In 2017, the Internet of Vehicles market has huge potential and the application of OTA technology is being accelerated

　　Introduction: With the continuous development of Internet of Things technology, the Internet of Vehicles is considered to be one of the areas with the most industrial potential and the clearest market demand in the Internet of Things system. It is of great significance to promote the integration and upgrading of the automobile, transportation, and information and communication industries, as well as the reshaping of the relevant industrial ecology and value chain system. At present, it is at a critical period for the development of the Internet of Vehicles . Intelligent networked vehicles have entered the national strategic plan of "Made in China 2025" and have become one of the key industries promoted by "Made in China 2025". Let's follow the automotive electronics editor to learn about the relevant content.

　　The article is compiled from: Gasgoo Automotive Research Institute, China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, China Unicom's Internet of Vehicles White Paper, China Industrial Research Institute, Digitimes, Zhiyan Consulting, etc.

　　Concept of Internet of Vehicles

　　The Internet of Vehicles (IoV) is derived from the Internet of Things (IoT). It is based on the in-vehicle network (in-vehicle LAN), inter-vehicle network (vehicle-to-vehicle) and in-vehicle Internet (vehicle-to-Ethernet connection). It is a system network that conducts wireless communication and information exchange between vehicles (vehicles, roads, pedestrians and the Internet, etc.) according to the agreed communication protocols and data interaction standards, and ultimately realizes intelligent transportation, intelligent cars, intelligent driving and other functions. (Source: Gasgoo Automotive Community)

　　Development Stages and Current Status of Internet of Vehicles

　　At present, my country's Internet of Vehicles is mainly realized through cellular communication technology, mainly 2G and 3G. 4G has just started, and V2X has not yet been commercialized. According to information from China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, as of August 2017, a total of 683 Internet of Vehicles terminals in my country have obtained network access certificates from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and 101 4G Internet of Vehicles terminals were added in 2016, with a rapid growth rate.

　　At present, my country's Internet of Vehicles services are still in the early stages. Using cellular communication technology to access the Internet and open up information flows inside and outside the vehicle is actually an accumulation of data and scale. It will take some time to build a new business model, and service capabilities will also be improved accordingly.

　　The development of the Internet of Vehicles industry will eventually cover the entire life cycle of the car, and the user's usage scenarios will change based on the changes in lifestyle, which has prompted the continuous iteration, adjustment and improvement of the Internet of Vehicles functions. With the advancement of automobile intelligence and networking, the Internet of Vehicles functions in my country's vehicle use and maintenance and repair links are relatively comprehensive, while the front-end and back-end still need to be strengthened.

　　Performance and analysis of the Internet of Vehicles market

　　From January to August 2017, China's automobile production and sales both showed a slight year-on-year growth, but with the continuous and rapid development of my country's economy and society, the number of motor vehicles has maintained a rapid growth. According to statistics from the Traffic Management Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security: By the end of 2016, the number of vehicles in China reached 194 million, of which 27.52 million were newly registered, with a net increase of 22.12 million, both of which were historically high levels. The annual growth in the number of vehicles also provides a huge potential market for the Internet of Vehicles. It is predicted that by 2020, the scale of China's Internet of Vehicles market will grow from 3.1 billion yuan in 2014 to 33.8 billion US dollars, becoming a RMB-level market with a compound growth rate of nearly 40%. In 2020, the number of users of China's Internet of Vehicles will increase from the current 7 million to about 44 million.

　　Although the Chinese Internet of Vehicles market has grown at a compound growth rate of more than 25% in recent years, it must also face the problems that have arisen in its development process. For example, from the perspective of pre-installed TSP, the profit model of the Internet of Vehicles business is unclear, and the renewal rate of consumer terminals is low. At present, the Internet of Vehicles configuration and assembly rate of models on sale in the Chinese market is still relatively low, only 13%, and another 2% of models are optional. Data shows that the proportion of Internet of Vehicles assembly and the price of the whole vehicle are positively correlated. With the launch of new models, the proportion of Internet of Vehicles assembly has also increased. The proportion of Internet of Vehicles configuration in new cars launched in 2017 reached 21%, higher than the 16% of new cars launched in 2016.

　　Introduction to key technologies and development paths of Internet of Vehicles

　　The key technologies of the Internet of Vehicles are distributed at three levels: "end-pipe-cloud". The "end" includes automotive electronics, vehicle operating systems, and transportation infrastructure; the "pipe" includes 4G/5G vehicle cellular communication technology, LTE-V2X and other wireless communication technologies; the technical core of the "cloud" level is the Internet of Vehicles platform that supports multiple services such as capability openness, connection management, and data management.

