Picture this: You're driving home from work, contemplating what to make for dinner, and as you idle at a red light near your neighbourhood pizzeria, an ad offering $5 (roughly Rs. 320) off a pepperoni pie pops up on your dashboard screen.
Are you annoyed that your car's trying to sell you something, or pleasantly persuaded? Telenav, a company developing in-car advertising software, is betting you won't mind much. Car companies-looking to earn some extra money-hope so, too.
Automakers have been installing wireless connections in vehicles and collecting data for decades. But the sheer volume of software and sensors in new vehicles, combined with artificial intelligence[1] that can sift through data at ever-quickening speeds, means new services and revenue streams are quickly emerging. The big question for automakers now is whether they can profit off all the driver data they're capable of collecting without alienating consumers or risking backlash from Washington.
"Carmakers recognise they're fighting a war over customer data," said Roger Lanctot, who works with automakers on data monetisation as a consultant for Strategy Analytics. "Your driving behaviour, location, has monetary value, not unlike your search activity."
Carmakers' ultimate objective, Lanctot said, is to build a database of consumer preferences that could be aggregated and sold to outside vendors for marketing purposes, much like Google[2] and Facebook[3] do today.
Auto executives emphasise that data-crunching will allow them to build a better driving experience-enabling cars to predict flat tires, find a parking space or charging station, or alert city managers to dangerous intersections where there are frequent accidents. Data collection could even help shield drivers from crime, Ford's[4] chief executive officer said last month at the CES[5] technology...