Auto manufacturers have always used data to influence how cars are built and marketed. However, miles per gallon and quarterly sales figures are no longer the only statistics to review. As the power of analytics has grown, advanced data software provides more information, businesses within the auto industry gain new insights on how vehicles can be made more effectively and efficiently. The hope is that information can lead to safer cars people want to buy and drive for a long time.
Integrated with that information are important analytics about consumers. By knowing the distances drivers tend to go, the type of weather a vehicle generally operates in and a multitude of other factors, a car company can make vehicles that work better and are more appealing to the public. Combining the two leads to smarter vehicles that can inform drivers of information they need to know when behind the wheel.
Improving the driving experience
Navigation is no longer a modern feature in cars. But with newfound analytics, the GPS a driver uses helps identify future traffic patterns and road conditions, allowing users to avoid accidents?
IBM is using data integration to help create connected vehicles that make life easier for those behind the wheel. The cars collect and send out data about driving conditions, traffic, weather, vehicle speed and other important insights. That intelligence can then be processed and compiled with information gathered from other drivers on the road to create real-time data that is then shared with everyone who has the integrated technology within their cars.
Data allows the vehicle-to-vehicle correspondence to happen instantaneously so that drivers are aware of any situation they may face on the road. The more information gathered, the more exact the analytics can be about delays and congestion.
Integration in the auto industry can help avoid traffic jams.
Acquiring more data
In April 2015, IBM merged with French auto manufacturer PSA Peugeot Citroën to analyze vehicle data. Dirk Wollschläger, general manager of IBM's global automotive industry, explained in a press release announcing the partnership that connected cars improve efficiency and productivity.
"The ways we facilitate our lives and work has changed dramatically with the rapid adoption of mobility and the rise of the Internet of Things," Wollschläger said. "Under this partnership with PSA Peugeot Citroën, we are pushing the boundaries of mobility even further to give a broad set of industries the opportunity to tap the promise of the connected car."
As technology expands and more cars have the ability to connect, the driving experience should improve. Data on where cars operate the best merged with information on drivers' tendencies allows a car to perform at its highest level. Integration will continue to expand, giving both auto manufacturers and drivers better intelligence to improve the driving experience. The more car companies invest in data, the stronger the information will become.
