Role of Big Data in Autonomous and Connected Vehicles
Responses by Kamal Brar, Vice President and General Manager of APAC, Hortonworks
Ques:How will Big Data make autonomous driving safer for passengers and other motorists?
Ans: With sensor technology, autonomous cars can detect threats in real-time. The sensors generate data that can be used for data analytics and improvement of algorithms that autonomous cars use. Thus, Big Data technologies can help improve autonomous cars through analytics. For instance, analysis of road conditions, weather, traffic etc. can be used to improve the performance of these cars.
Autonomous vehicles and its passengers can also be alerted in advance if there has been an accident or if there has been water logging or other road hazards up ahead on the route so they may take evasive action. Such a scenario is easily possible in a smart or connected city. Autonomous vehicles will give rise to ‘smart mobility’ wherein real-time insights could be shared on traffic jams, open parking slots, vehicle pooling or enabling custom leasing given that millennials do not feel inclined to invest in an owned car.
It is important to note that machines can learn in a way just like humans through data (experiences in case of humans) using algorithms. As more data becomes available through sensors for these machines to ‘learn’, they will become smarter. Automakers thus are describing every operating condition a vehicle may face to ‘teach’ these autonomous vehicles to drive in a safe and efficient manner. They are also prompting acceptance of autonomous vehicles (when they are ready for launch) by introducing Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) in conventional cars and commercial vehicles.
Ques: Can Big Data help in making autonomous drive technology affordable for all automotive brands?
Ans: As Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies proliferate, costs will come down as it happened with storage systems or even computing. As more data becomes available from sensors for machines to learn, the R&D costs will also come down bringing down the total cost of ownership. Big Data technologies help by providing the underlying infrastructure to capture and process data from the cars.
Recently, Hortonworks has enabled Nissan to collect data across the whole business, specifically data related to driving and vehicle quality. Nissan can now use big data applications that require cross-functional data analysis, such as analyzing the battery usage in electric vehicles and quality management to ensure users have a smooth driving experience. Previously, the company lacked the infrastructure necessary to store and analyze all this data on a long-term basis.
Ques: Can the use of Big Data make the roads suitable for autonomous cars? How well can it improve and enhance the basic road infrastructure across the globe?
Ans: Big Data is the lens through which every automotive company is looking at the future as insights gleaned from sensor data (sensors on the roads, traffic signals, from other vehicles etc) can be used for enabling services outside the vehicle. Be it better roads, pavements or traffic management. For instance, Las Vegas city in USA is connecting Big Data to city systems by using in-vehicle data from the autonomous vehicles to improve pedestrian safety and traffic flow.
Ques: How is Big Data going to make Public Transportation in future more user friendly?
Ans: A public transportation provider can leverage Big Data to analyse data from sensors installed on equipment at a granular level to schedule equipment maintenance thus optimizing costs and reducing disruptions. Big Data can also be leveraged to study passenger usage patterns, peak loads to modify public transport routes. Through a combination of IoT and Big Data, frequent users can be notified of the best commute options soon and connect to other modes of transportation available on a shared economy model.
An analysis of driving patterns powered by Big Data can also help in adjusting workloads of drivers and alert them to possibilities of human error before they occur as globally majority of vehicle accidents are caused by human error.
Ques: How will Big Data solve traffic jams and traffic violations by autonomous cars and even other cars?
Ans: World over majority of car crashes are due to human error or negligence like drunk driving, or fatigue. Autonomous cars once having learnt from sensor data, will not be prone such errors and negligence. In fact, once autonomous cars become available to public, cost of vehicle insurance is likely to come down. Connected cars will cut down on traffic congestion and increase fuel efficiency based on analysis of driving patterns and subsequent adoption of best driving practices. Computers don’t get tired or distracted…Autonomous vehicles are currently in a testing phase but once they are made available in the markets, they will be smarter and safer than humans.
Ques: Will Big Data allow access to vehicle owner’s personal details to third party without protocol or can the same be protected by passwords with its help?
Ans: In the last couple of years, few connected and autonomous vehicles have been hacked into remotely from computers over internet. As the ecosystem matures, automakers are leveraging appropriate cybersecurity and data management solutions that address data security during transmission (over internet) and storage on in-vehicle systems or a cloud. With Big Data, personal information would be safer and hard to access. Secure Big Data technologies can help protect user and vehicle information that needs to be shared when these vehicles are operating.
