Car data is more valuable than the car itself. By 2030, data collected from connected vehicles could generate $400 billion in value for automakers and other industry players. With car data monetisation opening up exciting new opportunities for stakeholders, the future of mobility will focus on services that can intelligently manage and analyse big data. To discuss transformations on the horizon for connected vehicle data, Richard Springer (Head of Commercial Strategy at Cubic3) joined tech journalist Adrian Bridgwater in our “In Conversation With” series.
We’re putting a huge amount of technology into modern vehicles. How much car data is expected to be generated?
Right now, cars are generating less than a terabyte of data per day, but that number will grow to four terabytes in the coming years as vehicles become increasingly computerised. Today’s cars have about 40 or 50 electronic computing units (ECUs), but soon, they’ll have 100. These ECUs measure everything from fuel levels to tire pressure. Tesla is leading the way by using fewer but more powerful ECUs, making each vehicle smarter with its software and more efficient with its data management. The more ECUs added, the more data can be gathered, which will give automakers the ability to improve performance, cut costs and enable more safety features for the driver.
With all this data being produced, is there a particular type of information stream coming from our vehicles that you find most fascinating?
There are three main types of car data that fascinate me. First, consumer behaviour. Cars are no longer just for transportation – they’re becoming connected devices. Second, understanding traffic patterns can help improve city infrastructure and how people move around. Third, the device itself can enable improvements by tracking things like fuel consumption and other key metrics to make vehicles more efficient and reliable. These three data streams all have huge potential.
How do the OEMs react — are they receptive to having this huge new software layer that they’re going to work with?
Automakers are already very good at utilising data in day-to-day operations, from supply chains to production lines. But traditionally, they have never really focused on the data that is generated after the vehicle is sold. That’s where Cubic3 comes in. We show carmakers that the data produced once the car is on the road is just as valuable. So, the fundamental understanding of this helps them improve their product in real-time. I think OEMs are starting to see how important this is and are excited about the possibilities.
Is data farming or data ingestion part of Cubic3’s core competency – to be able to extract all that information and bring it upwards to a level of analytics?
When a vehicle goes from production to being fully connected, it can involve up to 50 different players in the ecosystem–mobile networks, automakers, and IoT companies. Cubic3 sits at the center of this ecosystem with a unique view of all the data flowing in from multiple sources. At Cubic3, we can then gather, manage, and store this data, then extract the most valuable insights to help our partners make better decisions.
Is that the capability of Cubic3’s Insights solution — knowing what to do with raw data to provide a better user experience?
Part of our fascination in this area revolves around what is possible. Cubic3’s Explore3 takes the massive amounts of big data being produced by vehicles and turns it into actionable insights. By combining data from a number of players in the connected device and vehicle ecosystem, Explore3 helps manufacturers understand both how their vehicles are performing and how their customers are using them. Explore3 gives manufacturers a lens into the consumer that they haven’t had before.
