How does 2015 start from a technology perspective? Some for me relevant developments that will eventually change our life and business models.
GPS and eCall in Every Car
In line with European regulation a fully functional eCall service will be in place this year throughout the EU. As of October this year all new models of European cars and light duty vehicles will be fitted with the eCall system, which will automatically call emergency services in case of a serious crash. According to some studies, eCall could speed emergency response times by 40 percent in urban areas and by 50 percent in rural areas saving an estimated 2500 life’s per year. On top there will be a lot of positive side effects. And last but not least: From this year on All Cars in the EU will be Born Connected.
Russia and North America are working on local equivalents.
Tesla 90% autonomous in 2015
Tesla boss Elon Musk said in October last year that the self-driving car — or “autopilot,” the term he prefers — is basically just months away from retail. Looking forward to what Elon meant with that.
UW: Communicating cameras track pedestrians
At the University of Washington electrical engineers have developed a way to automatically track people across moving and still cameras by using an algorithm that trains the networked cameras to learn one another’s differences. The cameras first identify a person in a video frame, then follow that same person across multiple camera views. Powerful also when it comes to (more) autonomous driving.
CES (right now in Las Vegas)
The Internet of Things (IoT) is on our doorstep. Many connected objects are presented and it really seems to be an unstoppable force. Not dictated by the giants and fully fitting into the wave of connectivity; adding to infrastructure and making life more convenient and efficient.
Besides that:
- Drones are getting more intelligent and can avoid obstacles;
- Intel has the Curie, a turnkey module to integrate in wearables;
- Lots on 3D and virtual reality including:
- Youtube supporting 360 video’s;
- Intel RealSense Technology;
- Volkswagen comes this year with CarPlay (Apple) and Android (Google);
- BMW and Audi show an autonomous driving i3 and RS7;
- Mercedes shows a concept self-driving car with swiveling chairs
This CES2015 shows again to be a leading exhibition that makes at least me happy and gives me enough stuff to think about concerning business opportunities.
