How’s your Kanji? No matter, the connected car and big data are moving forward at Grand Prix speeds.
KDDI, OYO and Toyota will gather data to build an “information support system” for the government and local administrations. The project uses technologies in the IoT (internet of things) and big data analysis that will be crucial to the survival of “wanna be” mobility companies in the auto industry that lack much experience in these areas.
The Japanese companies will carry out experiments with the aim of commercializing this system by 2019. The system will bring together KDDI’s demographic movement data, OYO’s various data from disaster monitoring sensors, probe data obtained through Toyota’s connected cars, and publicized data, such as weather information, with the goal of creating “all kinds of disaster prevention information.”
This system will enable governments to know where passable roads are and allow the monitoring of infrastructure in real time during disasters or normal times. Promised is an improvement in the accuracy and speed of decision-making in issuing evacuation warnings, regulating traffic et cetera – ensuring safety in the daily lives of residents.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
