IBM Raises Profile on IoT and Connected Cars

Big Blue is hitting the accelerator on connected car technology.

IBM is sending its executives to appear at conferences a month after releasing a cloud-based service for automakers that is designed to use the Internet of Things (IoT) so cars can communicate with their owners.

IBM’s IoT for Automotive product will gather data from sensors installed in the vehicle, analyze the information, and let the owner know she needs to change the oil, or communicate with a third-party like a garage or a parking lot, IBM announced.

IBM has been working for several years on connected-vehicle communications systems with German-based auto-technology provider Continental.

Next month, IBM will be presenting at the Connected Fleets USA Conference in Atlanta, discussing the Smart City and its impact on fleets.

Calvin Lawrence, CTO of analytic solutions at IBM, will discuss Smarter Cities for Smarter Infrastructure. In a press release Lawrence says, “(A)s citizens themselves continue to be more socially capable and mobile - their expectation is that the cities in which they live will be fit for purpose. This is especially true for the fleet industry which relies on the efficiency of cities to keep logistics running.”

The connected fleets confab is put on by TU-Automotive and runs Nov. 16-17 in the Grand Hyatt.