By 2015, seven out of ten people will be living in cities. This will change the way, people all over the world will live. Cities will become bigger and bigger, some of them will even turn into megacities with millions and millions of inhabitants. This will be a huge challenge for the logistics and transportation industry, which will have to develop a much smarter traffic management to meet the upcoming demands.
Most of the people who live and work in the city centers of the future will no longer own cars of their own. This is a change you can already experience in a lot of cities, especially in Europe. These car-sharing systems will get even more successful within the next years. Also public transport will become increasingly important. Public transport and the transport industry in general will see rapid changes and will have to enable new ways of traveling to meet the traveler’s needs. At Kontron the Internet of Things (IoT) is seen as a main driver to this evolution. Intelligent control systems will allow automated management of traffic and will also enhance efficiency and safety of transport as well as the passengers comfort.
Better Services due to the IoT
Due to evolving IT services and the IoT, the transport industry will be able to offer better and new services to its passengers already in the near future. This means for example, that updates on arrival and departure times will be more reliable and just-in-time. Traveling will as well become more comfortable and enjoyable for passengers, as they will have access to a broad variety of in-train entertainment and ubiquitous connectivity. With this, raveling time will become comfort time! Due to the broad connectivity services, the time on a train can also be used for productive work and will become working time for mobile employees all over the world.
Interconnected video will enhance the security of the travelers and due to intelligent sensors maintenance will be much easier and comfortable for the transport companies. Control systems will play an important role for the entire transport and logistic industry.
As a global leader of the embedded computer industry, Kontron supports its customers in many ways. Integrated Box PCs with Ethernet gateways, for example, allow an efficient integration of systems. The transportation sector is a demanding industry and needs hardware that works reliably also in extremely rough environments. Safety-critical functions for instance need to withstand vibrations caused by high-speed. The solutions have to offer a guaranteed stability through a high level of efficiency, performance and redundance. They also need to meet individual requirements of various transportation companies to optimize their maintenance processes and save costs.
Co-Operations are the Key to Success
Co-operations between the IT and the transportation industry will become more and more essential, to meet the future needs of the transportation and logistics markets. Partnerships will become the key to success. One example of such a successful partnership is Kontron’s cooperation with Bombardier. Since 2009 their application-ready platforms have been laying the foundations for Bombardier’s innovative interlocking rail control systems. With the Internet of Things changing the industry’s focus, cooperation’s will be involving in order to provide new services and solutions. Kevin Rhoads, head of Kontron’s business Unit ATD confirms: “The IoT will impact the whole transportation market. It will enable sensors and devices on vehicles to communicate more collaboratively. This allows greater autonomous controls, proactive servicing and enhanced user experiences, as well as significant new levels of safety and security.”
Big Data Enables Better Services
It is not only the IoT that will have an impact on transportation and logistics. Big data will also play an important role within these industries. In-depth analysis of effective travel routes, optimized maintenance processes tied to vehicle use classification of highways, as well as passenger’s preferences will change the transportation business. Kontron’s products are ready to meet the needs of many intelligent database information systems that will change the ways of how we travel in the future. Kevin Rhoads is convinced that the IoT will change the entire world of transportation: “It’s like changing from horse to car”.
Connectivity and security are the key challenges the transportation industry faces today and in the future. The IoT will be able to change the way the industry operates and offer new and optimized solutions for the benefit of passengers all over the world. Kontron has identified the challenges of the market and offers innovative products and technologies, to meet modern needs. This will help the transportation industry to use the Internet of Things successfully and benefit from the opportunities in many ways.
Do you see even more opportunites for the IoT in the transportation industry?
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