Digital Lifescapes

The automotive industry is transforming rapidly as it embraces new paradigms -- such as active safety, on-board automation and car sharing services. The onset of the Internet of Everything (IoE) has also created new applications for sensor data that can be applied toward the development of new business models. As an example, the Usage Based Insurance (UBI) subscriber base broke through the 10 million member barrier, mainly driven by the ongoing adoption of these offerings within the U.S. and Italy. While it's been a turning point for the market, many obstacles remain. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, fundamental UBI impediments include privacy concerns, low awareness and perceived value, lack of scalability of on-board diagnostics (OBD) approaches and unclear future business models. Market Development Challenges UBI first-mover profitability gains -- based on the self-selection of low-risk drivers -- will ultimately not be sustainable. The auto insuranc...

Mobile communication remains a dynamic market that is enabled by a number of wireless technologies that are still evolving. The interior of commercial vehicles and consumer automobiles is yet another emerging frontier for the Internet of Everything. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, connected automotive infotainment systems will exhibit a CAGR of 33.8 percent over the next five years, with a rapid expansion in connected navigation and in-car Wi-Fi driving growth. Developed regions, which accounted for over 60 percent of system shipments in 2014, will account for only 37.4 percent of shipments in 2020. According to the ABI assessment, just over half of all connected automotive infotainment systems shipping in 2020 will do so in the Asia-Pacific region. "This growth in connected infotainment is largely consumer driven, with OEMs and Tier One suppliers both recognizing the need to provide an integrated digital experience which is consistent and compatible ...

Are you ready for the next-generation of the global Internet? Are you prepared, as the world's governments and major industries all move forward to launch the coming wave of new innovations that will connect the previously unconnected? The Linux Foundation has announced the formation of the AllSeen Alliance . The group is described as a broad cross-industry consortium to advance the adoption and innovation within the Internet of Everything (IoE). The forward-looking IoE concept is based on the idea that devices, objects and systems can be connected in simple, transparent ways to enable the sharing of information via coordinated and intelligent operations. Since it's believed that no single company can achieve the level of interoperability required to support the IoE bold goals, a united cross-industry effort is needed to deliver new experiences to both consumers and businesses everywhere. The AllSeen Alliance looks to expand upon the notion of an Internet of Things (IoT...

​Smart homes will become a key component of growth with the Internet of Everything. By 2018, annual home automation device shipments will exceed 351 million -- growing at a CAGR of 78 percent, according to the latest market study by ABI Research. ZigBee dominated IEEE 802.15.4 and claimed the top share of node shipments at 4.5 million, narrowly beating out proprietary protocol offerings. "ZigBee is enjoying success in the home automation market because, as an open standard technology, multiple IC vendors are creating ZigBee chipsets," said Adarsh Krishnan, Senior analyst at ABI Research . Quite simply, open standard technologies are considered less risky and highly scalable when compared to the closed ecosystems of proprietary RF technologies. Another wireless communication protocol that has gained traction in the home automation market is Z-Wave. Recent managed service initiatives that offer home automation as a service are using the Z-Wave protocol to connect low-po...

There's an emerging application that could be a significant driver of new and exciting cloud services. According to the latest global market study by ABI Research, developer investment in Augmented Reality (AR) applications will be a key component -- and it will total $670 million in 2013. The annual amount is expected to exceed $2.5 billion by 2018, as AR becomes a more everyday part of mobile experiences -- especially in the domain of the retail industry and commercial marketing. This application segment accounts for 68 percent of the developer spend in 2013, with product enhancement and standalone apps contributing 22 percent and 10 percent of the total, respectively. The most imminent growth driver for AR is cloud computing. "The cloud is a natural fit for AR developers, considering how big benefits cloud-based content libraries present for image recognition technologies," said Aapo Markkanen, Senior analyst at ABI Research . The leading SDKs, Qualcomm’s Vuf...

As the Internet of Things (IoT) evolves into the Internet of Everything (IoE) there will be a trickle-down effect that impacts a variety of related industries and market sectors. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, global insurance telematics subscriptions are expected to grow at a CAGR of 81 percent from 5.5 million at the end of 2013 to 107 million in 2018. "With Progressive’s Snapshot having attracted more than 1 million drivers in the U.S. and Octo Telematics already counting close to 1.3 million UBI customers -- mainly in Italy -- insurance telematics is now entering the mainstream market, at least in certain countries," said Dominique Bonte, VP and practice director at ABI Research . The emergence of smartphone-based solutions, the gender ruling in the EU, and growing awareness of insurers to move to a more proactive safety, preventive, and service/CRM based approach improving the customer experience and loyalty will be strong drivers for growth ...

Perhaps you have seen the research that Cisco IBSG has shared about the Internet of Everything phenomenon. Others are now participating in the global market assessment, with the intent to gain a better understanding of the applications and associated upside potential. The latest data from ABI Research on the Internet of Everything (IoE) shows that there are more than 10 billion wireless connected devices in the market today -- with over 30 billion devices expected by 2020. "The emergence of standardized ultra-low power wireless technologies is one of the main enablers of the IoE, with semiconductor vendors and standards bodies at the forefront of the market push, helping to bring the IoE into reality," said Peter Cooney, practice director at ABI Research . The year 2013 is seen by many as the year of the Internet of Everything, but it will still be many years until it reaches its full potential. ABI believes that the next five years will be pivotal in its growth and ...

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, or ADAS, are technology-based solutions designed to help the vehicle operator. At the end of 2012, the global market for ADAS was estimated to be $16.6 billion. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, they now forecast that the ADAS market will increase to more than $261 billion by the end of 2020 -- representing a CAGR of 41 percent. "ADAS systems are increasingly being offered by mass-market OEMs such as Ford and Volkswagen," said Gareth Owen, research analyst at ABI Research. While the majority are offered in bundles and sold as optional driver-assist packages, a growing number of OEMs are starting to fit some ADAS systems as standard equipment. ADAS is also becoming more sophisticated. For instance, in May 2013 Volvo will start offering a system that can stop a vehicle if a pedestrian or cyclist is in its immediate path. A key catalyst driving the adoption of ADAS systems in Europe over the next five years will b...

The Internet of Things (IoT) phenomenon is all about connecting the many previously unconnected devices in our world. Moreover, the majority of those new IP connections will likely occur over wireless technology. Some of those connections will be short-range. When combined together, all the wireless applications will create a significant demand for semiconductors with embedded radio transceivers. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, the total market for integrated circuits (ICs) that are based on open short-range wireless (SRW) technology -- such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, ZigBee, NFC and GPS -- is expected to reach almost 5 billion units in 2013 and grow to nearly 8 billion by 2018. This includes standalone wireless connectivity ICs, wireless connectivity combo ICs, and also platforms with integrated wireless connectivity. "In the year where cumulative Bluetooth enabled device shipments will reach 10 billion and cumulative Wi-Fi enabled device shipments will re...