• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, February 14, 2018

One of the many promises of the Internet of Things is that location information will be much more plentiful than today. It also will become more useful.

This is primarily because of the booming growth of sensors of all types. These can be in cars, in devices and in stores, in addition to those already in mobile phones.

There are now some market moves to put some location to good use, as in finding an available place to park a car, which can be challenging in a big city, or in a busy one of any size.

A partnership was just formed between car rental giant Hertz and SpotHero, a major parking reservation service.

The pair will team on a suite of mobility solutions, so Hertz car renters can find, book and pay for off-street parking in more than 50 major cities across North America.

Future iterations of the exclusive rental car industry deal are likely to involve connected car parking, according to SpotHero.

“Hertz is focused on innovation in mobility and fleet management, and parking is a critical component in that equation,” stated Devon Browne of Hertz Mobility Strategic Partnerships and Innovation.

Hertz and SpotHero are not alone in the quest to find parking spaces for drivers.

The BMW Group last month acquired Parkmobile, believed to be the largest provider of mobile parking services in North America. That deal also made the BMW Group the top international provider of digital parking solutions in the world, according to BMW, which purchased Parkmobile Group Europe in 2016.

Parkmobile already reaches more than 22 million drivers in North America and Europe.

Both ventures will be major users and providers of location information -- in this case, specifically where parking is available at the moment.

Devices like smart toasters or connected coffeemakers may cause some conversations. Leveraging location information to find a parking space when needed provides a solution to a problem.