I made a bold prediction on my radio show five years ago. I stated that by 2015, you and I would no longer listen to traditional radio stations in our car anymore. For someone that is in the radio business, this prediction raised some eyebrows around my office.
I thought that by 2015 we would not receive our information and entertainment via traditional airwaves or satellite signals. I predicted that we would get all of our in-car data via wireless internet. Instead of tuning your car radio to AM750 or 95.5FM, you would instead listen to the station on wsbradio.com while in your car.
I predicted that this development would totally revolutionize the radio industry, and by default, the traffic reporting industry. No longer will “signal strength” matter to traditional radio stations. All stations will be equal. I also predicted that as a result, satellite radio would no longer exist. The commercial free, trans-continental, benefits of satellite radio would be rendered moot.
It turns out my predictions were pretty accurate, but my timing was a little off.
According to a new report released by Telefonica Digital, by 2022 “car connections” will be the absolute norm and industry standard. The report predicts that there will be 700 million “connected” cars and over one billion aftermarket devices for services such as navigation, usage-based insurance, stolen vehicle recovery and infotainment.
The report was put together by industry leaders in both the wireless world and the automotive industry, and their glimpse into the future is quite amazing.
Not only will our information and entertainment be delivered in a totally different way, it seems that our vehicles will have the ability to talk to each other.
“Cars used to be solitary machines. Not so anymore - some can now detect other vehicles around them and even “talk” to them.” the report states. “When cars are able to connect to each other in this way, things can get truly exciting - they can coordinate braking and acceleration, hence distancing themselves automatically with lightning- fast reaction times. We could see a single stretch of road accommodating more cars safely, automatic management of lane changes, and even more efficient use of roundabouts.”
That, might only be the beginning.
“In fact, fully self-driving cars will increase road capacity five-fold, eliminating congestion on most roads while reducing accidents to almost zero,” the report said.
As someone who makes his living reporting on traffic jams, you can see how I have mixed emotions about this possible development. On the one hand, I would love to live in a city where I never have to worry about getting stuck in bumper to bumper traffic. On the other hand, I would like to be able to feed my family.
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