From hands-free driving to control central for the Internet of Things, connected cars are sparking entrepreneurs from the Silicon Valley to New England’s Innovation Hub and points in between. No more so than in Michigan where 70 to 80 percent of the auto industry’s $11.7 billion R & D activity is centered according to MiBiz’s Nick Manes’ report of a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
The sizzle is selling but the meat is far from done. Just how far from done and what else is on the menu is the focus of the 14th annual Telematics Update Detroit, June 4-5 at The Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, just outside of the Motor City.
An expanded, 100-plus speaker slate of experts from across the telematics industry value chain is expected to out-draw last year’s 2,000 senior executives who attended the big-ticket gathering. 
Representatives from Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and Nissan will deliver keynote addresses. Executives from Ford, GM, Panasonic, VW, Gartner and Progressive Insurance will also take the stage during the conference. A snapshot view of some handpicked start-ups will be provided in a “Shark Tank” format with each company allotted five minutes to pitch its innovative ideas to a voting audience. Other firms represented include: Chrysler, Harman, Pandora, Sony, Nuance, Magneti Marelli and Spotify. Go here for a current list of participants.
Telematics, Wikipedia tells us, differs from telemetry in that the latter transmits data from one source to another, and the former sends, receives and stores information in conjunction with affecting control on remote objects. For example: a camera and a car’s brakes or streetlights and its headlights.
Some of the potholes, twists, turns and construction zones on the way to the connected car’s full role in the Internet of Things will be presented and analyzed at the conference. Common versus competing systems is one. Is differentiation worth the cost or is a common system such as BlackBerry’s QNX or AppleVoice, now being used by 15 manufacturers giving too much control to one supplier? Is hacking, a real possibility?
For the first time, there will be a pre-event media conference June 3 for pre-approved journalists, who will also have access to the two-days of speakers, the world’s largest gathering of connected cars and some of the latest telematic developments and innovations. Register online.
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Scientific American: “Vehicles that can communicate with each other and alert their drivers to traffic hazards may soon be seen on America’s roads and highways. U.S. regulators are crafting a rule requiring all new vehicles to be able to ‘talk’ to one another.” |
Scientific American writer Larry Greenemeier’s article: Fact or Fiction?: Your Car Is Hackable points to hackers taking control of a self-driving car and swerving it into traffic, boosting its speed or jamming on the brakes. Also in waiting are all the developments required to provide the network of devices and capabilities needed for a connected car to fulfill its potential.