Inside a Toyota Mirai connected car with Kymetra satellite technology.
Toyota Motor Corp. is teaming with Kymeta, a Seattle-area tech firm to develop and test new flat-panel satellite antenna technology the companies say will revolutionize mobile data communications.
The $5-million (U.S.) Mirai Creation Partnership, announced Tuesday at the North American International Auto Show, aims to give moving vehicles the capability to send and receive data securely at the highest speeds now only available via cabled Internet connections or via fixed dish antennas.
An increasing array of wireless communication features are being built into cars, from entertainment and route mapping to on-board diagnostics and emergency services.
Up to now, satellite communication with vehicles has been limited to slower data streams because high-speed data requires a dished antenna that has to move to maintain optimal connection with the satellite.
"The flat antenna can help solve the challenge of reliable high-speed communications," Shigeki Tomoyama, TMC's senior managing officer said.
Toyota and Kymeta, based in the tech hub of Redmond, Wash., have been working on flat-antenna research since 2013. The announced deal gives Toyota exclusive rights to develop and test on-car applications for the technology via its Mirai fuel-cell vehicle, which is being displayed at the show. It replaces mechanical components of a moving dish antenna with software and liquid-crystal technologies to track a satellite's position across the horizon from a moving vehicle.
Kymeta CEO Nathan Kundtz said the technology will allow cars to exploit under-used wireless spectrum to move huge volumes of data – up to 100 terabytes a month. It will enable regular software and firmware upgrades to a vehicle's systems, 3-D mapping and a myriad of other on-board applications, all with the possibility of higher security than current in-car systems.
The project includes a partnership with Intelsat, the world's leading provider of satellite services.
The system so far has undergone 8,000 miles of road testing, Kundtz said. But Tomoyama would not say what the timeline is to roll out the technology in a Toyota production vehicle.
The writer was a guest of the auto maker. Content was not subject to approval.