From near-instantaneous traffic updates to alerts when another vehicle stops short or violates a red light, new and proliferating wireless sources of real-time information have begun to revolutionize the driving experience and represent the building blocks of a safer and better transportation environment.

Building vehicles that are best equipped to capitalize on the deployment of 5G and in-vehicle Ethernet is a demanding proposition, while communicating with drivers demands a better understanding of their needs, clearer user interfaces and improvements in driver monitoring systems, according to V2X: A Roadmap for Saving Lives, a new report produced jointly by Strategy Analytics and Molex, LLC.

Roger Lanctot, co-author and Director, Automotive, Strategy Analytics, said: “Until now, the intersection between cars and connectivity has been virtually non-existent. However, there is a growing sense within the automotive industry that pre-5G LTE-based connectivity in the form of C-V2X is about to revolutionize our understanding of the value of connecting cars. Enabling cars to ‘see’ pedestrians is something of an industry Holy Grail. C-V2X, would enable so-equipped cars to more accurately sense the presence of pedestrians by detecting their C-V2X (or 5G enabled) smartphones. As C-V2X proliferates through mobile devices and eventually cars, vehicles will increasingly be able to detect other vehicles and pedestrians.”

Kevin Nolan, co-author and VP, UX Innovation Practice, Strategy Analytics, said: “But defining the end-customer value proposition is essential to driving the adoption of any new technology. Consumers want to know what the needs and benefits are to them, especially when they are being asked to pay higher prices for new features. As Strategy Analytics has found in multiple consumer studies, the automotive industry is having a tough time convincing customers of the value of their latest innovations — we have identified first hand, that a substantial level of ambivalence and even skepticism towards these offerings exists.”

Nolan added: “As we move towards a future with more connected and autonomous functionality, vehicle manufacturers and their partners must learn some critical lessons from past failures if they are to win over consumer confidence. The stakes could not be higher; getting this right is crucial to saving lives.”