AUTONOMOUS CARS
For years, we’ve been seeing concept tech for the Autonomous car. This year was no different. There was still plenty of concept tech to see, but the conversation changed. Autonomous cars are happening, it’s not a question of ‘if,’ but rather ‘when.’ I know that’s not necessarily news, but it’s significant all the same.
The Internet of Things is about a connected world where every device shares data. When IoT first hit, the obvious application was the Smart Home. But that’s a small sampling of the bigger picture. IoT allows everything in our world to be connected and share information.
That’s neat! But when are we going to need everything in our world to be connected? What’s going to drive that change? I saw it at CES. It’s the Autonomous car. Nothing has the ability to drive us into a connected world faster than the Autonomous car. Now that manufacturers have figured out how to do it, the transition to a connected world will start to accelerate.
There are six levels of Autonomy, and current cars are at a level two. For Cars to be completely autonomous, they have to be at a level five. Pioneer’s VP of Marketing, Ted Cardenas, explains that it isn’t just about self-driving cars, but infrastructures like highways and stoplights will have to adapt. (see the interview here.)
What do we mean that infrastructures have to adapt? Cities have to become smart. They have to be apart of the Internet of Things. Cities have to be able to harvest and share data, assimilate the data, and share it out to other connected devices that need it, like the autonomous car.
This isn’t as simple as putting a smart chip in the Stoplight. We’re talking about a world where literally EVERYTHING is connected. To give you a better idea, check out this cool article about efforts the UK is making to bring more ‘sensors’ into the city to harvest and relay data.
There’s another piece to all this. How does our world change, when cars are fully autonomous and fully connected? Your car is now an extension of your life. The commute is no longer a commute, but your time to use as you please.
How many people do you know using ‘Virtual office space?’ Will they still need an office space, if they can just hop in a car for an hour when they need privacy? You could answer emails, hold business meetings, or maybe use virtual reality to have lunch with a friend. Who knows? My friends that scrap for time to produce content and social media, imagine the time you’ll have to consume and create content with Autonomous cars?
The Internet of Things and the Connected world needed a catalyst; something to drive the change. I saw it this year at CES, and it’s the Autonomous car. I can’t think of anything that can drive change, and usher in the era of the Connected world faster. I’m excited to watch it all happen. It’s going to be a great ride.
