AVOIDING A FUTURE OF CRIPPLING CAR CONGESTION
Bill Ford, the chairman of Ford Motors, spoke at the 2012
Mobile world congress where he outlined a plan for connected cars to help avoid
traffic congestion. Connected cars he explained are vehicles linked to various
mobile networks and intelligent systems and capable of M2M communication (Efraim
Turban, 2013) .
During his address in Barcelona, Ford explained to the delegates that the
number of cars on the world’s roads is forecasted to grow from 1 billion now to
up to 4 billion in the next few years and The proposed solution to avoid the
potential problem of a global gridlock due to overcrowded road network is to
create a global transportation network that utilizes communication between
vehicles, transport infrastructure and individual mobile devices. The proposal
is called “Blueprint for Mobility”, and Ford’s idea takes the idea of in car
connectivity beyond using it just for navigation and in car entertainment. The idea
is to look at vehicles on the road in a similar we look at smartphones, laptops
and tablets and as pieces of a much bigger, richer network. These intelligent
cars have a lot of untapped potential and could be used in the creation of an
interconnected transportation system where cars are intelligent and can talk to
one another as well as the infrastructure around them. This mobility solution
proposes to avoid a future prospect of global gridlock, a never ending traffic
jam that wastes time, energy and resources and even compromises the flow of
commerce and healthcare (Efraim Turban, 2013) . There should a
drive to make cars talk to each other outside the same brand. They need to be
interconnected and they can’t discriminate based on model. We need
standardization while providing competitive advantages of one brand over
another, because at the end of the day this is what will sways one consumer
towards one particular brand. Bill Ford suggests that No one company or
industry will be able to solve the mobility issue alone and the speed at which
solutions take hold will be determined largely by customer acceptance of new
technologies.
This
blueprint sets short and long term goals for significant reductions in the
company’s global environment footprint, and seeks to visualize what the
transport networks will look like in 2025 and beyond. Such as (Ford, 2012) :
1.
Near term goals: 5-7 years
- Ford is attempting to develop innovative
in car mobile communications and driver interfaces
- The Developmental of vehicle to vehicle
warning systems are also in progress
- Ford is also developing an efficient
driving experience with limited autonomous functions which has better
connectivity.
- There
is progress being made in the development and definition of new vehicle
ownership models like the zip car initiative.
2.
Mid Term
goals (2017 – 2025)
- Ford will be introducing semi-autonomous
driving technology in the next couple of years.
- There will also be a significant increase in the interactions between the individual cars.
- Technology will be enabled to utilize the cloud interfaces and vehicle to infrastructure communication
- Integrated transport network, will feature cars plugged into public databases for exchanging information.
- To help manoeuver city streets there will there will an introduction of 1, 2 and 3 passenger vehicles.
- There will also be a significant increase in the interactions between the individual cars.
- Technology will be enabled to utilize the cloud interfaces and vehicle to infrastructure communication
- Integrated transport network, will feature cars plugged into public databases for exchanging information.
- To help manoeuver city streets there will there will an introduction of 1, 2 and 3 passenger vehicles.
3.
Long
Term goals (2025+)
- A single connected network will be developed which will attempt to
weave in the where pedestrian, bicycle, private car, commercial and public
transportation traffic and thus altering the transportation landscape.
- Development of smart vehicle which will have the capability of fully autonomous functions.
- Development of smart vehicle which will have the capability of fully autonomous functions.
- Push for a greater use of connected and efficient shared services with
the development of a true network of mobility solutions.
Everything in the Blueprint is achievable in the
future based on existing technology we have today. However the key challenges is
in making the offerings affordable and attainable to all customers and finding
ways for all stakeholders the auto industry, governments, technology companies
and more to make the adaptations needed to the transportation infrastructure.Labels: intelligent systems, interconnected transportation system, M2M communication, mobility solution
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Bill Ford, the chairman of Ford Motors, spoke at the 2012 Mobile world congress where he outlined a plan for connected cars to help avoid traffic congestionkolelocksmithindianapolis
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