Consumers show increasing interest in networked vehicles as GTA’s innovative ICT and Auto Industries rev up their products
By: Barry Gander and Andrew Penny
For the first time ever, brand has been knocked out as the most important factor for those buying a car. According to a survey unveiled at a recent industry Executive Workshop, new car buyers care more about networking. It is a trend that Canadian companies are well-positioned to exploit — and the Toronto Region in particular could be a big winner.
The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is the leading automotive cluster in Canada, servicing both a domestic and international market; additionally, the GTA is host to the third-largest Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector- two elements needed to succeed in the new age of the “networked vehicle.”
Toronto Region’s ICT/Auto cluster is one of the largest in North America. Supported by networking technologies, innovative culture, and world-leading research and development capabilities, it rivals San Francisco and New York, and leads Boston and Washington. The Toronto Region represents more than 3,300 high-tech companies and employs over 150,000 in the fields of software, e-business, communications equipment, wireless, microelectronics, photonics, and industry specific applications such as financial services.
There are many forces pushing the adoption of vehicle networking. A recent study by the Networked Vehicle Association (NVA) called Riding The Comet listed some of the global trends driving the adoption of networking in vehicles:
Demographics – Surging numbers will lead to traffic congestion that requires networked-vehicle solutions. The use of sensors and devices will be in demand as the aging of the population will require their use to assist the growing number of elderly people. Urbanization requires networking to deal with higher urban complexity. The rise of digital natives will also impact networking, as increasing numbers of people have grown up in an e-environment and will port it into their vehicles.
Energy shortages: Telematics-driven efficiencies and info-based conservation solutions are needed to provide the most efficient routes and the most efficient vehicles.
Environment: Emission controls need intelligence in the engine and in the network that will help make cars run cleaner.
Cost: Infrastructure costs can be greatly reduced with better through-put and fewer collisions.
Technologies – Cloud computing and increasing bandwidth allow passengers to receive better infotainment, business, and trip services.
Economy – The globalization of networking means that every region that has a knowledge-based workforce will be a contender in the networked vehicle sector.
Each of these forces is accelerating the absorption of the vehicle into the global communications network. In Canada, there are some 500,000 auto workers and 600,000 information and communications technology workers, and all of them will be affected to some degree. Canadian companies, according to Riding The Comet, are gearing up to take advantage of the new market. A separate study by the NVA showed that industry leaders expect the sector to grow by more than 20 per cent a year. Moves like Research In Motion’s (RIM) acquisition of QNX, the Ottawa-based company whose software found is some 50 automotive customers, mark the extension of the major players into the vehicle realm – a trend that is welcome for Canadian companies, given our track record in exemplary development of software and communications applications.
Work is underway to plan and build a 1,000 kilometre Networked Vehicle Test-Bed to support innovation in this area. It is envisioned as a broadband-enabled corridor- stretching from Detroit to Quebec City, serving as a platform for vehicle-related wireless services including safety, healthcare, entertainment, energy, traffic, office, and security applications. The goal is to do fundamental research on the project over the coming year, and then construct the system over the following two years. The Test-Bed’s mid-way point is Toronto – North America’s fifth most populous city and Canada’s business capital.
The Test-Bed is being driven by the NVA and has the full support of Ontario Ministry of Transport, Transport Canada, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, the National Research Council of Canada, Communications and Research Centre Canada, and The Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance.
The Networked Vehicle Association (NVA) is a not-for-profit organization which has become the premier workgroup for executives in the newly-emerging field of ICT-auto. The NVA’s main purpose is to play an active role in orchestrating different industries to work together to fully integrate all vehicles into the global communications network.