Transportation Applications of IoT – Smarter Rides, Safer Roads
In this article, we will go over various IoT applications used in transportation. We shall first look at how IoT can help improve transportation and then at ten fascinating transportation applications of IoT. So buckle up, and read till the end of the article!
IoT Uses in Transportation
Traffic is one of the most significant issues in today’s world. Coming from a city with one of the worst traffics in the world (Bangalore – India), I sometimes feel that is why government agencies are taking their own sweet time to implement traffic-avoiding technologies.
There are hundreds and thousands of such technologies. Let us look at some such traffic-avoiding IoT technologies and some other applications.
1. Connected Cars
Smart driverless connections are the ultimate solution for reducing traffic drastically. These cars are connected over a network and can communicate with each other.
These cars can communicate and share various data, like traffic, accidents, better and shorter routes, and more. Autonomous cars make the most out of “connected vehicles” as they can learn from each other’s mistakes. This is what we call fleet learning.
Fleet learning has already been implemented by many gigantic car companies like Tesla, Mercedes, GM, Volvo, and more. As a result, vehicles can constantly improve as they learn from the data collected by not only one car but every car in the network.
2. Rail and Mass Transit
Another excellent way of reducing traffic is to provide better and smart public transportation. In this section, let us discuss rail, and in the subsequent sections, we shall address other modes of public transport.
Today, the systems used in railways are older methods of technology which makes processes slow. However, IoT provides better performance systems, monitoring, and control, leading to better improvisation, execution, and issue handling.
MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) faces the problem of being an option rather than a larger service. It is why IoT is helping integrate MRTs to produce better standards. IoT also enhances services like scheduling timings, customer care, quick response, management, and cleanliness.
3. Security in Public Transport
One reason why people opt for Private transport instead of public transport is because of various security concerns. However, one of the major areas where IoT is proving useful in public transport is security.
Municipalities can track traffic violations and take appropriate actions by keeping an eye on every transport with the help of IoT devices. IoT also aids in security inside vehicles. With the help of IoT cameras, every minute is recorded and stored in the cloud. With powerful AI and ML algorithms, these IoT devices can predict actions and use facial recognition to spot ex-convicts or wanted criminals.
4. Better Public Transportation Services
IoT in public transportation has more applications than just security. Some other services IoT is capable of providing are vehicle logistic solutions, passenger information systems, automated fare collection, integrated ticketing, and many more. All of these applications help in managing public transport and traffic congestion.
With the help of IoT, real-time public transport management has become possible, and agencies can now provide better communication with passengers and necessary information through passenger information displays and mobile devices. One example of this is live tracking your bus so that you will know when to be at the stop and not have to call the driver again and again.
5. Commercial Transportation
All commercial transportation companies have only one goal. It is satisfying the needs of their customers. Using the latest cutting-edge technology, these companies can change profit margins by a considerable percentage.
One such example is cargo monitoring systems that help track the package from shipment to delivery as they provide real-time location of packages and notify the company in case of an emergency. Thus with the help of IoT, there will be a constant flow of information in commercial transportation.
6. Road Safety
IoT cameras and sensors can also look for traffic violations. If these sensors find any, they will automatically run the plates of the vehicle, obtain the driver’s contact information, and send a notification to pay a fine.
This will both be effective and also reduce human intervention and bribes. However, authorities can intervene if the person who violated the traffic law ignores this notification.
In case of accidents, the cameras can automatically call the nearest hospital and send the accurate location of the accident sites along with pictures.
7. Entertainment and Information in Automobiles
Most high-end cars have sensors like tire pressure monitors, fuel monitors, and many other automotive telemetry sensors. These sensors can be connected over a network and share various information with the user through a mobile app.
It comes in handy during a malfunction, as these sensors can automatically alert the nearest services centre. Using IoT and mobile apps, we can remotely start and stop the vehicles and set the desired temperature before getting inside the car.
We can also use voice commands inside the vehicle to change songs, temperature, and lights. In addition, the GPS tracker can constantly track your car, automatically alert you, and call the police if stolen.
8. Autonomous Cars
We have already seen how “fleet learning” improves autonomous cars, but IoT plays an even bigger role in driverless cars. We all know that autonomous cars have a lot of sensors. Some of them are LIDAR, RADAR, Ultrasonic sensors, cameras, GNSS, and odometry sensors.
All these sensors are connected and work harmoniously by using IoT. Together, they collect valuable information and send it to the cloud to process the data. The cloud processes this data and sends it back to all the cars connected to the network. The topic of autonomous cars is exceptionally vast and has various applications of IoT.
9. Automated Toll Gates
The old method of collecting tolls on roads was highly inconvenient. It took a lot of time to collect money and return the exact change manually. So this system was inefficient and caused a lot of traffic near toll booths.
However, we have smarter and faster toll gates with modern technology and IoT. Today, many cars are fitted with an RFID tag that the scanner at the toll booth reads and collects the amount. However, with the number of cars on the road increasing daily, this also proves insufficient.
Another alternative is to fit cars with IoT connectivity which can be detected by the toll gate a kilometre away. If people are using old cars, their smartphones can do the same job as cars (paying through a digital wallet).
10. Transportation Monitoring System
Using IoT, we can have systems like transportation monitoring that reduce the risks and improve the quality. These monitoring systems provide real-time information on the cooling condition in the warehouse and truck, the traffic conditions, information about the driver and vehicle, and so much more.
These IoT applications are great for avoiding traffic and reducing accidents. However, there are so many more applications that do the same. Thousands of companies are researching and developing IoT systems and ideas to be implemented in the transportation industry.
Summary
You have now learned many applications where the transportation sector can use IoT to avoid traffic and road safety. In this article, we have seen ten fantastic examples, like connected cars, automated toll gates, road safety, autonomous cars, transportation monitoring, and so on.