Cisco estimates that the Internet of Things will generate $14.4 trillion in economic activity in the next decade. According to Kevin Link, senior vice president and GM China at Verizon Telematics, it’s the intersection between the Internet of Things (IoT) and the connected car which creates the most potential.
“It’s amazing how many of the connections that we’re making on a daily basis can be done seamlessly from the car. The intersection between IoT and the car is location. When you think about how people conduct their daily lives, there are hundreds of examples out there where people have created algorithms. If the car is a learning car, it would know in the morning and in the afternoon what I’m doing and where I’m going – [for example] ‘I’m going home or I’m going to work’ – and it would change my experience [accordingly].”
Link says that we are closer than many people realize to seeing this vision become a reality due to the fact that many of the changes that need to be made are software-related rather than reconfiguring hardware. Still, he said the auto industry, its partners and broader ecosystem need to address key hurdles including creating standards for interoperability, compatibility, safety and security.
On Tuesday, the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) members joined President Obama at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center in McLean, VA where the President underscored the importance of additional research for vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication technology for improving safety and mobility and reducing wasted time and fuel on U.S. roads. Introduced by U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, the President described how connected vehicle technology will help prevent crashes from happening in the first place.
In September, ITS America will host more than 10,000 of the world’s leading transportation policymakers, high-tech innovators and business professionals from the United States, Europe and Asia in Detroit, Michigan to share the latest intelligent transportation (ITS) applications from around the globe.
Verizon Communications Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Lowell McAdam will be amongst the participants at the 2014 World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems with a keynote address on the company’s vision for the role technology plays in the future of transportation slated for Tuesday, September 9 at 8:30 a.m from Detroit’s Cobo Center.
In addition to McAdam’s keynote address, Verizon’s Kevin Link will speak on a panel on the economics and partnerships driving connected cars on Monday, September 8 at 3:00pm from Detroit’s Cobo Center.
For more on Link’s perspective on the connected car and Verizon’s role in shaping the future of this technology and IoT, check out his recent video interview from Telematics Detroit 2014.
