By Rob Cadena
It has been predicted
that by 2020, there will be 75 billion connected devices – about 10 devices for
every person on earth. This eye-opening statistic prompted me to understand how
many devices I manage already. To my surprise, I already own or manage 21 fully
connected devices and 12 partially connected devices, as shown in the diagram
below. Not surprisingly, I am astounded by the amount of time and effort it
takes to keep all of these devices up to date and communicating properly.
Today’s reality imposes a huge cognitive load on consumers, who just want their
devices to work and to communicate with each other through the cloud.
Internet of Rob’s
Things
Vehicles Need to be
Connected
The amount of time
that people spend in their vehicles is too significant for them to be
disconnected while driving. How many times have you been stuck in traffic
wondering if there was a faster way to get to your destination? Wouldn’t you like to access your music, news
and social connections the same way as on your smartphone? Wouldn’t you want
your car to update itself easily and automatically without visiting a
dealership?
Because the population
of connected vehicles is too small, app designers haven’t yet focused on
automotive applications --- but once the vehicle becomes connected, the
industry will start to see some of the coolest vehicle apps.
Vehicle Interconnection
with Mobile Devices is Key
Not only do vehicles
need to be connected, but they need to interact with the other devices you
already own. When the vehicle cloud is connected to your device cloud and your
home cloud, the possibilities are staggering. When I reviewed my personal Internet
of Things, shown in the diagram, I noticed the best applications work across
the PC, phone and tablet platforms – allowing me to continue using an app or
service on one device exactly where I left off earlier on a different device. I
am able to configure preferences and settings easily on a PC and apply them to
the service running on any device. However, my television Blu-Ray players,
satellite and audio/video receivers interact only to their manufacturer’s cloud
using a clumsy built-in user interface. To improve this experience for the
vehicle owner, carmakers will allow you to configure your vehicle’s preferences
using a mobile device app or website. Vehicles must be able to interact with
today’s consumer apps and those that will be released over the next 10 years.
To discuss the “Internet
of vehicle things” with me further, catch me at the GENIVI All Members’ meeting
May 20-23 in Gothenburg, Sweden, where I will showcase our OpenAir infotainment
systems, or at Telematics Update Detroit on June 4-5, where I will participate
on a panel discussing vehicle Internet of Things opportunities.
Rob Cadena is infotainment manager and a technical fellow
at Visteon, responsible for leading infotainment development. Rob has been
involved in the design and development of automotive audio and infotainment
systems for 14 years. He received a master’s degree in electrical engineering
from the University of Michigan, with a concentration in digital signal
processing. Rob is an avid triathlete, musician and Detroit Lions fan.