It won’t be long until you can turn on the air-conditioning in your car while having breakfast at home, or switch on the oven from your car as you searching for a parking spot in the neighbourhood. The future is coming very soon…
Based on many years of study and development, the link between the car industry and ITCs is now undeniable and has a very promising future ahead. Advances in this field have changed our concept of cars. Today, we see them as electronic devices that are part of communication networks as well as being a simple means of transport. Connected cars have access to phone apps through the car’s display unit: music, email, geolocation, entertainment systems, etc. and this is just the beginning…
Now having overcome this concept, the next step for the motor industry is to connect the car and your home. Firstly, understanding this not only as a device with Internet access but one more element of the Internet of Things, which can join an intelligent network of objects, thanks to domotic techniques communicate with each other. Data and studies endorse this image of our society, and it’s estimated that by 2020 there will be 700 million cars connected to the net.
Home automation has stepped out the front door of your house and stepped into your car, allowing you to access your home by voice without taking your hands off the steering wheel and the same can be done in the opposite direction, you can also activate functions in your car from the comfort of your living room.
Shortly, it will be possible to connect the cleaning robot, turn on the washing machine, activate/deactivate security systems, turn off the lights we forgot about, or open the garage door. We’ll also be able to see who is knocking on the door, open it and continue talking with them as we drive thanks to the hands-free system in the car. We’ll even be able to see what’s happening in the garden without taking our eyes off the road or hands off the steering wheel and control everything from the dashboard of the car.
Volkswagen’s BUDD-e is an excellent example of a smart car. This electric and hyperconnected minivan is the materialisation of the concept of the future automobile as it completely changes the idea of driving. With it, the Volkswagen group aims to give users the same connectivity features as if they were at home. This and many other technologies will be on show at Automobile Barcelona next year. This motor show is now one of the world’s major focal points of innovation and technology on four wheels.
