May 18

Visteon’s HABIT is a concept infotainment system that puts road trip copilots out of a job (video)

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Visteon's incar HABIT concept infotainment system puts road trip copilots out of a job

A good acronym also hints at what it does, and Visteon‘s new intelligent in-car concept, HABIT, is a good example of that. The Human Bayesian Intelligence Technology system — to give it its full name — learns the behaviour of drivers so it can automatically change the temperature, heat the seats and drop that Biohazard album just when you need it most. Factors such as weather, time of day and real-time road conditions all play a part, plus, of course a log of all your typical in-car interactions. It promises to go above just warming your behind on a cold morning though, offering intelligence that would be able to divine local radio stations that play your kind of jam when you’re out of town. It could also seamlessly mix these with your local / tablet / smartphone library and internet sources. Sound a little too creepy? Wait until you see the computer-generated demo video presenter past the break.

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Mar 06

Spotify teams up with Volvo, launches new voice-controlled in-car app (video)

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Spotify continues to make itself at home in your car. Following its Ford hook-up at MWC last month, its announced a new team-up with Volvo that will bring a voice-navigated version of the music service to the car maker’s new models. It’ll form part of Volvo’s new Sense Connected Touch dashboard system which includes a 7-inch touchscreen for anyone that doesn’t feel like talking at their dash. Users can also stream music with a 3G or 4G dongle or tethered to your smartphone of choice. The Spotify UI itself will be familiar to anyone who’s used the app before and as the system runs on Android, you’ll also be able pick up the likes of Google Maps and other music-playing options available on Google Play. It’ll arrive this May as a dealer-fitted accessory on new Volvo V40, V40 Cross Country, S60, V60, XC60, V70, XC70 and S80 models, while you’ll also be able to retrofit it to vehicles made since 2011. Spotify and Volvo has an in-car tour for us right after the break.

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Dec 23

BMW’s Car Hotspot LTE means Bavarian Motor WiFi

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BMW's Car Hotspot LTE means Bavarian Motor WiFi

The dedicated car phone may be a thing of the past, but the in-car hotspot is becoming increasingly common. BMW isn’t shy when it comes to in-vehicle tech, so the fact that it’s launching its own solution should come as no surprise. We initially heard about the ConnectedDrive LTE integration back in summer, but now it looks like it’s almost here. The BMW Car Hotspot LTE is essentially a purpose-built WiFi router that houses an LTE SIM (it also supports 3G and EDGE). It’s compatible with any BMW with a telephone docking station and allows connections from up to eight client devices. Authentication can be done via code entry or NFC (or there’s WPS too). Rather than just rebranding an LTE dongle, the system is designed to integrate with the vehicle’s aerial for better signal, while the dock keeps it charged. As you might surmise, this does indeed mean there is an internal battery, making it useful beyond the confines of the automobile too (for about an hour according to the car maker). No official word on price or release, but it’s suggested it’ll be landing in Europe as soon as this week.

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Via: Telematics news

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Nov 11

BMW’s Performance sport steering wheel brings vehicle data right to your finger tips (video)

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BMW's Performance sport steering wheel brings vehicle data right to your finger tips (video)

Extra information when driving can be useful, but also distracting. Enter BMW‘s new M Performance sport steering wheel — which offers a whole bunch of data and information while letting you keep your eyes (mostly) on the road. Essentially it’s a high-grip Alcantara wheel, with a small OLED display at 12 o’clock, and two LED meters on either side. There are three readout modes: EfficientDynamics, Sport and Race. The former will tell you average fuel consumption, speed as well as oil and water temperature. Sport mode will tell you lateral g-force data (that cleverly remains on the display until you bring the wheel back to its neutral position) while the LED strips provide cues for gear shifts. Like to take things out on the track? Lap times, with section splits, and even a drag-style Christmas tree mode will help you get those times down. How much for this king of steering wheels? A racy $1,700. Speed past the break for a video of the goods in action.

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BMW’s Performance sport steering wheel brings vehicle data right to your finger tips (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 11 Nov 2012 02:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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