{"id":79864,"date":"2015-10-21T10:01:42","date_gmt":"2015-10-21T14:01:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/countingpips.com\/?p=79864"},"modified":"2015-10-21T08:17:24","modified_gmt":"2015-10-21T12:17:24","slug":"our-connected-car-future-is-motoring-closer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/2015\/10\/our-connected-car-future-is-motoring-closer\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Connected Car Future Is Motoring Closer"},"content":{"rendered":"
October 21, 2015<\/div>
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By WallStreetDaily.com<\/u><\/a> \"Connected<\/p>\n

By Greg Miller<\/a>, Senior Technology Analyst<\/em><\/p>\n

How do you know when the future is closer than ever?<\/p>\n

Well, one tip-off is when the news starts appearing in the mainstream media. That was the case two weeks ago when 60 Minutes<\/em> featured a story about self-driving cars.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a longtime Wall Street Daily<\/em> reader or subscribe to our tech-based newsletter, Digital Fortunes<\/a>,<\/em> you\u2019ll know that we\u2019re extremely bullish on the twin trends of driverless cars<\/a> and, by association, connected cars<\/a>. That is, linking them to the internet so they can communicate with each other and even the roads in order to avoid collisions, reduce congestion, and share traffic data in real time.<\/p>\n

There are skeptics, of course. There always are when a new technology threatens to shake up a way of life. But that doesn\u2019t mean it won\u2019t work. Yes, there are challenges, but this technology is advancing rapidly and the future is zooming into view.<\/p>

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Don\u2019t believe me?<\/p>\n

Government Snooping in Michigan? Not Quite\u2026<\/h2>\n

For the past couple of years, the Department of Transportation (DoT) has collected driving and traffic data from several thousand cars in Ann Arbor, Michigan.<\/p>\n

Fear not\u2026 it\u2019s not some scandalous snooping program (not this time, anyway). Everyone is a volunteer on the pilot scheme that\u2019s also seen cars receive data back in return. This includes issuing warnings to drivers when another car puts on its brakes, slows down without braking, backs out of a parking spot, moves into a blind spot, and other kinds of potential hazard. Drivers also get warned when they\u2019re in danger of running a stop sign or traffic signal.<\/p>\n

Now, I\u2019ve been to Ann Arbor. It\u2019s a lovely place. It gets traffic, but not too much, which makes it a great place to run a connected car test. But it\u2019s not really demanding enough to tell if the program excels under high-stress conditions.<\/p>\n

But if there\u2019s one place on the planet that is, it\u2019s New York City\u2026<\/p>\n

The Ultimate Test?<\/h2>\n

With heavy traffic volume, constant jams, impatient drivers, huge pedestrian traffic, bike lanes, and even security checkpoints, New York has a well-deserved reputation for being one of the most treacherous metropolises on the planet.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s where the next step in the data collection effort begins.<\/p>\n

Around 10,000 cars, trucks, buses, and limousines in the city will be equipped with data-collection devices. Many traffic signals will also get devices. Again, there\u2019s nothing nefarious here \u2013 in this case, the city will own all the vehicles.<\/p>\n

Now, 10,000 vehicles is a drop in the bucket for midtown Manhattan, which sees nearly 750,000 of them crisscrossing the area on a typical weekday. But it will provide plenty of data, which will make designing a larger system in the future much easier and more useful.<\/p>\n

Ann Arbor and New York City aren\u2019t the only places getting connected cars trials.<\/p>\n