By the year 2020 there will be 250 million connected cars on the world’s roads, with over 25 billion Internet of Things (IoT) devices globally, according to the research firm Gartner.

And in many ways it will be the connected car – and, ultimately, the self-driving (or autonomous) car – that will drive the rapid growth of the IoT over the next decade and beyond.

While it can be difficult to foresee how new IoT smart devices, applications and infrastructure...

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Ford has taken another step toward its wish to have fleets of fully autonomous cars on the road within five years, as it expands the use of BlackBerry software in some of its cars. 

The announcement about the extended partnership was made this week, and builds on the existing use of BlackBerry's software, QNX Neutrino, in Ford's SYNC 3 infotainment system. 

A BlackBerry team of engineers will now work solely on expanding QNX Neutrono operating system, its Certicom security technology,...

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Millions of General Motors (GM) car owners will be able to connect and interact with their favourite brands with the help of OnStar Go. The OnStar Go is auto industry’s first cognitive mobility platform developed by GM and IBM amalgamating their respective technological platforms – Onstar and Watson.

OnStar is GM’s subsidiary that provides subscription-based communications, in-vehicle security, hands-free calling, turn-by-turn navigation, and remote diagnostics...

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A new study from Juniper Research titled “M2M: Strategies & Opportunities for MNOs, Service Providers & OEMs 2016-2021” has revealed that data intensive applications such as internet radio, music streaming applications and information services will generate approximately 6,000 petabytes per annum by 2021. The figure corresponds to over 300 billion hours of music streaming.

Research author Sam Barker said: “The wider M2M market offers a reprieve from declining...

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A report from Publisher Research argues that connected car services will generate $14 billion in annual revenue by the end of 2016.

The forecast is inspired by a variety of applications, including but not limited to infotainment, navigation, fleet management, remote diagnostics, automatic crash notification, enhanced safety, UBI (usage based insurance), traffic management and semi-autonomous driving. The market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 31% between 2016 and 2020.

At...

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We’re entering an incredibly exciting time for the automotive industry. The connected car in all its forms is now very much a reality. By 2020 it’s expected there will be nearly a quarter of a billion of them on the world’s roads and that means we’re poised for something of a revolution.

The rise of the connected car is bringing about some fascinating new opportunities for in-car entertainment and communications. Beyond that, it promises a whole new world where...

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Hyundai is rolling out a do it yourself installation towards adding smartphone integrations to many existing models in the US.

Starting in June, customers can get the software at Hyundai dealerships nationwide for an installation fee. The software update compatible with CarPlay and Android Auto is now available at no cost through MyHyundai.com.

In order to make the upgrade functional, owners need their VIN number and a USB memory stick or the SD card from their Navigation system....

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A new piece of research from TNS and the BearingPoint Institute has sounded a warning to traditional vehicle manufacturers: if you don’t get your act together on connected car technology, then tech companies such as Google, Apple, and Uber will surge ahead.

The research, which polled 3,700 connected car owners in Europe, recommended that OEMs need to increase awareness and understanding of connected car features, which are ‘easy to use’ and ‘drive...

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As Chinese passenger vehicle manufacturers look to bolster adoption of telematics system in 2015, a key finding from the latest report by ResearchinChina is that smartphone integration and 4G LTE technologies have increased their footprint while the user experience has been boosted by IVI (in-vehicle infotainment) and networking functions. Chinese new passenger vehicles equipped with telematics products grew 32.1% year-on-year to 1.8 million units in January-September 2015.

OnStar led...

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A report from SNS Research estimates that connected car services will bring in nearly $40 billion (£27.3bn) in annual revenue by 2020, including infotainment, navigation and fleet management among others.

The connected car segment is the fastest growing vertical in the Internet of Things (IoT) market due to the growth in use of embedded in-vehicle connectivity and smartphone integration platforms, the researchers argue. All major automotive OEMs are investing in connected car...

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Automotive giant Toyota is teaming-up with software giant Microsoft in a bid to 'humanise' the driving experience through a new connected vehicle technology venture. Headed by Zack Hicks, CIO and Vice...

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Vehicle telematics provider Airbiquity has announced it is supporting SmartDeviceLink (SDL) technology, with a view to easier and increased access to infotainment apps for automakers.

At present, automakers are looking to standardise integration approaches that could boost application availability while limiting development time. However, the trade-offs offered by the use of SDL include a decline in cloud-based application management capabilities, fall in application policy management to...

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The global connected car market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 28% between 2014, when it was valued at $24 billion (£16.8bn), and 2022, according to Grand View Research.

The researchers argue increasing disposable income, and the availability of technology across the globe is set to boost the valuation further in the run up to 2022, while major advances in telecommunication technology are also set to bolster the industry.

The North American market plays a major role in the...

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A new Juniper Research study argues the use of connected car entertainment, such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, will help push the market to $600 million (£420.5m) by 2020.

The report, entitled “Consumer Connected Cars: Telematics, Insurance & In-Vehicle Applications 2015-2020”, argues that following this, a range of new applications will come into being in the area of in-vehicle utilisation such as advanced traffic solutions, route optimisation, and...

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HARMAN has launched what it calls the Life Enhancing Intelligent Vehicle Solution (LIVS), with a view to bringing together separate connectvitiy and operational functions under a new automotive computing platform.

LIVS is an end-to-end system that offers adaptable and personal solutions in the car. The company will showcase the technology on the latest Rinspeed concept car, called Etos.

LIVS has the potential to transform the driving experience, HARMAN claims, and the Etos features...

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The existence of infotainment sources such as traditional radio alongside standalone systems such as Android Auto and Apple CarPlay has the potential to frustrate consumers, according to a report by Strategy Analytics.

Though apps such as iHeartRadio and TuneIn could replace traditional radio, consumer awareness and usage of these apps has not yet reached a point where they can be considered worthy alternatives, according to the researchers.

The study tested out the Android Auto software...

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A report from the In-Vehicle UX (IVX) group at Strategy Analytics argues that automakers should utilise connected car services to take customer relationship to the next level.

At present, the spotlight is only on infotainment, location-based services and big data at the OEM. However, automakers now have the opportunity to boost consumer perception of their brands with vehicle-related information and services.

The report sheds light on consumer preference towards vehicle service and...

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Bosch has developed a new cloud-based driver warning system that alerts drivers within seconds if they are going in the wrong direction.

The system was designed in response to a study that found that nearly one-third of all wrong-way accidents took place within 500 metres of the vehicle entering the incorrect lane.

Conventional radio broadcasts often take minutes to warn the driver, which may often prove too late to prevent an accident. The new cloud-based warning system, on the...

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Today’s cars connect to the Internet in ways never before imagined, placing amazing capabilities at the fingertips of drivers. Whether it is infotainment, navigation, safety, diagnostics, performance upgrades or fleet management, connected cars transmit data, update firmware, and deliver the latest in touchscreen, app store and voice-recognition and human sensor technologies.

With this said, connected cars are rapidly gaining market share. According to a report from...

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The connected car is the focus of a lot of speculation about uses for contextual data feeds. The visions are exciting, whether of helmet-mounted cyclist beacons or biometric apps to stop drivers falling asleep at the wheel.

But they derive from car makers without a long track record in the kind of human-centred thinking that constitutes best practice in interaction design. Or they come from technology companies whose over-riding ambition is to transplant their operating...