Commentary

Connected Cars Will Speak To Digital Out-of-Home And In-Home Networks



I smile every time someone complains about online ad targeting, and think to myself -- you have no idea what's coming. Advertising industry execs may be concerned about protecting consumer privacy on search engines and publisher sites, but a new breed of automobile will flush all their ad targeting and search retargeting cares away. Apple, Google and Microsoft all have a stake in helping automotive companies connect with consumers, and cars will have the technology to trigger digital billboards while rolling down the street.

More than 20 million connected cars will ship globally with built-in software-based security technology by 2020, per ABI Research. The research firm said Cisco will partner with Continental and Visteon to bring enterprise IT-connected security technologies such as Private Networks (VPN), IPsec, encryption and authentication (PKI) to an automotive industry.

Those concerned about an ad following them around the Internet are in for a shock. The type of personal data that cars will soon collect will make online ad targeting and search remarketing look like child's play. The automotive industry is spending an increasing amount on research and development to innovate new technology in an attempt to grab a piece of market share and fight off competitors for control of their dashboards.

A Booz & Co. report estimates the market for connected cars at about $113 billion, nearly quadrupling between 2015 and 2020, according to The Financial Times.

These stats don't refer to someone plugging in their iPhone or accessing the Internet or email through a satellite connection in the car, or even finding driving directions or the nearest gas station. "Ford sparked controversy at CES when one of its executives said the carmaker knew every time someone in one of its cars broke the law thanks to GPS and other data collection technologies," according to FT.

The data that will flow from the car to the automaker, which will share the information with its partners -- and although no one company admits it will use the information for ad targeting, it's clear that automakers will have the ability to target ads online, offline, and through digital signage. The data will know where the car drove, how fast, and with what frequency.

Even before that, data will transmit from one car to the other. We have begun to see this now through automatic brake locking systems when one car gets too close to another without the driver putting on the brakes. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), part of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), said Monday it plans to draft rules covering the implementation of vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication technology for crash avoidance.

For the NHTSA it's about helping drivers avoid crashes. "Technology will play an important role in getting people to their destinations safely while ensuring continued U.S. automotive industry leadership," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, in a statement.

2 comments about "Connected Cars Will Speak To Digital Out-of-Home And In-Home Networks".
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  1. Erik Sass from none, February 10, 2014 at 1:07 p.m.

    Crazy! Minority Report edges ever closer.

  2. Tom Francoeur from Communispace, February 11, 2014 at 2:11 p.m.

    Totally agree with Erik. Connected cars and the connected home. The "Internet of Things" is both exciting and creepy.

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