phone with Android Auto or Apple Car Play to the car’s entertainment syatem. Recently, Cerence Inc. partnered with HARMAN to voice-enable third-party applications available in the HARMAN Ignite Store. With Cerence AI-powered voice recognition, automakers deploying the HARMAN Ignite Store can offer handsfree, secure access to the platform’s broad capabilities, bringing a seamless, powerful
experience to their drivers. Cerence is providing speech recognition and natural language understanding technology that will integrate with the apps in the Ignite store so that drivers can nab any of the apps that interest them without taking their hands off the wheel.
Geofencing Geofencing defines a geographic area to track vehicles if they are entering or leaving that area. In geofencing, the system uses GPS technology, and also uses other data signals, including cellular and WiFi. In India, Tata has launched Tata IRA Connected Technology platform with geo-fencing feature in some models like Tata Altroz, Tata Punch, Tata Nexon, Tata Safari which enhances the convenience and safety of Tata car.Don’t just define what is Geofencing, get an update on what’s happening in this space wrt CV.
V2V/V2X Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V) or Vehicle to Everything (V2X) technologies allow vehicles to communicate with each other. V2V enables sharing of important information such as traffic movement, road conditions, speed limits and much more. According to a new research report from the IoT analyst firm Berg Insight, there were about 0.7 million cars with V2X capabilities on the roads at the end of 2020. This number is expected to grow to 35.1 million by 2025. Communications between vehicles has been discussed for more than two decades, but with few implementations. In 2013, Mercedes-Benz launched Car-to-X communication, the radio-based exchange of information between vehicles, as well as between vehicles and traffic infrastructure. The system will receive
