How IOT Transforms the Connected Car Industry

There are 4 main functions of IOT – (i) Monitor (ii) Control (iii) Optimise (iv) Autonomous. The first 2 functions will result in cost efficiency and the other 2 will either increase productivity or create new revenue streams and opportunities.

In the era of pre-IOT days (some called it M2M), the application is known as vehicle tracking. It’s an easy way for companies to monitor the whereabouts of their valuable assets (goods or vehicles) and sometimes their own drivers. Later, they include dispatching jobs which include new routes with better control of their vehicle availability (especially in Logistic industry). Most of these solutions use a simple GPS, SMS, GPRS or 3G device. These solutions are mainly for private corporations (logistics, public transportation, etc. )

Today with the advent of smartphones (which I considered as IOT devices – which comprises of sensors like GPS, connectivity, and analytics), it has created new kind of business model. Waze is a good example of vehicle tracking but also include the element of optimizing your travel routes. Using Waze will help to reach your destination in time. Thus, the country will not only saves Millions of Dollars but also increase the productivity of the people. Time is equal to money.

However, in the last of days, we are shocked with the riot news in France regarding the Uber protest. The French court has declared Uber as an illegal service. It has enraged the France taxi drivers because they are now competing with part-time drivers. However, we still can see that Uber is considered legal in many countries amidst the protests.

Uber or similar type of applications such as MyTeksi, Hailo, etc. used smartphones as their main devices for communications. Both drivers and passengers use their GPS locations to confirm and reserve their vehicle bookings. Now we see vehicle tracking is being used for consumers (part-time drivers) to generate new incomes/jobs. It’s a perfect match for supply and demand. No longer passengers need to wait in the hot sun by the roadside to hail a taxi. Payment can be made seamlessly and cashless when integrated with a credit card.

And what happen when Uber is driverless? How will it transform the taxi industry? How will insurance companies react? What new regulatory framework need to be ready when there is no driver at the front seat?

IOT opens up a lot of opportunities for both consumers and enterprises. In times of bad economic situation, we need creative people to develop new IOT solutions that create more jobs for the people. And I think – that will be one of the killer apps of IOT.

What do you think?

About the Author

Dr. Mazlan Abbas is an IOT Evangelist, Thought Leader and CEO of REDtone IOT. You can reach him on LinkedIn at https://my.linkedin.com/in/mazlan/ or Twitter at http://twitter.com/mazlan_abbas . You can find MOST of the presentation slides HERE.

For further details, check out http://about.me/mazlan.abbas

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