Live from the land of BMW, Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz , it’s Alan Mulally. Ford’s CEO is taking the stage here at IFA in Berlin to discuss making his fleet of vehicles safer, more user-friendly and, of course, more connected. This is a tech show, after all. Join us right here, won’t you?
Filed under: Transportation
Connected car concepts are nothing new, but a compelling one stands out among the crowd of half-baked ideas. Here at IFA, Deutsche Telekom’s demo is one such example, thanks to its simple but intuitive execution and downright usefulness. A very friendly Telekom rep let us step inside to check out the concept from a child’s perspective.
Set up in a BMW (naturally), the system utilizes an LTE hotspot, a few backseat-mounted iPads and BMW’s ConnectedDrive service to provide entertainment on long car trips. Kids sitting in the backseat navigate to their personal profiles on Telekom’s associated app, and from there they can access services such as Videoload, Maxdome (both for renting movies) and Audiobooks. There’s also the option to view real-time trip progress via Google Maps, and kids can even select a webcam mode to see the road from mom or dad’s perspective.
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Filed under: Transportation, Wireless, T-Mobile
Nokia’s no newbie to navigation, but its latest product raises its involvement to the next level. The Here Auto connected car platform is comprised of an application that can be embedded to a vehicle’s navigation system, a mobile app companion and a cloud service. Any in-car navigator with the Here Auto software can offer voice-guided navigation with or without a data connection, along with 2D, 3D and street-level satellite maps. You’ll need internet access to tap into the cloud service for real-time data, including traffic and weather updates, but previously downloaded maps work just fine even when you’re offline.
The Auto Companion mobile app complements the software and the cloud service, giving you a way to pre-plan trips or find your car through a phone. Currently, it only works on Windows Phone devices, but Espoo’s developing ones for iOS and Android. Nokia has partnered with Continental (the same parts supplier working with Google and IBM) to find carmakers willing to integrate Here Auto into their navigation systems. It might take a while before we see the system hit the market, but it’ll be demonstrated at the International Motor Show in Germany on September 10th.
Source: Nokia
If you haven’t been paying attention, here’s the skinny: US carriers are doing everything they can to expand their horizons, and in the case of Verizon and AT&T, this sense of urgency has led to the creation of numerous innovation labs. In a nutshell, these facilities serve as incubation centers for startups and well-positioned outfits alike that are looking to add cellular connectivity to whatever it is they’re hawking.
AT&T’s latest facility — its fourth in total — will open its doors later today, with the Atlanta-based Foundry focusing on innovation in the connected car and emerging devices sectors. Moreover, it’ll be used to further AT&T’s own U-verse and Digital Life platforms, though specifics of what exactly engineers will be toiling on remain under wraps. For an idea of what all goes down at places like this, have a look at a tour we took through one of Verizon’s Innovation Centers right here; we’re hoping to get a similar look at AT&T’s lairs when time allows.
Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation, Mobile, AT&T
Source: AT&T
NVIDIA’s no stranger to in-car technology, and the company is increasing its commitment to four-wheeled transportation by opening a dedicated automotive office in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The just-opened NVIDIA Technology Center will design driver aids and infotainment systems with the help of car makers that are just a stone’s throw away — the company mentions Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and others as potential clients. We’ll likely have to wait a few years to see the new facility bear fruit, but it’s already clear that NVIDIA wants to become an integral part of the motoring landscape.
Filed under: Transportation, NVIDIA
Via: Forbes
Source: NVIDIA Blog
AT&T wants every car to be connected, but it needs help; thankfully, Sirius XM is on the same wavelength. The two have reached a deal that will have AT&T supply mobile data for Sirius XM telematics systems in Nissan’s North American vehicle lineup. So far, the partnership includes OnStar-like basics such as emergency assistance and theft tracking, although there are hints of “additional services” that’ll be unveiled later. We don’t yet know when this technology will reach shipping cars, but don’t be surprised if the next Altima or Leaf is a little bit smarter in the not-so-distant future.
Filed under: Transportation, Wireless, AT&T
Source: AT&T
Who’d have thought we’d be happy to see an unassuming black box? Delphi and Verizon managed to whet our interest with their Vehicle Diagnostics kit and service at CES, and our curiosity is renewed now that the monitoring combo is available for drivers. The finished product costs a fairly steep $250 for the Delphi adapter, although it does deliver two years of free service and costs a contract-free $5 per month afterwards. Shelling out brings the promised remote troubleshooting and notifications, including alerts for any performance problems and warnings for any geofencing violations. If you’re willing to pair an Android or iOS phone with the kit over Bluetooth, you can also use the smart device in place of your keys — temporarily, we hope. Vehicle Diagnostics should work with most cars made from 1996 onward, but do some homework before any outlay: at least a few cars miss out on the full diagnostic suite, which might dampen dreams of a connected car utopia.
Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation, Wireless, Verizon
Via: Android Police
Source: Verizon
Remember the days of yore when carphones used to be attached to the car — permanently? Accel Telecom wants to take you back there with the Voyager, an Android smartphone with car-centric functions that can stay put in your vehicle. To start with, the handset will feature a dedicated Waze launcher key for GPS navigation duties, and will also sport “high level noise reduction and echo cancellation,” along with hands-free voice activation. Other features include a 3G-WiFi hotspot, a “driver-centric” design with large physical keys, multiple car-focused apps and “crystal clear, echo free sound quality.” Interestingly, it’ll also connect to your vehicle’s on-board diagnostics system via RS232 or Bluetooth and ping you if any parts are about to break off. Accel told us that it’ll launch Voyager in Europe and the US “with operators that offer a second sim device,” to let you share your current phone number. There’s no sign of pricing yet, but there is PR and a video after the break.
Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation
More than a year after NXP Semiconductors worked with Cohda Wireless to hook up cars via 802.11p, the chip maker has decided to invest in its partner with a little help from Uncle Cisco. While the PR is mum on the exact amount, the investment is apparently significant enough that all three companies are set to work together. Cohda’s wireless knowhow, NXP’s semiconductor chops and Cisco’s vast infrastructure would join forces — á la Voltron — to help usher in the era of the connected car. By enabling car-to-car (C2C) and car-to-infrastructure (C2I) communications, drivers could avoid hazards, evade bad traffic and even form “trains” of vehicles on the road like what Volvo’s demonstrated with its SARTRE project. No word on a timeline for when we’ll see this on public roads, but automotive-qualified IEEE 802.11p products are said to be one of the trio’s first goals, so hopefully it’ll be sooner rather than later.
[Image credit: Creativity103, Flickr]
Continue reading Cisco and NXP invest in Cohda, will work together to enable connected car
Filed under: Transportation
Source: NXP
Ferrari loves to extol the advances found in its drivetrains, but the unspoken rule is that its interior technology leaves something to be desired; unless you’re thinking of a 458’s manettino, even a less expensive car like the Tesla Model S is virtually in another league. The automaker may be narrowing that gap by putting Apple online lead Eddy Cue on the Ferrari board of directors. Without giving too much away, Ferrari Chairman Luca di Montezemolo points to Cue’s experience with the “dynamic, innovative world of the internet” as the motivation — as good a sign as any that the Maranello team wants to take connected cars seriously. Whenever the Apple Senior VP’s experience comes into full effect, we may see one of the few supercar lineups whose cabins are as advanced as the engines. Just don’t look for any tight integration with Ferrari-badged Acer gear in the near future.
Filed under: Transportation, Internet, Apple
Apple exec Eddy Cue joins Ferrari board of directors, raises hopes for truly high-tech exotic cars originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 16:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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