Connected and Autonomous Driving

The articles in this special section examine the market for autonomous and connected vehicles. The automotive industry is transitioning toward connected, autonomous, and electric vehicles; offering contextual, intelligent, and personal consumer experiences; and innovating disruptive ecosystems and business models such as car sharing and hailing services. All of these are primarily driven by fast-moving technology and innovations from 5G communication, cloud and edge computing platforms to artificial intelligence and big data. These changes are predicted to dominate our lives in about 10 years, leading to significant consumer and business values, including improved traffic and safety, smart journey management, cleaner environments, intelligent and personal mobility experiences, and competitive cost management. Similar to companies like Apple, Google, and Baidu heavily investing in connected and autonomous vehicles, car manufacturers are moving to be more like software companies in their use of big data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to understand the driving context and consumer behavior. These days, a car is not just for going from point A to point B; rather, it delivers a holistic experience that revolves around our daily activities, with the future being the autonomous vehicle.