April 26, 2016
On April 19, Cisco announced a major move in the tech industry. The networking and IT leader has partnered with South Korean automobile manufacturer, Hyundai Motors, to create “Hyper-connected Intelligent Cars” or connected car technology. In the ever-accelerating race towards the self-driving car, Hyundai is looking to leverage the innovative muscle of Cisco to develop a connected car platform that will outperform competitors working toward similar goals.
What is a Connected Car?
At this time, details are still very foggy as to what a connected car platform will actually look like when it hits the market, but Cisco and Hyundai were able to reveal some information.
“Future connected cars will open new innovations in quality, safety, and security, as never before. By expanding time and space, more safety will be guaranteed for our customers. Hyundai Motor will provide new values that go beyond our customers’ expectations in safety, quality and security through cooperating with Cisco. This collaboration will be a chance to bring closer the Hyundai Motor-led future of connected cars and shift paradigms of new mobility,”
— Euisun Chung
Vice Chairman of Hyundai Motor
Hyundai and Cisco went on to comment that they would initially begin with the next-generation of in-vehicle networks. In order for these cars to function as internet devices, they must be able to transmit and receive data faster. Certainly, there are internet features in cars on the road today, but these pale in comparison to the transmission speeds of the connected cars of the future.
These connected cars will employ advanced software, applications, and eventually even drive themselves, but to support these new capabilities, the internal subsystems of the car must be able to communicate more effectively in addition to the faster transmission and reception of data. Once developed, this will serve as the foundation the rest of the connected car platform will be built upon.
Collaborating on Innovation
Cisco and Hyundai will share the burden of developing this technology. Both companies have agreed to work together in creating the vehicle simulation testing environment. Additionally, Cisco and Hyundai will work together on analyzing the data they generate and verifying the validity of newly developed technologies.
To pay for this research, Hyundai will be heavily investing in cloud, big data analytics, and connected car security technologies.
“This is truly an exciting time to collaborate with Hyundai Motor. Digital disruption into the automotive industry is being driven by technologies that are creating new user experiences; and our leadership in the areas of connected vehicles, security, and large-scale communication technologies will be crucial to establishing an industry-leading platform. Cisco is honored to join efforts with Hyundai Motor on the Connected Car initiative, and to play our part in the automotive industry’s evolution,”
— Chuck Robbins
CEO of Cisco Systems
Connect Car Technology: The Roadmap
With huge endeavors such as this, it is important to have a plan, and Hyundai recently outlined theirs. While their initial project focus is the network of the automobile, their mid to long term objectives are far more ambitious.
- Smart Remote Maintenance Service
- Autonomous Driving
- Smart Traffic
- Connectivity Mobility Hub
Cisco’s role in these additional projects is yet to be determined, but their success will largely depend on the advances made in the internal networking technology spearheaded by the Cisco team.
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