Economist Intelligence Unit: ‘Rise of the Machines: Moving from Hype to Reality in the Burgeoning Market for Machine-to-Machine Communication’

April 30th, 2012

Via: Economist Intelligence Unit:

Fast-forward to 2012, and much of what used to be M2M whiteboard concepts can now be found in the field. The Fonterra Co-operative Group, a New Zealand-based dairy company, has set up autonomous forklifts within a warehouse that can work around the clock, with far fewer accidents and reduced wear and tear. US-based Progressive Insurance, one of several insurers providing usage-based insurance packages to drivers, sets rates based on actual driving habits. The OnStar system of General Motors (GM), which provides services ranging from automatic collision notification to remote door unlocking, now has 6m active subscribers. The latest devices from TomTom, a satellite navigation provider, automatically tally traffic information from millions of users to set better routes for other drivers. Logistics firms such as UPS use M2M in their vehicle fleets not only to optimise driving routes, but also to provide live package tracking information for customers.

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