Digital Lifescapes

Technology will continue to displace humans in job roles that can be automated. For certain, business and government leaders will have a choice -- accept progress and prosper, or wait for the inevitable outcome of regression. Historically, while most of the Luddites eventually concede, it's a complicated scenario. By 2020, smart machines will be a top five investment priority for more than 30 percent of CIOs, according to the latest market study by Gartner. That being said, with some smart machines moving towards fully autonomous operation for the first time, balancing the need to exercise control versus the drive to realize benefits is crucial. As an example, Google’s self-driving car project team may discover that pursuing full autonomy is neither possible nor desirable in smart machines. "Human beings are still required as the final point of redundancy in an autonomous vehicle, so a fully autonomous car requires a steering wheel should a driver be required to take con...

Air pollution and traffic congestion in urban areas continues to challenge the leadership in major cities across the globe. As a result of these growing problems, more local government leaders are considering alternative approaches to public policy resolutions. Promoting a variety of electric vehicle technology is gaining momentum worldwide. ABI Research predicts an imminent rise in smart electric mobility. Their latest market data analysis lead to a forecast that global electric vehicle revenue will reach $58 billion in 2021 -- that's more than five times the market value in 2015. "The role of vehicle electrication in urban areas is part of a broader smart mobility model that includes shared vehicles, charging options, and driverless electric vehicle fleets of cars, buses, trams, and light rail," said Susan Beardslee, senior analyst at ABI Research . "No singular option prevails -- in fact, innovative manufacturers are creating ways for them to converge." ...

During 2016, commercial vehicle applications of sensor technology will drive more use cases for the Internet of Things (IoT). As market demand grows, vendor merger and acquisition activity will continue, as a catalyst to combine the most compelling technology and services foundation for ongoing market development. The number of active Fleet Management (FM) systems deployed in commercial vehicle fleets within Europe was 4.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2014. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.1 percent, this number is expected to reach 8.90 million by 2019, according to the latest market study by Berg Insight. The vendor activity over the last twelve to eighteen months has been remarkable. A group of international aftermarket solution providers have now emerged as leaders in the European fleet management market. TomTom Telematics was the fastest growing vendor in 2014 and has climbed to the number one spot in Europe, ahead of Masternaut. TomTom has about 450...

While the global automotive and transportation industry seems laser-focused on exploring new upside opportunities associated with the Internet of Things (IoT), another cluster of technology research and development is about to emerge into the mainstream marketplace. Artificial Intelligence (AI) -- in particular, Deep Learning based on neural network computing -- parallel processing and unassisted cloud-based crowd learning are propelling new innovations within the established consumer vehicle and commercial transport sectors. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, two key technologies and associated use-cases are noteworthy. AI technology application areas include machine vision and speech recognition, both of which have huge relevance for the automotive and transportation sectors. Exploring AI Use Case Scenarios Virtual Assistants – Advanced agents knowing the driver's preferences and allowing natural language interaction within the vehicle and dr...

The growing applications for the Internet of Things (IoT) within the commercial vehicle marketplace has reached an inflection point where numerous benefits are increasing adoption. New eCommerce shipping logistics optimization apps are just the beginning. The commercial telematics industry is now primed for growth in the next five years, especially in the enterprise and SMB segments, with players such as Telogis and Fleetmatics leading the way in these respective verticals in the United States market. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, it's just a matter of time before the first vendor exceeds one million vehicles under management -- with Fleetmatics having set a target of 1.2 million subscriptions by 2020. "We are witnessing the emergence of a very dynamic ecosystem characterized by cut-throat competition, aggressive marketing, mergers and acquisitions galore, and high levels of equity investment with high expectations about quick returns," said ...

While much of the prior research about applications for the Internet of Things (IoT) tend to focus on the developed nations, we're starting to see more interesting opportunities in emerging markets -- particularly in the Asia-Pacific region and in Latin America. The ongoing development of practical transportation-related use-cases is very promising, given the anticipated return on investment. Commercial vehicle fleet management, specifically the use of sensors and telematics, is an area that's evolving rapidly. According to the latest market study by Berg Insight, the number of active fleet management systems deployed in commercial vehicle fleets in China was 2.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2014. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.9 percent, this number is expected to reach 5.9 million by 2019. Track and Trace systems dominate the market and the installed base so far includes a significant share of low-end systems with comparatively limited func...

The Global Networked Economy is entering the next phase of its ongoing evolution. Emerging phenomena, such as the Industrial Internet, will help to launch progressive applications that will require new market development leadership. The outlook for these upside opportunities are boundless. Imagine a highway where cars are able to safely navigate to their destinations without a driver. Imagine a home where an elderly patient’s health is closely monitored by her hospital physician. Imagine a city that significantly reduces waste through sensor-embedded water pipes, buildings, parking meters and more. These are no longer scenarios from a distant future -- they're happening today. Nearly 12 billion internet-connected devices will be in use worldwide by the end of 2014, according to the latest global market study by Strategy Analytics. That is equivalent to 1.7 devices for every person on the planet -- a ratio which will rise to 4.3 by 2020, when 33 billion devices will be in us...

Structural electronics (SE) is one of the most important technological developments of this century. It forms a key part of the dream -- formulated decades ago -- of computing disappearing into the fabric of society. It will become a component of the evolving Internet of Everything phenomenon. It also addresses a dream of Thomas Edison in 1880 -- that electricity should be made where it is needed. SE is often biomimetic -- it usefully imitates nature in ways not previously feasible. And, it's a rapidly growing multi-billion dollar business. Structural electronics involves electronic and/or electrical components and circuits that act as load-bearing, protective structures, replacing dumb structures such as vehicle bodies. According to the latest market study by IDTechEx , in the near future aircraft -- and later automobiles -- will have a nervous system like a human being, instantly alerting to touch and damage. Aircraft will have no passenger windows, instead displaying a m...

