Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Business
  3. News

As connected cars become more common, will you need an in-car ad blocker?

By

usdot automation advisory group 54287771 aerial view of interstate traffic
jovannig / 123RF Stock Photo
While we wait for self-driving vehicles to appear on our roads, connected cars are already here in growing numbers. According to Gartner, by 2020 most new cars will have wireless connectivity. That connectivity works in both directions, from and to the vehicles, which opens possibilities for learning about vehicles and drivers, for communications, and for commerce and information services, according to TechCrunch.

Otonomo, a Herzliya, Israel-based startup, gathers data generated by connected cars currently on the road. The data, collected directly from automakers and auto industry equipment providers, can be combined in standard formats for use by a wide range of companies, agencies, and organizations. Otonomo recently raised $12 million in venture capital to scale up its technology and its business, TechCrunch reports.

Recommended Videos

According to Amit Karp, vice president of Bessemer Venture Partners, the leader in the funding round, Otonomo, by collecting and distributing collective data from connected cars, “will help bring new products and services to automotive and adjacent industries like insurance, smart cities, transportation and travel, or finance.”

Otonomo cleans up the collected data for automakers and then helps them make deals with municipalities and commercial services. According to Otonomo’s CEO and co-founder Ben Volkow, cities could use the data to place signage and control traffic lights for optimal safety, local companies could send coupons over the air to cars driving toward their locations, and insurance companies would receive driver and vehicle data directly from the vehicle itself in case of an accident.

Compliance with local, state, and national laws and business regulations to protect individual driver privacy and to work within all applicable legal and regulatory parameters is essential, and Otonomo has a continuously updated rules and laws policy engine that assures automakers or anyone else who uses the data they’re operating within the law.

According to Otonomo, “Drivers enjoy a new driving experience with full visibility and control over the services and applications enabled, and the data shared by their vehicles.”

Volkow also said carmakers want to work with Otonomo to develop a path to monetizing collected data, i part because Otonomo doesn’t compete with their core business — building and selling vehicles. As Karp said, “Otonomo is a neutral third party …”

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Bruce Brown
Bruce Brown
Contributing Editor
Digital Trends Contributing Editor Bruce Brown is a member of the Smart Homes and Commerce teams. Bruce uses smart devices…
How to increase your internet speed in 7 easy steps
Man working at a desk at home.

Nothing is more frustrating than having to contend with a slow internet connection. Fortunately, though, there are some things you can do to improve matters. Before you reach for your phone to upgrade your internet plan, give these 7 tips a try:

Reset your router
Manage your Wi-Fi channels
Remove signal-hogging devices from your network
Use an Ethernet connection
'Flush' your DNS
Switch to a faster browser
Add an extension to manage your cache

Read more
The 18 best VPN services for 2024, reviewed by experts
best VPN services

These days more and more of our daily lives and everyday tasks are conducted online. Which means that it only becomes increasingly imperative that you prioritize ensuring that your financial and personal information is protected from cybercriminals. Protecting yourself from identity theft or even hackers can seem daunting, but it doesn't have to be. Take it one step at a time.

And your first step can be something as simple as using a virtual private network (VPN). The good news is that a reliable VPN is one of the easiest, cheapest, and most effective ways to safeguard your online activities from unwanted network intruders.

Read more
What are mouse jigglers, and can they keep statuses active?
Undetectable Mouse Mover at a computer.

It makes sense that mouse jigglers have gained prominence alongside the recent rise in jobs becoming remote positions. If more workers are working from home and away from employers' direct supervision, employers are going to try to find new ways to supervise their remote employees. And those employees are going to push back against being monitored by their employers. Which is how you end up with products like mouse jigglers becoming popular.

This odd little tech solution is being used to thwart some types of micromanagement and help employees manage time on their own terms, among other solutions. But do mouse jigglers work? Are jigglers allowed in the workplace? Here’s everything you should know.
What are mouse jigglers?

Read more