By 2025, highly automated driving will save the average frequent driver in the United States, Germany or China almost 100 hours per year, according to a study that Bosch recently commissioned.
In purely technical terms, communication control units such as the Bosch Central Gateway make connectivity possible. The Gateway is a hub that ensures communication with all domains across all data buses. ETAS and ESCRYPT, which are both part of the Bosch Group, provide the transmission and encryption solutions. These ensure that cloud-based vehicle software updates can be carried out securely throughout the vehicle’s service life. If the car communicates with its surroundings, security updates must be carried out on a regular basis.
When communicating with its surroundings, the car also takes on important tasks in the connected city. For instance, with community-based parking, the car is becoming a parking spot locator. When driving along the street, the car detects gaps between parked cars. The data gathered is then transmitted to a digital street map.
High-performance Bosch algorithms assess the plausibility of the data and make forecasts on the parking spot situation. A cloud-based service that uses this data to create a real-time parking map saves the driver a great deal of time and money, and also helps reduce stress. Pilot projects in the U.S. are planned for 2017. In cooperation with Mercedes-Benz, Bosch is currently testing the community-based parking concept in metropolitan Stuttgart.
