The automotive industry is regarded as perfectly primed to capitalise on the Internet of Things (IoT) and machine-to-machine (M2M) communication advancements, with high-technology companies like Tesla, Apple and Uber having raced into leading positions in the automotive and transportation arenas in recent years.

A recent study from Machina Research predicted an astonishing 1.5-billion M2M connections in the automotive sector by 2022 – creating a global connected car market of $282-billion, says information and communication technology firm T-Systems South Africa Automotive head of business operations Michael Frans.

“Devices and sensors on the car start recording driving patterns, vehicle performance, geolocation data and other metrics. This information can be overlaid with other data sources – such as weather, real-time traffic data, airport and bus schedules or traffic light failures – to communicate useful information to the driver, promising to enhance vehicle safety and general enjoyment levels.”

Further, by developing the right tools to understand and analyse the streams of incoming data, the systems can start to analyse, predict and optimise certain things – such as reducing traffic congestion in a certain areas and driver fatigue – or automatically and remotely identifying vehicle components that are likely to fail soon.

“Safety is a major selling point for connected car technology. By monitoring the car and its components to provide early warning of failure, by warning the driver of potential crashes or harsh braking by a vehicle ahead and by automatically alerting emergency services in the event of a collision, connected cars promise to dramatically improve safety,” emphasises Frans.

Some high-end cars feature adaptive cruise control, blind-spot systems and cameras, lane-changing aids, and driver-aid systems are expected to become increasingly standard on all vehicles.

“But the key to unlocking the future potential of M2M, and achieving the kind of radical transformation that analysts like Machina is predicting, is developing platforms to handle the explosion of data.

“These platforms are the information superhighways that transmit, interpret and find meaning in the masses of machine-generated data. These platforms empower original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs) so that they can achieve ‘zero distance’ to the consumer: close contact and intimate understanding throughout every stage of the customer journey and life cycle.”

M2M can potentially transform the automotive sector and change the way we move around every day. Supported by powerful information superhighways, the role of OEMs and other industry players can be transformed in the high-tech future of transportation, he concludes.