During the remainder of 2014 there will be more M2M and traditional mobile communications applications introduced for the first time within the American commercial vehicle sector. However, telematics technologies and services were first adopted by the long-haul trucking industry in the U.S. market more than 20 years ago. That being said, new adoption within the non-trucking sector is expected to equal the trucking industry -- in terms of numbers of connected vehicles -- by the end of 2014 and will dominate the commercial fleet telematics industry by the end of 2019, accounting for almost 50 million vehicles globally. The non-trucking sector includes a number of verticals such as services and utilities, private transportation (taxis, private hire vehicles and rental fleets), construction and mining, government and public sectors, emergency services, public transportation, and local delivery markets. "Many of these verticals are facing similar challenges such as the need to ...

The concept of an Internet of Things (IoT) may seem somewhat obscure to the uninformed person, but the need to secure personal property while traveling in an automobile is apparent to most people. Meaningful context removes confusion. That's why IoT market development would clearly benefit from better articulation of use case scenarios, to gain market momentum and increase the potential for further adoption by all stakeholders. While traditional safety telematics services offer stolen vehicle tracking and diagnostics aimed at the physical protection of vehicles, drivers and their passengers are slowly becoming more aware of the benefits enabled by these mobile communication technologies. Moreover, the potential threat of cyber-attacks and their impact on the physical integrity of persons -- especially with vehicle-to-vehicle communication and autonomous vehicles -- means that market demand for security solutions will surely grow over time. The current situation is prompting...

Heavy construction and mining equipment is going online, thanks to M2M apps and the Internet of Things. Although the penetration of telematics in the industry on the whole remains low, operators are gradually beginning to realize the benefits as more and more OEMs include telematics solutions as standard in their vehicles. Most heavy-duty vehicle operators cite the tracking capability of their telematics systems as providing the most immediate initial benefit to their businesses, as it helps to reduce vehicle theft and misuse, thus reducing insurance premiums. But telematics can also promote better machine utilization, reduction in fuel consumption, and enable more efficient maintenance and repair schedules. Additionally, it can help fleet operators with safety compliance by enabling them to control site access and observe noise limit requirements through the use of the geo-fence and time-fence features of their telematics systems. Most construction fleets are mixed fleets comp...

Armed with today's mobile and cloud-based technology, commercial vehicles like new trucks or vans no longer need expensive PC hardware, and the availability of consumer mobile devices with increasingly sophisticated capabilities means that smaller fleets are embracing commercial telematics. Most commercial fleet operators in numerous industries around the globe are already using smartphones as service access devices to monitor their vehicles remotely. Now commercial telematics service providers are increasingly adapting their core applications -- including track and trace/route planning, driver behavior and fuel management solutions -- to run on consumer-grade smartphone and media tablet devices. "With GPS and accelerometer functionality, plus the power and flexibility of a sophisticated computer, smartphones and tablets are already important platforms for telematics applications," said Gareth Owen, principal analyst at ABI Research . As sensors continue to develo...

In spite of global recession, certain areas of the global M2M industry are illustrating remarkable resilience -- even with the threat of new business models created from the ever-increasing sophistication of the global smartphone and software app ecosystem. According to the latest market study by Juniper Research, the installed base of cellular machine-to-machine (M2M) devices will approach 500 million modules by 2018, driven by more open M2M ecosystems and improved cloud-based APIs. According to their assessment, the M2M space is seeing an increasing focus on the development of open platforms that simplify connectivity to a wide range of isolated devices through the cloud. This movement is already in motion. Juniper believes that the advent of Big Data emerging from M2M service provision will, in time, allow for improved interrogation of M2M data sets -- opening the door to new revenue streams for companies and M2M operators. How the Internet of Things will Evolve Juniper fo...

The Internet of Everything (IoE) includes many new applications for wireless IP connectivity. Vehicle telematics is high up on the list of most promising use cases. Like any other emerging technology, a market catalyst can help to increase the early-adopter deployments. ABI Research forecasts that the total revenue, comprising hardware shipments, and service subscriptions, for commercial fleet telematics in the government sector will increase from $618 million at the end of 2012 to $1.26 billion globally by the end of 2018. In the current economic climate, government and public sector agencies are under relentless pressure to reduce costs while at the same time maintain service levels, and are looking at ways of improving the utilization of their vehicle fleets and ensuring that these fleets comply with new regulatory and environmental legislation. "The main market drivers behind the adoption of telematics in government fleets are government mandates designed, for example, t...

The two main silos in the telematics industry -- consumer automotive and commercial telematics -- remain the most active areas within the broader M2M (machine to machine) industry. New applications for telematics reach the market on an almost daily basis through apps, and industry research into areas such as V2x (where vehicles communicate with one another and road infrastructure on-route in real time) is beginning to give a picture of the role that the telematics industry will play in the future automotive market. The Smart Vehicle will become the new frontier for app developers over the next five years, according to the latest market study by Juniper Research , which now forecasts that the market for in-vehicle apps will be worth just short of $1.2 billion by 2017. Advancements in automotive connectivity standards such as MirrorLink and ever higher smartphone ownership will create foundations allowing the connected car ecosystem to flourish -- particularly in developed North Am...