Connected auto tech essential for safety, but facing equity hurdles

FAIRLAWN, Ohio—New mobility is a journey. And with a destination still not entirely defined, the journey itself has become the experience.

Because there is no doubt the automotive industry is in flux. It is embracing new technology, defining exactly where it wants to go and innovating all along the way.

Much of that innovation relies on the technology that connects us—drivers and passengers to vehicles, and the vehicles to each other and the surrounding infrastructure.

And all of that makes connected automotive technology critical technology.

It's the bridge needed to move us from what we know of mobility to what we can achieve with it. And while the idea of connected vehicles and fully autonomous vehicles still feels futuristic, the technology needed to bring it to life is not.

It's here, now, built into the framework of today's new vehicles, and it is expanding mobility capabilities both inside and outside of the cabin.

"All the building blocks are there, and it is getting better every day," Casey Selecman, director of powertrain forecasts for AutoForecast Solutions L.L.C., said during a Rubber in Automotive Conference panel discussion. "… (In my car), there is a camera pointing at me. If you look inside your car, you might have it there, too. If you are going to have some kind of autonomous technology, there is going to be a camera there making sure you are watching the road."

Yes, connected vehicle technology is here. We're using it. And we're this close, the panelists said, to taking all of the smart vehicle technology—including lane-assist, back-up cameras, autonomous parking and GPS mapping—and moving toward full autonomy.

"Because that is the next step of this," Selecman said. "That is where this evolution takes you before you are not allowed to drive anymore and they take the steering wheel away. That is the end goal, right? Full autonomous.

"All of these little building blocks are going to be put in place so that reality can come true."

We are so close.

And yet, somehow, we're still so far.

There is a lot of ground to cover when it comes to moving mobility forward. The infrastructure isn't quite ready.

And neither are drivers. They just aren't ready to relinquish driving and the experiences that come with it.

Moreover, they're being priced out of owning the vehicles with the connected technologies needed to move forward.

Last year, Edmunds noted that the average monthly payment for a new car rose $81 year-over-year to $678. And used vehicles didn't fare much better, with the average costs rising $77 year-over-year to $555 per month.

By June 2022, 12.7 percent of consumers who had financed a new-vehicle purchase agreed to a monthly payment of $1,000 or more—which is closer than ever to the average U.S. mortgage payment, according to Automotive News.

So, the affordability of mobility raises brand new questions—particularly around the equity of mobility, said Guillaume Puiseux, chief strategy and marketing officer for Michelin Mobility Intelligence.

Because that newfangled technology—from the propulsion to the tech needed for connectivity—comes with a price tag that is too high for too many.

That means consumers are keeping their cars longer.

And older cars are less connected. Less connected means less data on which to build out safer, smarter mobility.

"I have to say that, within the connected mobility landscape, the deployment of the technology is kind of slow," Puiseux said. "I think we have seen the average age of the car parc at 12 years, right? … So, the technology is here, and the deployment is low (because) there is an equity and affordability challenge that we need to overcome."

In some ways, said Jason Hipshier, Yanfeng chief innovation engineer, OEMs already are managing costs. And to ensure that their vehicles are affordable, they will tailor the connected solutions and technologies to fit within a price range they believe they need.

"We are asked to bring these new offerings and new technologies with the understanding that it cannot be an exorbitant delta from where we are today," Hipshier said. "(We innovate) with the understanding that the OEMs are going to cap us. We can come up with all the cool stuff, but if it doesn't hit that price point, it is never going to see the light of day."

Puiseux agrees that as automotive technology matures, pricing will adjust, and more consumers will be able to afford newer, more connected vehicles.

But that lag in affordability, he said, can't be barrier that keeps mobility from moving forward. And it certainly cannot be an excuse for failing to address much broader safety solutions that arise from more-connected technology.

To do that, though, you need data. Lots and lots of data. The kind of data that your car can and probably does collect. But if a large portion of the car parc can't provide it, it has to come from somewhere else.

It can come, Puiseux said, from your phone

For new mobility to truly work, it's going to take more than a smart car. The right infrastructure has to be in place to manage it, and that will require smarter roadways, smarter traffic signals, smarter… well, everything.

That is a massive undertaking, preparing for such a move.

Still, connected mobility must start somewhere, somewhere where it can have significant and positive impact.

Surprisingly, that big impact starts with the small insights, tiny data points that unlock a deeper understanding of driver behavior. It also requires an honest assessment of infrastructure to better direct state and local funding for safer roads and intersections.

And all of that could already be accessible through our phones.

"The smart phone is a very sophisticated sensor," Puiseux said.

Better yet, he added, nearly every driver has one. So regardless of vehicle age, the smartphone can capture critical data to address a range of concerns. All it takes is a whole lot of that data and the right perspectives to unlock it.

That is exactly what Michelin DDi—and RoadBotics, a Pittsburgh-based data analytics company under the Michelin North America and Michelin DDi umbrellas—aims to do. It can take loads of driver-related data and break it down into "actionable insights" that help lead to safer driving as well as safer roadways and intersections.

"Driving behavior data can help us understand how you are doing, how we can help identify risk," Puiseux said. "As we speak, we collect data for about 32 (million) or 35 million U.S. drivers—much more than the footprint of the connected vehicles."

With RoadBotics particularly, that feedback can help inform governments and municipalities about how best to manage funding to ensure optimal road conditions and safer intersections.

"So I am able to say, in Akron for example, Sunday—at night, when it is raining—at this intersection we can observe an abnormal number or frequency of hard braking," Puiseux said. "And so that is the first benefit of connected mobility—to help authorities focus their attention on the safety features. So, connecting the car, connecting the intersections today to the smart phone, is the smartest way to do that."

But what if you could do that on another level entirely?

Hipshier, for one, believes you can.

And should.

"I think it is even that next step of … how do we get that information back out to those stoplights because of the fast braking or the hard baking because of weather conditions," Hipshier said. "Maybe you can feed that back to time the lights differently for that. Or feed that back to your local township because everybody is avoiding this road. (You could say,) our technology is telling you to stay away from it because it's got potholes you will lose your car in."

It's about optimizing the experience and safety of driving for the consumer.

For Selecman, in particular, mitigating traffic is a great place to start.

"I hate traffic and I drive fast … so anything that solves traffic, for me, that is a genius thing," Selecman said.