“Internal market for data” is intended to better network the transport industry
“A modern car generates around 25 gigabytes of data in just one hour,” reports the German Automobile Industry Association (VDA) – basic information such as tire pressure, tank filling and mileage, which in some models is radioed to the manufacturer every few minutes; In addition, there is data from distance meters, indicators and brakes, but also sensors in seats, seat belts and the steering wheel, which allow the car to draw conclusions about the occupants.
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But who actually has access to all the data that connected cars collect? Where do they flow together? Where are they stored? How shared and on what terms, if any?
These questions are hotly debated in the industry, as reported by MIT Technology Review magazine in its current 5/2023 issue (now also available in stores). The car manufacturers propose their own standard, called ADAXO. It is intended to provide a uniform basis for storing and using all vehicle data that arises. The standard guarantees “customers’ data sovereignty,” promises the VDA, and enables “secure and fair use of data along the entire value chain.”
The car is the linchpin of today’s mobility. But CO2 emissions and congested roads make a discussion about the future of mobility all the more urgent. This is what the new issue of MIT Technology Review deals with. Highlights from the magazine:
Own standard for vehicle data
Critics see ADAXO as an attempt by manufacturers to secure direct access to all vehicle information – possibly to their own advantage. The power of the car manufacturers is already evident in repair and maintenance: “More and more vehicle manufacturers are restricting diagnostic access to their cars. This leads to additional costs for independent workshops and consumers,” complained the ADAC. The suppliers ATU and Carglass therefore filed a model lawsuit against Fiat: They want the European Court of Justice to clarify whether the manufacturers are giving their authorized workshops an anti-competitive advantage over independent repair shops by blocking the data.
Car owners may wonder if the information doesn’t actually belong to them, much like the car itself. No, say lawyers, because property rights can only be claimed for tangibles, not intangible goods. “In this context, you have to legally say goodbye to the term ‘belong’,” says ADAC in-house lawyer Klaus Heimgärtner. “It’s just a question of who is authorized to handle the data?”
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To this end, the manufacturers usually have the rights to use the data transferred in a declaration of consent, similar to how app developers do with smartphones. Basically, nobody who wants to drive a modern vehicle can avoid this consent, Heimgärtner complains. “It goes according to the motto: ‘Sink or die.'”
What about the self-determination of vehicle owners?
Critics hope for improvement from the EU Data Act. It should clearly regulate that users of networked devices can decide for themselves who has access to the data that they produce through use. This should make repairs cheaper, for example, because manufacturers would have to share the insights gained in the future; However, the EU Commission also expects that the free flow of data streams will enable new business models.
With such claims, the Data Act goes far beyond mobility. The ADAC would also like “sector-specific regulation” for all information that arises in road traffic. “Ultimately, all data can be valuable,” says Heimgärtner. “Because it’s completely unclear what ideas you can still have – for services that benefit users, but also for accident analysis or other things that can be beneficial to society.”
This is precisely why the EU is working on creating an “internal market for data”. So-called “data rooms” are to be created in nine areas, including mobility, energy, industry and health, which will enable the free exchange of digital information. In Germany, the threads for the topic of mobility come together at the German Academy of Science and Engineering (Acatech) in Munich. “The first step is to take an inventory of this entire landscape,” explains project manager Lucie Kirstein. Her team has already recorded around 280 data ecosystems – mainly small, often young initiatives that have set themselves the task of solving specific problems. “Be it in logistics, in the supply chain or in public transport,” says Kirstein.
Projects for “data rooms” and “data marketplaces”
The Mobility Data Space (MDS) is also closely linked to the development of European data spaces. The project is funded by the federal government, but also includes a number of private companies among its shareholders. The MDS is intended as a “data marketplace” for cities, municipalities, car manufacturers, local transport companies or energy suppliers.
“Around 30 percent of all trips to charging stations are currently unsuccessful,” explains Managing Director Michael Schäfer – for example because they are occupied or defective. “If you want to improve that, you have to bring together a lot of different participants from different industries – who also initially have different interests.” But, as Schäfer emphasizes: “If they join forces, everyone wins in the end.”
The project has found around 90 partners since it started last year, including municipal utilities and Fraunhofer institutes, railways and post offices, but also insurance companies, TÜV Rheinland, ADAC and mobility providers such as Bolt, Tier and Freenow. With BMW and Mercedes, there are also two car manufacturers – despite their own ADAXO standard.
“ADAXO and the Mobility Data Space ideally complement each other,” explains Schäfer. “As part of ADAXO, we receive 42 data points from the car manufacturers,” including information about traffic flow and speed, but also information about the level of fuel in the tank or battery. Schäfer explains the manufacturers’ willingness to participate in the MDS by saying that the Data Space only acts as an intermediary: “The data is only ever exchanged peer-to-peer – the partners retain full control,” he explains. “This is a basic prerequisite for building a relationship of trust between the parties involved.”
Read MIT Technology Review here:
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