“Connected Car” tech to become standard in European cars

Starting March 2018, the “eCall” automatic emergency call system will be mandatory in Europe. This means that every new car will be a “connected car” by default. By 2020, it is expected that there will be 250 million connected cars on the world’s roads. And apparently they will soon offer features that will monitor your car’s condition or warn you of wrong-way drivers.

Speaking at the international Bosch ConnectedWorld 2017 conference in Berlin, Bosch board member Dr. Dirk Hoheisel announced the launch of the Bosch Automotive Cloud Suite, a new platform for mobility services, to be used by any carmaker as a base for offering “connected car” services in their products.

Below are five services that are “due to become standard in every vehicle,” as per Bosch.

Wrong-way driver alert
Bosch’s cloud-based wrong-way driver alert is designed to provide a warning within ten seconds or so. The alert goes not only to the wrong-way driver, but to all road users in the vicinity. The service thus functions as a guardian angel in the data cloud.

Predictive diagnostics
Predictive diagnostics prevents situations where the car unexpectedly breaks down. During regular drives, the system can analyse data and make predictions about the condition of key components. The driver is notified before a part wears out and receives a recommendation for the next repair shop visit.

Community-based parking
This service turns parking into a communal activity. As the car drives around, it uses its on-board sensors to identify and measure the gaps between cars parked at the curb. That information flows into a digital parking map. Using smart data processing, Bosch then corroborates the information to supply a prediction of the parking situation. The digital parking map is available in the cloud for cars in the vicinity, allowing drivers to navigate straight to a vacant spot.

Personal assistant
With this Bosch service, drivers can use voice commands to conveniently manage their appointments, ask for a wide range of information, make adjustments in their smart home, and much more, all during the drive. Over time, the assistant learns the user’s habits and preferences so as to provide even better support.

Software updates over the air
Software updates from the cloud are already a given for smartphones, and Bosch is doing the same for cars. New features, such as a more efficient driving mode for electric vehicles, can be added to the car overnight, encrypted and protected from hackers.

Other companies are also working on similar technology, include Ford and Nissan who will take it further and integrate them with autonomous driving tech. Some of these features already exist in some German luxury cars, but once they come down to basic cars in Europe, it’s only a matter of time before it spreads worldwide to other developed markets.