What is the Internet of Vehicles (IoV)?
The Internet of Vehicles is a network that interconnects pedestrians, cars, and parts of urban infrastructure. It uses various sensors, software, in-built hardware, and types of connection to enable reliable and continuous communication. As a part of a smart city, IoV strives to make transportation more autonomous, safe, fast, and efficient, reducing resource waste and detrimental impacts on the environment.
How does IoV technology work?
IoV technology relies on connectivity. To achieve that, car manufacturers install the appropriate hardware for networking and data gathering, as well as services to process the gathered information and trigger certain actions.
On the side of the infrastructure, the necessary digitalization doesn’t happen overnight. Some traffic lights and lanes, as well as parking lots and public transport stations are connected, providing smart assistance to vehicles, while others still work on conventional principles.
IoV architecture
IoV architecture consists of the three main layers:
- Perception. It includes various sensors and devices used to collect data, as well as hardware that makes the IoV infrastructure functional. The perception layer contains smartphones, connected roadside units, the global ID terminal, vehicle cameras, and so on.
- Network. This layer is responsible for making connected vehicles visible on the network and transmitting the information about road conditions, traffic, and driving patterns to the AI system for processing. The most frequently used networks for smart cars include WiFi, 4G/5G, WLAN, Bluetooth, and WAVE.
- Application. The application layer processes, stores, and applies the gathered data. In autonomous vehicles, it’s responsible for identifying people and other nearby connected cars, and sending commands to the car’s accelerator, brakes, and engine. It is also a vital part of all software solutions and services for commuters, drivers, and pedestrians.
Why is IoV so important?
The connected vehicles technology will become a critical part of any city’s smart infrastructure. It’s already yielding immense benefits for the safety and efficiency of transportation.
The main advantages of the IoV include the following:
- Safety. Connected cars receive real-time data about the positions of all other vehicles and people on the road, helping drivers adjust their routes and correcting driving errors. Autonomous vehicles that are yet to come into use will also eliminate such traffic accident risk factors as fatigue, inattention, and driving under the influence.
- Efficiency and speed. As IoV synchronizes with more and more vehicles, traffic jams will occur less frequently. Commuters will also benefit from route planning apps that adjust to the current situation in a person’s location dynamically and suggest the most rapid ways of transit.
- Environment. The efficiency of connected vehicles will encourage commuters to rely more on car sharing and public transport. Besides, the vast majority of smart cars run on electricity, cutting down harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
- Business benefits. The data that an IoV system gathers enables companies to conduct preventive maintenance of car parts, decrease the cases of theft, and deliver a better quality of products by analyzing their customers’ behaviors, engagement, and driving preferences.