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Connected car solutions company Abalta Technologies has released eight predictions for the connected car market in the run up to 2020 that provides insight on development and growth in the sector.

The eight predictions for the market are:

• New connected car traffic solutions will finally deliver:  The report argues that, in the future, traffic management systems will be part of the transportation infrastructure – but for the time being, swarm intelligence systems enabling drivers to alert each other of real-time traffic conditions will have “an immediate positive impact” on traffic...

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A new study by the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) indicates that travelling time in the US has been on a decline since 2004, indicating that motorisation in the US may have peaked in that year.

The study looked at travel times using data from the nationwide American Time Use Survey (ATUS), and found that the sum of average travel times associated with all activities dropped by around 10 per cent in 2004-2014.

Interestingly, the decline in total travel...

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Regular readers of this publication will note the prevailing wind in terms of driver preference for driverless cars; for both US and UK motorists, it’s a pretty firm no right now. But semi-autonomous features, such as improved parking capability and being able to avoid collisions is proving particularly popular, according to figures released by Ford.

According to the carmaker, one in three Ford cars sold in the past year were equipped with parking systems that help drivers find...

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Swedish car manufacturer Volvo, alongside technology partners Telstra and Bosch, are set to run Australia’s first driverless vehicle demonstration trials in November.

The news was announced by the ARRB Group, Australia’s national independent road research agency and will utilise ARRB’s Australian Driverless Vehicle Initiative. The first Australian trials of automated vehicles will coincide with a driverless vehicle conference to be hosted by the state of South...

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Earlier this week we had the views of US drivers on whether they would be happy with being ferried around in autonomous vehicles, and the response was less than unanimous. Now, survey data from UK insurance provider Bobatoo shows only a quarter of UK respondents would describe themselves as ‘excited’ about driverless cars.

This survey differs from the study by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), which focused exclusively on respondents...

Picture credit: Volvo

The days when drivers act as individual entities on the road could be over in a matter of years thanks to the integration of swarm intelligence technology within car design. The idea behind it is to allow vehicles to work together and share data with others (i.e. act as a collective swarm) for the benefit of all and the wider transport infrastructure – ‘the cloud’.

The clear impact of this is far reaching - the travelling of more efficient and optimum routes, reduced...

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A survey of US drivers from the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) reveals the majority would not want to give up driving for fully automated vehicles for the time being.

43% of the 505 respondents indicated a preference for no self-driving, while 40% would be happy with partially self-driving vehicles and only 15% want completely autonomous. The report notes preference for vehicle automation “generally decreased” as age increased.

More than...

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Driver in the Loop (DIL) simulation has long been considered a powerful tool for both vehicle and component development. For traditional vehicle development work – such as ride and handling, steering, and powertrain – driver feedback is essential, offering subjective information that no data logger can deliver.  

Simulators place real people into direct contact with experimental systems, and this is arguably the main reason why so many car makers have invested...

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A new study from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) argues driverless cars will deliver both economical and environmental gains.

The study, authored by Berkeley Lab researchers Jeff Greenblatt and Samveg Saxena, asserts an electric vehicle deployed as an autonomous taxi in 2030 would provide between 63% and 82% lower greenhouse gas emissions per mile when compared against a project 2030 hybrid vehicle, and 90% lower alongside a current gasoline-powered...

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According to the latest research note from Juniper Research, 20% of passenger vehicles on the road in 2019 will be connected.

The findings come in a new whitepaper, entitled ‘M2M in an IoT World’. Juniper argues telematics will remain the best performing sector in all M2M markets over the next five years. Describing it as one of the “cornerstones” of the broader M2M industry, the researchers note the wide variety of use cases, including usage-based insurance...