The Internet of Things brings solutions for various challenges within the automotive industry to the forefront. How is IoT connecting you and your car?

With only a few clicks, you can have all the information you want regarding your vehicle. This could be anything rom the air temperature to the work hours and physical health indicators of your vehicle. The use of IoT is connecting you and your car, allowing an improvement of the quality of processes, services, and products. Let’s look at some ways IoT is shaping the connected car ecosystem of your life, ensuring you and car can be connected.

Predicts when maintenance is required

Car maintenance can be predictive and preventative. Using systems that can connect your car to your smartphone, you can make your maintenance appointment for when you think you might hit the mileage mark that requires maintenance to be completed. Predictive maintenance is staying ahead of things, and by using IoT for automotive service, you can avoid having an issue with your maintenance and leaving it for too long before being handled. One example of predictive maintenance needs is your oil level and purity, which can be handled by the oil quality sensors.

Fleet managers use IoT

IoT will connect you and your vehicle, but it’s even more useful to fleet managers who must manage the maintenance and care of an entire fleet of vehicles. This allows a fleet manager to optimize and manage the maintenance and logistics of their vehicles. The number of vehicles down for maintenance at any time can be limited, which allows the company to continue to maintain maximum efficiency and productivity.

Connecting roads

Car care isn’t the only aspect of these new systems that will help improve our lives and driving experiences. Using IoT technology, roads, and infrastructures are also being connected to a common network to enhance interaction. Some of the ways this technology improves our driving experiences are to:

• Manage traffic jams and prevent congestion
• Intelligent road lighting
• Smart parking management
• Network charging stations for electric vehicles
• Proper energy management

These are a few ways to use technology to help drivers be more efficient during their time on the road. In some areas, connected roadways are leading to a “smart city” to improve safety of roads and users.

Vehicular communication

One of the most important aspects of IoT and the connected car technology it brings is Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V) communication. This allows vehicles to share data about speed, location, and route through a network depending on how the logic of the system is arranged. An example of V2V technology at work is the components used in the intelligent transport system, which is meant to help broaden the use of self-driving vehicles.

Improved production timelines and engineering

Collecting information through IoT that connects you with your car goes much deeper than the information you provide. Automakers are using this technology to meet the increasing market needs without changing traditional business goals. They work to ensure products are moved quickly, and they always have the supply of materials necessary to meet customer demands. Unless serious disruptions occur, which sometimes can’t be predicted, using IoT can keep the production line and design process running smoothly, helping automakers be more efficient in the process of building vehicles.

Car insurance companies use IoT

Those special devices that use Bluetooth and save you money on your car insurance are little tracking and monitoring devices. If you’re a safe driver, you can benefit greatly from using them. These devices are another way that IoT is being used to understand driving habits and what you typically do during a drive. If you have a habit of driving while on your cell phone, your car insurance company will know. Still, the data collected can help drivers become safer and more vigilant on the road.

Driver condition

Are you getting sleepy behind the wheel? Do you have a sudden medical emergency and don’t know what to do? You’re becoming connected to the IoT of your car which can monitor your condition and help you in an emergency situation. Some modern vehicles are equipped with systems to pull the car over to the side of the road safely when you’ve become incapacitated during your drive. This can help save your life and allow you to avoid getting into an accident with other drivers when you’ve become incapacitated.

IoT technology is connecting you with your car, creating a better and more data-driven method of staying safe, understanding roadway information, and managing your vehicle’s maintenance needs. How is IoT technology already playing a role in your life?