A connected car is a car that can communicate bidirectionally with other systems outside of the car. This connectivity can be used to provide services to passengers (such as music, identification of local businesses, and navigation) or to support or enhance self-driving functionality (such as coordination with other cars, receiving software updates, or integration into a ride hailing service). For safety-critical applications, it is anticipated that cars will also be connected using dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) or cellular radios, operating in the FCC-granted 5.9 GHz band with very low latency.
History of connected cars, 1996–present
General Motors was the first automaker to bring the first connected car features to market with OnStar in 1996 in Cadillac DeVille, Seville and Eldorado. OnStar was created by GM working with Motorola Automotive (that was later bought by Continental). The primary purpose was safety and to get emergency help to a vehicle when there was an accident. The sooner medical helps arrives the more likely the drivers and passengers would survive. A cellular telephone call would be routed to a call center where the agent sent help.
At first, OnStar only worked with voice but when cellular systems added data the system was able to send the GPS location to the call center. After the success of OnStar, many automakers followed with similar safety programs that usually come with a free trial for a new car and then a paid subscription after the trial is over.
Remote diagnostics were introduced in 2001. By 2003 connected car services included vehicle health reports, turn-by-turn directions and a network access device. Data-only telematics were first offered in 2007.
In the summer of 2014, Audi was the first automaker to offer 4G LTE Wi-Fi Hotspots access and the first mass deployment of 4G LTE was by General Motors.
By 2015, OnStar had processed 1 billion requests from customers.
AA plc (formerly known as The Automobile Association) introduced Car Genie, the first piece of connected car technology in the UK that connects directly to a breakdown service, not only warning of issues with car health, but intervening directly with a phone call to customers to help them prevent a breakdown.
In 2017, European technology start-up Stratio Automotive provides over 10,000 vehicles predictive intelligence enabling fleet operators to better manage and maintain their vehicles.
Types of connectivity
There are 7 ways a vehicle can be connected to its surroundings and communicate with them. These connections are all a part of Vehicle to Everything - V2X:
V2I "Vehicle to Infrastructure": The technology captures data generated by the vehicle and provides information about the infrastructure to the driver. The V2I technology communicates information about safety, mobility or environment-related conditions. V2V "Vehicle to Vehicle": The technology communicates information about speed and position of surrounding vehicles through a wireless exchange of information. The goal is to avoid accidents, ease traffic congestions and have a positive impact on the environment. V2C "Vehicle to Cloud": The technology exchanges information about and for applications of the vehicle with a cloud system. This allows the vehicle to use information from other, though the cloud connected industries like energy, transportation and smart homes and make use of IoT. V2P "Vehicle to Pedestrian": The technology senses information about its environment and communicates it to other vehicles, infrastructure and personal mobile devices. This enables the vehicle to communicate with pedestrians and is intended to improve safety and mobility on the road. V2D "Vehicle to Device": The technology connects your vehicle to any other device such as bluetooth or mobile phones. This is how vehicles can connect to a multitude of apps built to improve driver safety and experience. V2N "Vehicle to Network": The technology allows vehicles to utilize cell tower networks to communicate with nearby vehicles and road infrastructure. Vehicles can receive alerts and communicate with nearby data centers connected to WiFi or 5G. V2G "Vehicle to Grid": The technology allows electric vehicles to communicate with the power grid. This technology allows for two-way energy flow; not only can EVs draw energy from the power grid to charge their batteries, but they can also send energy back to the grid from their batteries when needed. V2G enables power companies to use parked electric vehicles as a sort of decentralized energy storage solution to help balance demand on the electrical grid.