A number of lesser known figures have made announcements regarding the connected car this week, including Airbiquity, Continental, Magellan, Intelligent Mechatronic Systems (IMS) and Gemalto.
Automotive equipment supplier Continental has partnered with Airbiquity to integrate Airbiquity’s Choreo connected car platform into Continental’s in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems. The pair say that the licensing and reseller agreement will allow Continental to ‘offer vehicle manufacturers a branded state-of-the-art connected car solution, easily installed during the vehicle production process.’
The Choreo platform is a cloud-based end-to-end system which provides operators with a web-based management portal. This lets them handle content delivery, subscriber and application management. Such a system lets a vendor like Continental provide IVI services, remote driver assistance, vehicle data analysis and the more pragmatic services such as software updates and maintenance scheduling.
Airbiquity claims that Choreo is a turnkey option for automotive OEMs, as well as content providers and network operators. The connected car offers many opportunities for business that have no foot in the automotive business to enter the race. Apple has moved into the market with its CarPlay IVI system, although BlackBerry has enjoyed a substantial presence in the emerging connected car ecosystem for a number of years.
The partnership believe it’s important to offer alternative functions to drivers, while ensuring that the introduction of these features does not damage the safety record of the vehicle. TVs that distract the driver will increase crashes caused by distraction, but other systems have been developed to reduce driver distraction dramatically ