Toyota Cars and the Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) is much more than your FitBit, your home security system, or your connected thermostat. Some time soon — around the 2020-2021 timeframe — the IoT will include the world’s first true self-driving cars. They’ll be coming to dealerships like Bell Road Toyota, and Toyota cars will be at the forefront. 

In a sense, getting the car to drive itself isn’t even the hardest issue. Toyota is already pushing the envelope toward full autonomy, after all. However, there are legal hurdles to overcome, regulations to be addressed, and a number of technology issues yet to be addressed. One of these is the enormous amount of bandwidth required by autonomous vehicles.

To that end, the partnership between Toyota Motor Corporation and Intel is meant to solve the bandwidth issue by getting 5G networks up and running so your autonomous Toyota Camry doesn’t come to a rolling stop because you lost your data connection in the middle of nowhere.

This isn’t the first auto tech consortium we’ve seen. There’s also Auto-ISAC, the Automotive Information Sharing and Analysis Center. This earlier initiative is one of several ISACs, and Toyota is also a member. The difference between the consortia is that the ISAC is intended to shore up security and provide a degree of threat detection and mitigation. The newer partnership is directed less at security than with the data and connectivity challenges surrounding autonomous vehicles.

If you own a new Toyota model or even one that’s a few years old, you’re benefiting from that research and development even if you’re not aware of it. Not only navigation and infotainment, but also the active safety features that make up Toyota Safety Sense (TSS — standard equipment on all models starting this year) owe their existence in whole or in part to the efforts to build self-driving cars. Why not learn more by visiting Bell Road Toyota at 2020 West Bell Road in Phoenix, AZ in Phoenix, AZ today?