{"id":102824,"date":"2016-01-12T17:54:03","date_gmt":"2016-01-12T22:54:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/?p=102824"},"modified":"2016-01-12T17:54:03","modified_gmt":"2016-01-12T22:54:03","slug":"toyota-partnership-could-give-connected-drivers-all-the-bandwidth-they-can-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/2016\/01\/toyota-partnership-could-give-connected-drivers-all-the-bandwidth-they-can-use\/","title":{"rendered":"Toyota Partnership Could Give Connected Drivers All the Bandwidth They Can Use"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Toyota is using a Mirai fuel-cell vehicle to test out the Kymeta satellite antennas.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bandwidth. In an era of connected cars, you can never get enough. And the number of 1s and 0s tomorrow\u2019s autonomous vehicles will consume could grow exponentially, according to technology specialists.<\/p>\n

Even with 5G, the next generation of cellphone technology, looming on the horizon, that may not be enough. But Toyota thinks it may have found an answer in the form of Kymeta Corp., a Washington State-based technology company that is developing a new type of satellite antenna that could deliver massive amounts to data to moving vehicles.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Your Data Source!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The challenge is to come up with a \u201csecure, high-bandwidth communications system\u201d that will work in a car, said Toyota Senior Managing Director Shigeki Tomoyama, during a news conference at the North American International Auto Show.<\/p>\n

(For complete coverage of the 2016 North American International Auto Show, <\/em>Click Here<\/span><\/a>.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/strong>Cell-based systems are slow \u2013 delivering data by the megabyte \u2013 and prone to dropouts and other disruptions. Satellite systems could potentially bump that up to the gigabytes, even terabytes, and improve communications reliability, Tomoyama said. The big problem: how to mount one of those big, dish-shaped satellite antennas on the roof of a car and then keep it pointed in the right direction.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
A closer look shows two Kymeta antennas in the roof of the Toyota Mirai.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kymeta\u2019s solution is a plate-like antenna measuring barely six inches across that could readily fit on or in a vehicle\u2019s roof. Based on technology first developed for the military, it used LCD technology, much like a TV, to rapidly aim itself at a network of high-power satellites. Even if a car does briefly lose signal, so much data is downloaded a user likely wouldn\u2019t notice if they were listening to music or watching a video, said Nathan Kundtz, Kymeta\u2019s president and CEO.<\/p>\n

The ability to move massive amounts of data in \u2013 and out \u2013 of a vehicle would support not only the latest infotainment systems, he said, but wireless vehicle updates, connected-car technology, even the most data-sucking of tomorrow\u2019s autonomous vehicle systems.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is to change the way your vehicle communicates globally, securely and cost-effectively,\u201d said Kundtz.<\/p>\n

The system is not quite ready for prime-time. It has just signed a deal with Toyota, the Japanese maker investing $5 million to help develop the Kymeta antenna system. The company just finished another round of funding, meanwhile, with Microsoft founder Bill Gates among its largest investors.<\/p>\n

(NHTSA planning to announce move to spur autonomous vehicle development, other safety breakthroughs. <\/em>Click Here<\/span><\/a> for the breaking story.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Toyota has an exclusive deal, but only during the development phase. After that it hopes to line up a number of automotive customers.<\/p>\n

Kundtz said it is far too early to discuss costs, though he hinted the system is \u201cexpected to have a lower price\u201d of operation than current technologies such as 4G LTE systems.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Kymeta CEO Nathan Kundtz and Toyota Sr. Managing Officer Shigeki Tomoyama.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The antenna itself would be mounted in the roof of a vehicle \u2013 but because its signal can\u2019t penetrate metal, it would have to be in an alternative material such as fiberglass or carbon fiber. Asked if the Kymet antenna could be built into a glass sunroof and made transparent, Kundtz dropped a tantalizing hint. \u201cNot yet,\u201d he said with a broad smile, before quickly changing the subject.<\/p>\n

The system has been undergoing testing for several years and will likely need several more before coming to market.<\/p>\n

That could work out well. Currently, the antennas have to aim at a network of geo-stationary satellite, but it will soon have access to \u201ca wide range of satellites,\u201d Stephen Spengler, the CEO of Intelsat, told TheDetroitBureau.com. The largest provider of satellite-based telecomm services, Intelsat is just launching a new network of \u201cbirds\u201d operating in a lower Earth orbit. That would make the Kymeta antennas even more effective, he said.<\/p>\n

(Lexus hopes to put sporty LF-FC fuel cell car into production by 2020. <\/em>Click Here<\/span><\/a> to check it out.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bandwidth. In an era of connected cars, you can never get enough. But Toyota may have a solution, a flat, dish-sized satellite antenna hidden in the roof of a car but able to down or upload terabytes of data cheaper than cellphone systems. More from TheDetroitBureau.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":102829,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"make":[],"post-state":[],"category_old":[151],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102824"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102824"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102824\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102824"},{"taxonomy":"make","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/make?post=102824"},{"taxonomy":"post-state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-state?post=102824"},{"taxonomy":"category_old","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category_old?post=102824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}