We live in a connected world. Our phones and other mobile devices make sure we're eternally attached to the Internet, and most folks want it to stay that way. It makes sense then that we'd also like some of that connectivity to carry over into our automobiles. A few automakers now offer 3G connections that turn their vehicles into mobile hotspots. Cisco and Continental have teamed up to create a concept car that takes the idea of a connected car even further. It's called the... well, it's just called the Continental and Cisco Connected Car Expo.
We would've gone with Web Crawler 9000 Turbo S, but that's just us.
What these two companies have done is create a car that can seamlessly connect to the Internet by way of a variety of the signals it is receiving. Currently, Internet in cars is stuck on 3G. The Conti-Cisco Concept can grab 3G, 4G, and a few other signals to supply web juice to the vehicle. It also establishes itself by taking another step forward in the arena of having vehicles talk to one another. This concept vehicle will be used to develop technology and garner more know-how in that car-to-car comms world. Additionally, this concept vehicle is fitted with Cisco's security software, which could help in the fight against future car or mobile device hackers.
Another interesting bit of the connected car discussion relates to the world of insuring the cars; a connected car could lead to pay-as-you-drive insurance because the company could see when you're using the car. That could result in lower premiums. On top of that, as the cars actually begin to communicate with each other it will cause an ease on traffic issues as the cars can run closer together and more consistent speeds to reduce congestion. We're iffy on the idea of pay-as-you-drive insurance, but sign us up for reduced traffic.
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