“Have you driven a hotspot lately?” (McLaughlin, 2011). In many ways, the technological advancements in automotive media devices seem to lag behind other industries. Companies like Ford, GM, and Audi plan to change that. Since the release of OnStar in General Motors vehicles, consumers have grown more accustomed to having an increased level of safety and convenience offered at the touch of a button in their car. In recent months, manufacturers have found ways to improve on such systems, allowing a much more versatile mobile media experience from the driver’s seat.
According to McLaughlin (2011), broadband mobile devices like OnStar or Ford’s SYNC system can be upgraded to offer WiFi capabilities for about $25 per vehicle. With such a low cost, why not offer this valuable feature to the consumer? American manufacturers are not the only ones offering WiFi. Last year, Audi stepped up to the plate. Going above and beyond Ford and GM’s LAN options, Audi WiFi is claiming speeds upward of 7 Mbits/sec from a mobile 4G hotspot.
For some, this technology is a hard sell, and many industry professionals are questioning the safety and security of the hotspots. Manufacturers have answered the safety issue by only allowing the hotspots to be active while the vehicle is in park, keeping wandering eyes from surfing the internet while driving. Security is a greater challenge. McLaughlin (2011) reports that most rogue access points are not the work of hackers, but are usually a result of employees setting up an access point by mistake. Unfortunately, a vehicle sitting in the parking lot can now possibly offer an access point to an unwelcome visitor. Ford’s answer is to give the driver the right to accept or deny the access point to other devices, but this doesn’t stop a hacker from driving into the same parking lot with their own virtual hotspot.
While the technology is fairly new, there are definitely some improvements needed. However, the positive effects seem to outweigh the negative. Such systems can alert officials when help is needed, traveling professionals will benefit from having the internet at their fingertips while away from the office, and movies and music can be downloaded directly into a touchscreen computer on the dashboard. Your car will soon be able to diagnose itself and forward the information to the dealership. Manufacturers will be able to scan and update your vehicle while you are driving it (with your permission). The possibilities are endless. In fact, the information highway seems to have a destination beyond our imagination.
References
McLaughlin, P. (2011). Will automotive WiFi be productive or problematic? Cabling Installation &
Maintenance, 19(4), 25.
By: Brian
2 comments:
Enabling wifi only when the car is parked is not a good idea. What if a passenger wants to use it?
This one leaves me a little torn. I'm all for the convenience of information on the highway, but the safety or lack of safety it would pose to drivers is what makes me feel like this is unnecessary. At what point can we just live without instant access for one minute? We seemed fine before all this was given to us.
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