　　The overall technology route of the Internet of Vehicles is evolving towards intelligence and networking, and the two routes are advancing simultaneously and moving towards integration. In terms of the vehicle perception layer, the technological advancement is mainly reflected in new automotive electronics and operating systems. With the advancement of technology, sensor function integration, high-performance computing chips (GPU) and new human-computer interaction have become the development direction in automotive electronics; the in-vehicle operating system has developed from the original single function to a hierarchical, modular and platform-based intelligent direction.

　　OTA technology application is promoted

　　From in-car entertainment systems, on-demand mobile services to the future development of fully autonomous vehicles, connectivity plays an important role in driving the development of vehicle technology. At this stage, various manufacturers are committed to developing Over-the-Air (OTA) technology applications, which will not only change the vehicle software update and data management model, but will also become the basis for achieving the ultimate goal of fully autonomous driving.

　　OTA technology has made network applications more advanced. Driving software can be updated remotely just like a smartphone. Currently, most consumers must go to dealers to update software, which causes burden to car manufacturers and inconvenience to consumers.

　　It is worth noting that the application of OTA technology will not only completely change the pattern of vehicle software updates and data management, but will also become the foundation for the development of fully autonomous vehicles. Since the advent and adoption of fully autonomous vehicles will greatly change the mobility patterns of future consumers, car manufacturers have begun to invest in the development of technical applications such as artificial intelligence (AI), as well as new forms of transportation and improved user experience. Vehicle design is also facing a major transformation.

　　Tesla leads the way in OTA development, while traditional car companies accelerate their pace

　　In terms of OTA, Tesla is the first automaker to truly master OTA. Since 2013, Tesla has used OTA to update applications, maps, lights, voice, air suspension, etc., and has upgraded driving assistance functions including Autopilot.

　　In the past year, this unprecedented innovation has gradually become a trend. Traditional car companies have also begun to announce that they will use this more convenient update technology, and OTA will usher in a small peak of intensive application.

　　In 2016, BYD, a leader in new energy vehicles, reached a strategic partnership with Airlabi, which provides FOTA upgrade services for BYD electric vehicles to enhance users' car experience.

　　In November 2016, Toyota Motor announced that it would use OTA technology to update electronic control units (ECUs), thereby correcting ECU vulnerabilities as early as possible, and discussed adding new functions through OTA after the vehicle is launched on the market.

　　In January 2017, Volkswagen will use OTA technology to provide some functions, and car owners can obtain software upgrades such as navigation through subscription or trial.

　　In May 2017, Ford announced that it would use OTA technology to achieve software upgrades, adding Android Auto and Apple CarPlay systems to 2016 cars equipped with Sync 3. This is the first time Ford has used OTA for in-vehicle software upgrades.

　　In July 2017, Volvo signed a long-term cooperation agreement with HERE, selecting some Volvo owners to use OTA services to upgrade in-car maps.

　　In July 2017, GM announced that it would launch an infotainment system capable of over-the-air (OTA) updates by 2020.

　　At present, automakers mainly use OTA technology to update maps, applications, infotainment systems, etc. The forecast of consulting firm IHS also shows the same trend. They believe that the cost savings of automakers from OTA software updates will increase from US$2.7 billion in 2015 to US$35 billion in 2022. Most of the cost savings come from OTA updates to infotainment systems and telematics systems. ECUs that control engines, brakes and steering gears still have many of the above-mentioned challenges to overcome in terms of OTA.

　　Opportunities for OTA service providers

　　It is worth noting that in the field of new energy vehicles, especially in China, OTA service providers will have great opportunities, mainly in two aspects:

　　On the one hand, it is driven by policies. The Technical Specifications for Electric Vehicle Remote Service and Management System stipulate that from January 1, 2017, all newly produced new energy vehicles will be equipped with on-board terminals to monitor and manage the operating safety status of key systems such as the vehicle and power battery through the enterprise monitoring platform.

　　According to national standards, the safety status information of vehicles in the public service sector must be uploaded to the local monitoring platform. While the information is being supervised, batteries (mainly BMS), motors, and T-boxes will all generate OTA requirements. Adding self-checking, remote query, remote parameter setting, and remote upgrade functions on the vehicle side will also become a new trend.

　　Another aspect is the mastery of core technologies. Unlike traditional technologies, vehicle manufacturers have more opportunities to master some core technologies in the field of new energy vehicles. Implementing OTA in the field of new energy vehicles is also more controllable for vehicle manufacturers.

　　The development of smart car technology has brought new opportunities to OTA service providers. The number of vehicles upgraded and updated using OTA technology will grow in scale. While meeting the needs of OEMs, suppliers must try their best to reduce the cost of the entire system and meet the needs of supervising, updating and repairing vehicles. OTA is only one aspect of the Internet of Vehicles. This hot technology affects the construction of the entire Internet of Vehicles platform and even the transformation of the business model.

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