what are connected cars?

Whether we like it or not, we are living in the future of automobiles. No longer are cars just means of getting from A to B, they now run on sophisticated engineering practices, with technology that helps them communicate with the world around them.

Cars of this nature are growing in popularity. Before we realise it, they could replace more traditional cars. In this article, we’ll dive into the world of connected cars, explain how they work, and look at why their popularity is increasing so exponentially.

How do connected cars work?

Simply put, a connected car comes with both an internet connection and a series of intelligent sensors. This allows the car to communicate with other smart devices, as well as other connected cars. Such connectivity can grant additional layers of driver safety, by permitting greater notice to developing traffic situations, ongoing updates about collisions, as well as better fault diagnosis on the vehicle itself.

While connected cars make use of Wi-Fi, GPS and mobile networks, a large portion of their connectivity is handled via protocols named V2X (vehicle-to-everything) or V2V (vehicle-to-vehicle).

What is V2X?

Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) is an overarching phrase used to describe a connected car’s communication abilities.

The intention behind V2X technology is to produce vehicles that can retain and digest information provided to them via a number of signals. Some of this information is acquired by the vehicle itself through pulling data down via the internet, some of it is provided to the vehicle by other connected points on the V2X network. For example, traffic lights that are able to transmit their status directly to the vehicle, rather than having the vehicle scan the traffic light to gain this information itself.

What does V2V mean?

One of the main protocols underneath the V2X umbrella is V2V (vehicle-to-vehicle). The nature of V2V is quite self-explanatory, and hinges on information being exchanged between vehicles. Provided a signal can be established, cars can relay information about the roads ahead to other cars on the V2V network. This can allow those other cars to choose better routing and avoid traffic build up.

The goal with V2V is to establish a wide network of cars, with the hopes of having all cars be able to operate autonomously, in a cohesive manner.

Benefits of connected cars

The main benefit of connected cars is the additional layer of information that can be conveyed to the driver and vehicle. Information is vital on any road journey and having more of it is crucial to assisting with traffic avoidance, and efficient road usage.

Let’s run through all the pros of connected cars.

Less traffic

One of the most tangible benefits of connected cars comes in the form of reduced traffic. In a world where every car is connected, vehicles can report more detailed alternate routing options to drivers in the hopes of decreasing journey times.

At present, a driver’s best bet is to use some navigation software such as their car’s built-in sat nav, or a smartphone app such as Google Maps. Google Maps allows users to submit traffic information to display directly to other users. The logical next step for software such as this is to have the cars handle all this detail themselves, with little to no user input. All of this can be accomplished via connected car technology.

Enhanced infotainment

Thanks to an onboard internet connection, connected cars are able to serve content available online via more in-depth infotainment systems. From YouTube videos to Netflix series’, the infotainment and dashboard services of connected cars are much more entertainment focused and streamlined.

Over-the-air updates

The cars of the future are more akin to modern-day computers than we think. Computers, of course, are prone to hacks and cyberattacks, and the same can be said about connected cars.

Sometimes, not everything goes to plan. Bugs, mistakes, and vulnerabilities can be left out of software even after it has rolled out to the public. Thankfully, these issues can be rectified rather quickly via updates.

Traditional cars are more complicated when it comes to software and can usually only be updated at the point of manufacture. However, connected cars can simply have the manufacturer distribute a software patch from the cloud, and update all affected models with little to no effort.

The latest car development news at findandfundmycar.com

With connected technology on the horizon, the future of modern cars is looking exciting.

However, if you’re in need of a motor now, we can help. At findandfundmycar.com, we stock thousands of used cars, all of which come from trusted dealerships across the UK.