The Technological Marvel That Is Connected Cars

You may have heard of cars that are connected to the internet as well as other cars through the very same internet. Well, it’s not just hearsay. Connected car technology does just that.

What Are Connected Vehicles?

In the most basic sense of the term, a connected car is basically any vehicle that can connect to the internet – usually through WLAN. It is also possible for the connected car to share its internet connection with devices in and around it. The interconnection between the car and surrounding elements facilitates the sharing of data between cars and external and internal services.

How Connected Car Technology Works

The vehicles connect to a network to enable bi-directional communication between the vehicle, other vehicles, as well as infrastructure. It is this communication that facilitates important events, especially in city traffic.

There is a range of technologies that are applied depending on what entity is communicating with the connected car. Allow me to focus on just the one:

NXP V2X Chipset

This particular technology, or chipset, is responsible for V2X communication. V2X communication is a system that supports the exchange of information between a connected vehicle and moving parts of a traffic system. 

What these moving parts of the traffic system have in common is that they may affect the vehicle. The main benefit of V2X communication is increasing road safety and effectively improving traffic efficiency.

An NXP V2X chipset can be implemented on both the scopes covered by V2X communication. These scopes include:

Vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication

V2V communication allows the connected vehicle to communicate with other vehicles on the road.

Vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) communication

V2I communication, on the other hand, allows the vehicle to communicate with road infrastructure that may affect it—like the traffic lights.

Features of Connected Cars

All connected cars come with an array of smart features that improve the overall driving experience and offer an extra layer of security with additional security features.

Some features of connected vehicles include:

Internet Connectivity

Connected cars are always connected to the internet through embedded chipsets so as to access the internet – granted of course there is a stable wireless network coverage.

Connected vehicle technology goes a step further to provide onboard Wi-Fi connectivity as well as download updates from manufacturers.

Security

Connected cars come with some safety and security features like real-time location tracking as well as emergency SOS in the event of an accident or a late-night breakdown.

Remote Self-Parking

For everyone who hates parallel parking, which is just about everyone, this feature is for you. Some high end connected cars allow you to remotely park your vehicle using the connected car technology app on your phone or just the smart key fob. 

Say goodbye to sweating in your good shirt trying to fix your minivan into a tight parking spot before going into a meeting. Heck, you don’t even have to use this remote parking when absolutely necessary, you can even do it for your own amusement.

Control Everything From an App

Nowadays, carmakers are coming up with dedicated smartphone apps that directly connect to the car. It is from this app that you remotely operate some functions of the car like locking and unlocking doors.

Some more advanced chipsets will allow more complex features like GPS to locate the car.

Entertainment

Connected cars come with an array of pre-loaded entertainment services. You can listen to music, podcasts, radio or even watch videos – although the latter isn’t exactly legal when driving, let alone safe. Remember the smartphone app? Well, you can connect it to the car’s entertainment system and control the audio or video from your phone.