It’s a fascinating topic in a variety of contexts. But for us, the most compelling thing to watch may be how this new age of driverless cars will impact parking in cities like Chicago. Join us for a discussion on the evolution of autonomous driving, the continued (but changing) needs for parking spots, and a look at what the future may hold.

Some Definitions to Start

One of the most difficult aspects of discussing this topic tends to be the various terms. It’s tempting, for example, to consider driverless, autonomous and connected interchangeably. In reality, though, the differences between these terms are subtle but important:

• Connected cars. The first step of the driverless evolution is already in existence today. Connected cars communicate both with the driver, and with other cars on the road to improve safety for all. Features include brake and parking assistants, real-time route calculations, and more.
• Autonomous cars. As the name suggests, autonomous vehicles can navigate most everyday traffic situations on their own. Drivers can and should still interject as needed, but in well-known traffic areas, Tesla (and a handful of other cars) can already drive relatively well on their own.
• Driverless cars describe the potential end point of the technology. They are connected to a larger network, and can drive entirely on their own; in fact, they won’t require a driver at all. Google’s Waymo prototype is the closest we have gotten to this technology so far.

The State of the Driverless Market

We’re at an exciting but also uncertain point of the driverless explosions. As mentioned above, only prototypes of the above-mentioned final step of the process exist. At the same time, the technology is now advanced enough that within a few years, driverless will move from a novelty to a well-known (if expensive) alternative.

In fact, some estimates put the sales of fully autonomous vehicles at $6 billion and partially autonomous vehicles at $36 billion by 2025. Experts believe that by 2030, we should see an adoption rate of at least 30% among car-owning consumers.

We’re not there yet. In fact, a recent survey showed that almost half (49%) of motorists in the UK are not interested in the technology. Given the benefits of driverless cars, from safer roads to traffic efficiency, that number will begin to drop as the technology becomes more easily available. In the meantime, it’s up to startups like us to determine just how this fast-growing market will impact parking, especially in urban areas like Chicago.

The Need for Parking in Crowded Areas

Anyone familiar with Chicago parking apps of any kind is already familiar with a problem shared by countless others in metropolitan areas. Parking is an annoying complication of everyday life. In addition to countless local news stories outlining the issues, Chicago has actually been named the Worst Place to Park a Car based on both high cost and low availability of spots. Other metropolitan areas, of course, are not far behind.

And yet, parking is crucial. If you own a car, you need to find a place for it. Given that the average car is idle 95% of the time, the parking spot should be a crucial consideration for any vehicle owner.

At the same time, lack of space is not necessarily a problem. A recent study found that the United States has roughly 1 billion parking spots, four times as many as vehicles existing in the country today. Lack of space is not the issue; finding the right parking spot quickly and easily is.

That’s what makes markets like Chicago so perfect for parking apps and startups like ours. We help homeowners, property managers, and REITs take advantage of the space they already own, while providing better parking possibilities for drivers. Driverless parking will change that dynamic, but it will not eliminate it.

Evolving Parking Needs in the Age of Driverless Cars

Driverless cars will streamline traffic, and improve convenience for all that take advantage of it. The need to own your own vehicle will be reduced, and with less cars on the road, fewer parking spots will be necessary. As researcher Alain Kornhause told PC World last year,

“the biggest impact (of autonomous vehicles) is going to be on parking. We aren’t going to need it, definitely not in the places we have it now… If I go to a football game, my car doesn’t need to stay with me. If I’m at the office, it doesn’t need to be there. The current shopping center with the sea of parking around it—that’s dead.”

It’s a natural conclusion: if you don’t own a car, you don’t have to worry about parking it. But at the same time, these cars still need a space where they can be kept until they’re needed again. Parking is still necessary; just different.

For starters, as ChicagoInno points out, transportation needs will need to be customized depending on their audience. A high-profile real estate developer, for example, will probably require a different service (and car) than a college student just trying to get to campus. That degree of customization will require a higher number of individual self-driving cars, available to a multitude of audiences at short notice.

Especially if you’re renting out your parking spot through an app like ParqEx, driverless cars could present another opportunity. Now, you can rent the space not to individuals, but to autonomous vehicle companies looking to ‘store’ their cars before the next trip. Ideal parking spots would likely be in residential areas, making your spaces a perfect base for their needs.

A Long-Term Solution to a Persistent Problem

We’re not there yet. Autonomous driving has captured the headlines consistently over the past few months and even years, but has not yet reached a point of go-to-market readiness for the transportation area. And even when it does, adoption will be slowly, and we may not get to see a 100% adoption rate of driverless cars for another 80 years.

But at the same time, the technology is undoubtedly advancing. Google and Uber are expanding their test markets, and Tesla is already rolling out semi-autonomous platforms on all of its vehicles. If you’re planning to monetize your space for parking spots, understanding the future of this technology is crucial for long-term viability.

Parking, especially in urban areas, is a problem. The bad news for car owners, and the good news for you if you’re renting out space, is that it won’t stop being a problem anytime soon. As long as people want to visit your area, they’ll need parking spots, whether that be for their own vehicles of the driverless alternatives that got them there.

And when that happens, you can monetize the opportunity with a connected car app like ParqEx. In fact, our Private Parking Marketplace allows you to make money from your vacant space if you have it, or easily find parking alternatives if you need them. Contact us to learn more and sign up.

The post The Evolution of Parking in a World of Driverless Cars appeared first on ParqEx.

Traffic congestion and parking availability are real problems for most large developed cities, yet bright tech companies are developing innovative services to integrate connected cars with the connected real estate – in an effort to: change the real estate tech landscape through the evolution of connected cars.

