A connected carコネクテッドカー is a car that uses its onboard communication function通信機能 to link to external servers and send and receive data.
The car itself becomes one of the IoT devices on the internet, sending driving records and its own condition and receiving traffic congestion information and map updates. It can also report an accident automatically, or have its software rewritten remotely after it has been sold.
AnalogyJust as a phone that could only make calls became a smartphone linked to outside services, the car has gone from a machine for driving to a device on the network.
How to rememberConnected means linked, so the name itself reads as a car that is linked to the outside.
Exam points
ExamA connected carコネクテッドカー sends data collected while driving to external servers, then receives the information the servers have processed and uses it to assist driving and other tasks.
Mix-upAn electric vehicle電気自動車 runs on a battery and a motor, a name based on its power source. A connected car is defined on a different axis, whether it links to the outside by communication, and some cars are both.
Autonomous driving自動運転 is technology in which a systemシステム takes the place of a person to watch the surroundings, make decisions and even operate the car.
Perception (sensors capture the surroundings)
Decision (AI or similar decides how to proceed)
Control (steering, acceleration and braking)
Following that decision, the machine moves the steering wheel, accelerator and brakes.
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Human driving is a flow of perception (sensing what is around), decision (choosing how to move) and control (moving the steering wheel and pedals). Autonomous driving hands this flow to sensors, AI and control units, and how much is handed over is expressed by autonomous driving levels自動運転レベル.
AnalogyPicture a robot vacuum that maps the room, plans its path and moves on its own, scaled up to the size of a car on the road.
Exam points
Mix-upAutonomous driving自動運転 hands the driving operations to a system, which is a separate matter from whether the car is online. Some systems make their decisions using only the car's own sensors, with no communication at all.
Autonomous driving levels自動運転レベル are a classification that uses numbered stages to show how much of the driving the systemシステム handles.
Level
Who handles driving
What it roughly means
0
Driver
No driving automation by the system
1
Driver
The system assists with either steering or speed, not both
2
Driver
The system assists with both steering and speed; the driver watches the surroundings at all times
3
System (within conditions)
The system drives within set conditions, and the driver takes over when asked to
4
System (within conditions)
Within set conditions, the system drives without relying on the driver to take over
5
System
The system does all the driving with no limits on conditions
In one widely used scheme, for example, Level 0 means no automation, and the higher the number, the more the system handles, until at the top, Level 5, the system drives anywhere under any conditions. The conditions here are the rules for when the system may drive, such as the type of road, the weather and the speed range.
AnalogyIt is like driving school: first the instructor drives to show you, then you take the wheel while the instructor watches beside you, and finally you drive alone, with more handed over at each stage.
Exam points
ExamAt Level 3レベル3, the system handles driving as long as set conditions are met. When the system can no longer continue and asks for a handover, however, the driver takes over.
Mix-upUp to Level 2レベル2, the driver is still responsible for driving even when the system assists. From Level 3, the system takes on the driving within set conditions.
Mix-upAt Level 4レベル4, the system handles all the driving within limited operating conditions, and at Level 5レベル5 there is no such limit.
CASE is a term that sums up the directions in which the auto industry is changing, using the initials頭文字 of four English words.
CASE
C: Connected (linked by communication)
A: Autonomous (self-driving)
S: Shared & Services (sharing and use as a service)
E: Electric (electrification)
The four letters stand for Connected (linked to networks), Autonomous (driving by itself), Shared & Services (shared use and use as a service) and Electric (running on electricity). They are not four separate technologies but are discussed as one trend, combining with each other to change how cars are built and used.
AnalogyA compass that marks on one map the four directions carmaking is heading in.
How to rememberA case is a box: picture one with four compartments, one for each trend.
Exam points
Mix-upThe E in CASE is Electric, meaning electrification: switching the car's power to electricity.
MaaS (Mobility as a Service) is the idea of combining multiple means of transport, such as trains, buses and taxis, so they can be used as a single serviceサービス.
From a single app or similar, users can look up a route from start to destination and complete booking and payment without handling each mode of transport separately. The underlying idea is to use travel as a service when you need it, instead of owning a car in order to get around.
AnalogyLike a travel agency that arranges the train, hotel and shuttle bus in one booking, everyday trips with transfers get arranged in a single step.
How to rememberThe name takes SaaS (Software as a Service) and swaps Software for Mobility.
Exam points
Mix-upCar sharingカーシェアリング lets several people jointly use one car and is one means of transport. MaaS is the idea of combining such means and offering them together.
CASE vs. MaaS
Aspect
CASE
MaaS
Key differenceWhat it is
Four directions of change the auto industry is heading in
The idea of bundling multiple means of transport into one service
Wireless power supplyワイヤレス給電 is technology that sends power to a device without contact非接触, with no wire connected.
One method, for example, uses a magnetic field between a coil on the sending side and one on the receiving side, and a smartphone that charges just by being set on a pad is a familiar case. For electric vehicles, methods are being developed that embed the sending device in the parking space so the car charges simply by being parked there.
AnalogyLike a container that fills with water just by being set on a supply stand that pours it in, instead of being plugged into an outlet.
How to rememberWireless is wire plus less: power supply with no wire.
Exam points
Mix-upWireless power supplyワイヤレス給電 receives power without contact from a sending device, whereas energy harvestingエネルギーハーベスティング turns small amounts of energy taken from surrounding light, vibration, temperature differences and the like into electricity, so the source of the power differs.
A connected car is the car itself turned into an IoT device, exchanging the data it collects with external servers and using it for services.
Autonomous driving hands the flow of perception, decision and control to a system, and how far that goes is shown by the numbers of the autonomous driving levels.
At Level 3, the system handles driving within set conditions, and the driver takes over when the system asks for a handover.
The four letters of CASE are the initials of Connected, Autonomous, Shared & Services and Electric.
Wireless power supply delivers power without wires, and one use is making electric vehicles less of a chore to charge.