Volvo’s Cloud Connected Cars Help Remedy Road Conditions
Volvo’s exhibit at the Mobile World Congress shows us the power of the cloud connected car. Volvo is an innovator in vehicle safety and the Swedish automaker is piloting a new cloud connected system that is designed to report weather conditions on dangerous roads.
Let’s say you’re driving down a road that contains a patch of ice. Once your car detects the loss in traction, an alert is immediately beamed into the cloud. Other drivers who have this cloud system will receive real time alerts about the condition.
Local emergency services workers could theoretically get access the same on-demand information. This would enable localities to rapidly deploy salt trucks and snow plows on dangerous roads which could potentially save someone’s life. Using GPS and cloud, Volvo could even pinpoint the exact stretch of road that harbors the dangerous conditions.
Volvo has partnered with Ericson in order to setup this robust cloud system. Volvo has also teamed up with the Swedish government to begin testing 100 of these cars on the road in 2015. Klaus Kendrick, VP and CIO at Volvo says, “As part of this technology enablement, we are able in an innovative way to use the cloud to provide additional benefits like road friction information.”
Reports mention that the first generation of this service will have many of the same in-car capabilities as the Waze app. Volvo says that they will provide their cloud services on a subscription basis. One of the bigger questions is how car makers can build a car that is always connected to the internet?
Volvo has been working with AT&T and other global providers to ink automobile internet connectivity deals. In-car internet service will likely be apart of Volvo’s subscription model. Volvo reassured privacy advocates concerns by stating that no personal data is collected with its cloud service. Volvo CIO Kendrick mentions that Volvo is “leading this development, but the industry is still young.”
