Big Data from Your Car

"The typical new car today generates 15 gigabytes (10⁹) of information per hour - a number that's climbing as sensors proliferate. A little back-of-the-napkin figuring suggests that 250 million such vehicles would produce around 2000 exabytes (0.002 yottabyte) per year, most of which never leave the car. But that's changing." So said Frank Markus in the September 2013 edition of Motor Trend magazine. His article titled, "You Car's Contribution to the 'Big Data' Cloud," does a nice job in explaining the immense amount of digital data generated by a new car's computer system. The numbers include everything from tire pressure sensors sending metrics via Bluetooth to fuel injection and entertainment systems. Smart headlights, auto-dimming rear view mirrors, self-parking algorithms and gesture sensing make it easy to believe the numbers. Coming soon to a vehicle near you is a personal health vital signs monitor that communicates heart rate, blood pressure, glucose level, etc., to warn of impending heart attack, anxiety attack, or other ailment that could impair your ability to safely navigate. The computer could even pull your car to the side of the road and call 911. Of course if it detects alcohol or illicit drug presence, it could lock the doors, windows, and seat belt, and call the police while pulling to the side of the road.

In another article, the author (not Markus) makes a noble attempt, but fails, at calculating the total number of combinations possible with three available settings for each of five different controls. He claims 125 combinations, which is 5³, but the real number is 243, which is 3⁵.

Posted November 6, 2013

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Kirt Blattenberger,

BSEE - KB3UON

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