Evolving Connected Cars

What does this “connected” really mean? Basically, it means online connection and integration with the surrounding real estate tech: parking garages, driver-less cars, online cars, residential and commercial parking spaces, mass transit, delivery services, government oversight, etc.

According to Wikipedia:

“A connected car is a car that is equipped with Internet access, and usually also with a wireless local area network. This allows the car to share the internet access with other devices both inside as well as outside the vehicle.”

Along comes the rapidly advancing cloud and mobile computing technologies, transforming the connected car’s capabilities with mobile apps and remote access; the cloud and mobile devices are giving connected car owners enhanced: convenience, security, functionality, and comfort in their day-to-day use – not to mention the option to not even drive or own a car (driver-less cars).

For instance, here are some features of cloud based connected cars, explained by Wikipedia:

“Increasingly, Connected Cars (and especially electric cars) are taking advantage of the rise of smartphones, and apps are available to interact with the car from any distance. Users can unlock their cars, check the status of batteries on electric cars, find the location of the car, or remotely activate the climate control system.”

Also, mobile apps are being used by connected car real estate tech to:

– find parking spaces

– get rides

– rent private vehicles

– deliver commercial or residential packages

– integrate parking garages online

– integrate driverless cars online

– connect all other real estate tech services to the connected car’s functionality.

Connected cars are evolving in tandem with the real estate tech around them; for instance, diverless cars (the ultimate connected car) present tangible solutions, yet still won’t be adopted by the masses until a streamlined system is set-up to facilitate start to end transportation – including parking.

Parking and Connected Cars

Driverless cars are the future for connected cars, and the technological and physical infrastructure to facilitate its mass adoption are being developed now. This is the topic discussed in a recent article found in online publication ChicagoInno, called: “How Are Parking Startups Preparing for a World With Driverless Cars?”, written on June 8, 2016 by Jim Dallke.

Lauren Isaac, Manager of Sustainable Transportation, has some interesting driverless car predictions, as the article explains:

“Predictions vary on when driverless cars will become a reality. Isaac believes we’ll see autonomous vehicles publicly available around 2018-2020, and 30%- 40% adoption rate by 2030. And we may not see 100% adoption until 2080 or 2090, if we get there at all.”

These driverless cars still need various parking locations to facilitate quick service to an entire area. The ParqEx App, for instance, would provide a parking platform for owners of driverless cars to use for optimal logistics. Finding parking solutions with technologies, like ParqEx, and integrating parking facilities online with the surrounding real estate tech, are both vital components in the evolution of connected cars, especially driverless cars.

Summary

The sharing economy is being developed using: mobile app and cloud computing technologies. The availability of Internet access has dramatically increased since mobile and cloud computing technologies have become readily accessible for nearly everyone in America. This is changing the way businesses operate and society interacts.

The evolution of connected cars is integral to the sharing economy, including logistical solutions like: delivery, transportation, and parking – all involving connected cars. Driverless cars will be a viable option for the masses only when parking arrangements are facilitated with automated online solutions. Ultimately, the evolution of connected cars is: driverless cars integrated into the real estate tech surrounding their day-to-day functionality.

Please contact us to learn more about connected cars and our parking solutions for them.

The post How the Evolution of Connected Cars is Changing the Real Estate Tech Landscape appeared first on ParqEx.

While it’s impossible to predict with real certainty what the Internet will evolve to include next, connected cars are likely on the list.

What Are Connected Cars?

Connected cars are, in short, cars that have Internet access, and usually their own mobile Internet hotspot installed in them. This means that the car is constantly online, and that access can be shared with other devices in the car. So, if you have a connected car, you can watch Netflix on a tablet, or check your social media on your phone even if your phone isn’t connected to a data plan. You can also interact with your car from a mobile device, so if you want to unlock the doors, or kick on the automatic starter, you can do that from your smartphone or other mobile device.

Connected cars aren’t a theoretical upgrade, or something you can only find in the research and development lab, either. They’re on the streets right now, and if you pay attention to any luxury car commercials, an Internet connection is the latest feature trying to catch the consumer’s eye. And, while it might seem like an unnecessary expense, there’s more to connected cars than being the latest gadget. They may, in fact, be the future of our transportation.

The Advantages of Connected Cars

Connected cars are more than just a convenience. They are, in a very real sense, the next stage of what cars can be. A connected car can, for example, notify a driver of unsafe conditions on the road ahead. Connected cars can call for an ambulance or police when there’s been a wreck, and if a car is stolen then it can be traced using its Internet connection.

In short, making cars smarter is more likely to lead to safer, smoother, better connected traffic in the world of tomorrow where connected cars are much more commonplace than they are now.

The Challenges of Connected Cars

While connected cars hold a lot of promise, that doesn’t mean there aren’t still challenges to be overcome, and problems to plan for. For example, there’s the looming specter of platform war, and the question of whether or not cars on different platforms will be able to interact with one another. Or, alternatively, if cars will be more like video game consoles, and only able to use certain content from certain providers.

These questions will affect not just motorists, but also the companies creating programs and apps for their use. For example, take the Parqex app. This app allows drivers to find parking spaces, and to pay for them via their smartphones. For drivers with a connected car, it would make sense to have an app like this handy so they could pull right into a parking space, and pay for it with no fuss. However, if there’s competition to make different connected cars unique, then it will mean either that only certain vehicles will be able to access the app, or different versions of it will need to be made.

That’s a snapshot of the sort of changes and challenges that could affect the market. Will it be open and free, allowing drivers to use whatever programs they want, or will there be a butting of heads between the car manufacturers and companies designing the apps drivers need? For more information on the connected cars revolution, simply contact us today!

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