Toyota Partners Up With Kymeta For The Connected Car Future
To the disappointment of many, Toyota didn’t unveil any new models at the 2016 Detroit Auto Show. The Japanese manufacturer actually used their gigantic stand, open during the second press day, to announce their new partnership with Kymeta, a firm that specializes in satellite data transmission.
As we know, connected cars that exchange data represent the future of motoring. As Kymeta CEO Dr. Nathan Kundtz pointed out, connected cars are stuck using a cellular network for the time being, which has a weak signal, is slow and unable to quickly process a large volume of data.
The problem is if connected cars want more transmission speed, they must use a satellite network, which requires the installation of a big parabolic antenna on the car’s roof.
That was the case before now.
Kymeta developed a new type of flat antenna, which uses advanced software to measure and follow satellite position. That eliminates the need for a big parabolic unit, a geometric object that concentrates all the waves that hit it onto a precise point.
Toyota saw something interesting in Kymeta’s antenna, and collaboration was established in order to equip some of its cars with satellite network access in a few years. That will allow the collection of hundreds of data points which could help prevent accidents, inform drivers of imminent danger and provide entertainment to the vehicle’s passengers.
Kymeta mentioned a service that would offer more than 1,000 gigabytes of data a month for users, which is considerable given that a current six-gigabyte data plan on a cell phone can be qualified as impressive. In addition, satellite connections are said to be more stable and more secure.
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