According to the Financial Times, drivers in this country spend more than 540 hours in their cars, every year. The average commuting time is 80 minutes a day. No wonder the number of connected cars is expected to more than quadruple worldwide between now and 2016.
The vital link between cars and the connected world was a key theme in Verizon Chairman and CEO Lowell McAdam's CES keynote address, and an example of the role Verizon is playing in driving to accelerate the "Internet of Things."
To help illustrate this point, Paul Mascarenas, Chief Technology Officer for Ford Motor Company, joined McAdam on-stage to discuss Ford's successful Sync connected car system and a vision for the future. The man who once called the car, the "ultimate mobile device" discussed how technology like 4G LTE will enable new capabilities for consumers. He discussed how connected cars are changing the way owners and passengers relate to their cars and Ford in particular.
From streaming video for passenger entertainment to recognizing your personal digital wallet preferences when ordering from a drive-thru, smart car connections are creating experiences - delivered and personalized through the cloud -- that define the "borderless lifestyle."
McAdam stressed that industry leaders like Ford and Verizon in cooperation with government need to pave the way to a comprehensive solution maintaining the freedom of transportation around the world, delivering safer, cleaner and more efficient mobility means.
According to a Gartner report, The Internet of Things is here and expected to grow to more than 30 billion connected machines, buildings, sensors and objects - all of them generating vast amounts of data to be turned into intelligence that can make the world smarter, safer and more efficient.
4G LTE has been a huge enabler of the machine-to-machine transformation. In July, Verizon extended its capabilities in this space by acquiring Hughes Telematics, Inc. (HTI), one of the leading providers of telematics, machine-to-machine and fleet management services. Through HTI, Verizon provides the mbrace telematics system for Mercedes-Benz, which was on display in the Verizon booth at CES.
With the HTI telematics platform, we can deliver cloud-based services like remote diagnostics, maintenance and entertainment to the car, offering a continuous stream of innovations over the life of the vehicle.
Through HTI and with our partners, Verizon is also developing and delivering a new wave of aftermarket telematics devices.
