One of the exciting things about the future of big data is that it will likely start acting more like a living system when products like the self-driving car mature in the marketplace. Instead of needing to correlate the differences, the analytical infrastructure will allow data that is accruing to be analyzed and acted upon automatically. That type of future should be reassuring for most insurance companies that will now only have hacking to worry about when it comes to serious accidents and large payouts.
Data mining that makes sense
Most people have noticed that the amount of privacy that they have in their lives is continuously shrinking. Part of this is due to convenience, while another part is due to additional security that takes away individual freedoms in order to provide the entire neighborhood, town, or community with better protection.
Because the tech industry has already set up the type of licensing that makes users of smartphones and tablets that are in cars or connected to them subject to wide-scale data gathering, the new auto manufacturers are scrambling to put together sophisticated programs that take advantage of the data that they are allowed to gather.
Insurance industry faces a great deal of change
Another group that will be affected by additional data gathering is the insurance industry. In most cases, the statistics will likely show that there is a need to adjust insurance rates downward ”the roads will be safer because there will be more self-driving cars on the road. At the same time, insurance firms will need to be cognizant of the dangers associated with self-driving cars ”so the insurance companies will likely also be interested in the information obtained from through data gathering.
Insurance industry vendors will also see changes. It is easy to imagine a Florida driving school starting to offer courses on how to handle sharing the road with self-driving vehicles. In fact, it stands to reason that people who do not take revised courses that explain how to drive on the same road as automated vehicles will probably see their insurance rates go up.
Sensors outside the car are a big opportunity
Although many areas in California have sensor networks that track cars illegally, there are many companies lined up to set themselves up to gather data the right way once more cars on the road are self-driving.
The upside for vendors is that they will be able to extend their consumer behavior zones outside of their stores to the road system and beyond. Knowing what schedule self-driving vehicles are following, for example, can give businesses a good picture of what to expect in local areas. Vendors can also rely upon the data purchased from auto manufacturers that have embedded data collection equipment mounted inside cars.
Challenges remain
Laws exist that protect the rights of consumers. This makes some of the data gathering going on currently technically illegal ”regardless of whether or not the police actually enforce the laws as they are written.
In addition, there is still a lot of flux when it comes to states and communities setting hard and fast data collection and radar rules for scenarios that will be encountered but may not have happened yet.
Overall, the fact that there are going to be several manufacturers providing self-driving cars for use or sale means there is a very good chance that the data collected will be used in a positive way to help car users have a safer journey.
