We live in a technologically advanced world, where self-drive driverless cars are not only a possibility, but a reality.
But can these automated cars influence Big Data as we know it today?

How is Big Data Technologies connected to these autonomous cars?

You may be wondering where Big Data technology fits into this mix. Well, it is the reason why self-driving cars could become a thing in the first place.

Automated cars use big data to function. They connect to the big data, which is a large web of accumulated information, to work out specific details like weather, temperature, the approximate location of the vehicle, vehicle’s position on the road and status of pedestrians around the vehicle.

How is this done?

According to a website known as INVENT, individual cars have multiple sensors (for example, the GPS tracker) which gather information and then connect to the big data. (Source).

So we see how big data technologies affect the functioning of these vehicles. But how will these vehicles contribute to Big Data?

Contribution of self-driving cars towards Big Data

Automated self-driving car technology is a better and safer option to drive. You might be skeptical, but think about it like this- if an AI is in the driver’s seat, you will have a much safer ride. This is because the AI will not lose focus, will not get distracted and will not engage in rash driving. In fact, according to Google’s statistics, only 13 out of 1.8 million automated cars have actually gotten into an accident, and even in these cases, the fault lay with the person inside the car. (Source).

Human safety and convenience, therefore, becomes the primary benefit of using an automated car.
Although these vehicles are unconventional now, they will be ready for public use in the near future. With the increasing popularity of these vehicles, the demand for big data will increase as well. In other words, as people purchase more of these advanced vehicles, more and bigger data will be required to provide for the proper functioning of these vehicles.

This scenario is not as futuristic as it sounds. Talks of a partnership between Google and Ford have already been doing the rounds, and a few countries have also made it legal for these vehicles to be on the road. It is easy to see that people are already preparing for the forthcoming launch of these self-driving cars.

It should be noted here that these self-driving cars are not the only products that will be implementing big data. A lot of companies are turning to operate systems that use Big Data to create viable policies and business strategies. Big data is sure to become absolutely indispensable in a few years.

Conclusion

Autonomous cars will prove to be a technological breakthrough, and the presence of these cars will surely change the driving scene all over the world. Since these cars depend exclusively upon Big Data for their operation, big data will become an absolute necessity.