IoT inspires automotive design

Automotive manufacturers have embraced Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technologies in their factories by connecting machine tools to data networks to track usage, predict maintenance needs, and increase utilization rates on expensive pieces of capital equipment.

Embracing consumer-facing Internet of Things (IoT) technologies could create new opportunities to improve vehicle designs, create new data streams, and respond more quickly to changing customer priorities, says Dr. Satya Ramaswamy, vice president and head, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS’) Digital Enterprise Unit.

“IoT is emerging as a very powerful re-imaginative force,” Ramaswamy says. “It’s fundamentally changing business processes, creating new workplaces and consumer experiences, and creating a new ecosystem for businesses.”

Predictive systems

As with factory-based systems, one of the biggest draws to transportation IoT systems is identifying trouble early when it can be fixed inexpensively. Officials from diesel engine maker Cummins, for example, recently announced a service that will monitor data from the engine control computers in trucks, suggesting when it’s time for service based on changing diagnostic data (http://goo.gl/ipq0gm).

“Using that data, instead of just waiting for the check engine light to come on, we could predict that a failure is going to occur, not imminent, but a failure is on the way,” Ramaswamy says. “We can send the driver a text message telling them that they need service, and oh, by the way, here’s a Google map to the closest service center that stocks that part.”

Such connectivity systems benefit manufacturers and consumers, he adds. Commercial truck fleets should be able to cut maintenance costs by identifying and fixing problems early. And manufacturers can get subscription-service revenue and real-world engine use data – critical information for designing future products.

Real-world data

Ramaswany says a few years ago, almost all of the interest in adopting automotive IoT technologies came from manufacturers’ marketing departments – people looking for new products to sell with the vehicle. General Motors’ OnStar system, for example, can provide Internet connectivity, voice directions, and vehicle diagnostic services for a monthly fee. However, within the past few years, interest has shifted from marketing to design.

“When they develop new products, vehicle makers test them for limited times in very different environments – freezing conditions, humid conditions, desert conditions,” Ramaswamy says. “If you have an active connection to vehicles on the road, you can monitor real-world results. That’s feeding the company very valuable product performance information. This information was never available before to automotive companies.”

For now, the most likely use for such performance data is to inform future engine designs, but IoT connections could play a different powertrain role in the future. With so much of the engine’s performance determined by on-board computers and software, Ramaswamy envisions a system where companies could change performance characteristics via data uploads.

False starts

Many early consumer-facing automotive IoT features have been poorly received by buyers. Research company J.D. Power notes in its 2015 Driver Interactive Vehicle Experience (DrIVE) that companies are spending billions of dollars to develop connectivity systems that customers have no interest in using. At least 20% of new-vehicle owners have never used 16 of the 33 technology features measured. The five features owners most commonly report as never used are in-vehicle concierge (43%), mobile routers (38%), automatic parking systems (35%), head-up display (33%), and built-in apps (32%).

Considering that many automakers were hoping to get new revenue streams from customers via Internet data plans, the report highlights a major concern for the development of automotive IoT. Ramaswamy says the lesson should be that car companies should design IoT features that are unique to cars, not try to take over functions that people have relegated to their phones.

An in-car version of Pandora’s streaming music service, for example, is no better than the service running on a smart phone routed through the car’s sound system via a Bluetooth link. In addition, the phone-based system will use the customer’s existing mobile data plan, rather than requiring a separate service fee.

“There are things that are uniquely part of the car – the maintenance issues, or what Tesla did with the autonomous system,” Ramaswamy says, referring to Tesla’s addition of some self-driving features to its car via a data uplink for $200 to $300 fees. The electric car company added a feature via software alone, much as Apple added the Siri voice-activated assistant to its iPhones with the launch of its iOS 5 in 2014.

“Those are part of the driving experience. That’s what car companies should be doing,” Ramaswamy says. He adds that they should “not be competing with fast-moving mobile companies that replace their hardware every 18 months.”

Tata Consultancy Services

www.tcs.com

About the author: Robert Schoenberger is the editor of TMV and can be reached at 216.393.0271 or rschoenberger@gie.net.