It seems everyday we hear about a new tech company that is jumping into the automotive space. They want to join the race for technology in the connected car. From Google and Apple to Pioneer and Samsung, everyone wants a piece of the automotive pie. It seems that Xerox also wants to play the automotive technology game. They, however, aren’t interested in building an autonomous vehicle. They have other plans for their automotive technology.
Several of Xerox’s innovations were demonstrated on Monday as part of MCity’s grand opening. MCity is a unique new test site for connected and automated vehicles located on the campus of the University of Michigan. Autonomous vehicles like Google’s and Apple’s driverless cars have gotten most of the media attention recently, but innovations like Xerox’s are more likely to be widespread and impact more drivers.
Xerox is less focused on driverless cars and more interested in focusing on the connected car. They are looking at other types of data that comes from vehicles and researching potential other uses for that data. An example of technology that Xerox has been working on is “Merge.” Merge is a smart grid parking system that collects information from sources like video cameras, parking meters, smartphones, and even the cars themselves to help manage congested urban parking.
Drivers can use the Merge app to find out where parking is available, and how much it will cost them. They can also use it to feed the meter without having to return to the meter itself. The system can give city managers real-time data so they can understand the dynamics of what is happening on the streets in their city. Then, they can make decisions on parking pricing based on supply and demand and help relieve congestion during high commuting hours.
Xerox has also developed a Vehicle Passenger Detection system which uses video analytics to identify the number of people in a vehicle. This system will allow government agencies to monitor and enforce the use of High Occupancy Vehicle and High Occupancy Toll (HOV/HOT) lanes. This technology could be employed on highways throughout the world.
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