Volvo is working on technology that at point could turn cars into mobile base stations. This system is envisioned as part of next-generation cellular networks that could help solve coverage issues.
While this may sound promising, the technology is still in the early phases of development and there is a lot of work to be done before such an idea could be put into practice.
“Cars will not just be a user, they will be a part of the network,” said Volvo’s executive Mathanna Abdulhussein at Huawei Global Analyst Summit. “Imagine the scenario when you install a base station in the roof of a vehicle: this vehicle can bring some revenue because we will be in a situation the same as a landowner, and instead of acquiring the rights to install base stations everywhere, the car can be a base station, and this is [a] good way to solve the problems of governance and filling holes in the network, because the people in the car are in the same place.”
Aside from making cars, Volvo also makes buses which could indeed be used as mobile cellular stations, extending the network coverage across cities and perhaps even acting as primary cellular towers in emerging markets. Seems pretty cool to me, what do you say?
[Via: MobileWorldLive]