OREANDA-NEWS. January 12, 2016.  The Consumer Technology Association’s CES 2016 show is underway in Las Vegas, and it’s full of cool and baffling stuff (Electric skateboards? Stone veneers inside your Bentley?). We couldn’t help but notice that: 1) Many of the product offerings require powerful interconnection; 2) Several of the new innovations that require interconnection are inside of cars.

Since we at Equinix are interconnection pioneers and experts and we’re also pretty big fans of cars, we figured we’d offer up a taste of what’s new at CES 2016, particularly those innovations that are furthering demand for superior, direct and secure interconnection – on the road and everywhere else.

Breakthroughs in binge-watching – Do it while driving!

Volvo’s autonomous car will take actual driving out of the hands of motorists everywhere, and now Volvo is aiming to make sure these new “non-drivers” don’t let all of that free time go to waste.

Their autonomous car interior comes with a large video screen on the passenger side that will stream all your favorite shows. The car company is teaming with Ericsson to make sure this high-definition streaming isn’t ruined by dead spots. Its cars will also optimize routes so that you don’t arrive at your destination before the show is over. So car rides don’t have to be about either the destination or the journey. They can be about arriving just after Game of Thrones ends, so you don’t miss which one of your favorite characters was killed in the weekly cliffhanger.

Toyota getting bigger on big data

Toyota announced that a broader range of its vehicles will be equipped with “Data Communications Modules” (DCMs) starting in 2017. That means these vehicles will be continuously connected to cellular communications networks, so their drivers are always able to receive and transmit data for products and services over smartphones. The DCMs will also be pumping out a ton of vehicle data.

To make sense of this info, the company is establishing a new “Toyota Big Data Center” (Note: This is not a “big,” as in “large,” data center like Equinix’s SG3 in Singapore. It’s a “big data” center. We’ve noticed some confusion.) Toyota says this new big data processing facility “will analyze and process data collected by DCM, and use it to deploy services under high-level information security and privacy control.” Toyota didn’t specify exactly what kind of services. But Mashable says one use for the data will likely be the high-precision digital maps Toyota is developing to feed their autonomous cars real-time info on road conditions, traffic flow, etc.

Ford, Chrysler adding Carplay and Android Auto

Details are thin, but here are the basics: Ford and Chrysler are adding CarPlay and Android Auto to their vehicle infotainment systems. CarPlay connects the iPhone to the screen on the car’s central console, Android Auto does the same for the Android. A couple specifics: Chrysler says the CarPlay and Android integration will come on its fourth-generation, 8.4 inch UConnect systems this year. Ford says 2016 model owners will be able to upgrade to the system later this year, but all 2017 models with their infotainment platform will have it.

To keep track of the cool, connected things being introduced at CES 2016, The Verge is cranking out a list of daily updates. And to learn how Equinix is helping the enterprise keep pace with end-user expectations for high-quality connectivity anywhere, anytime, and on any device, read about our Interconnection Oriented Architecture.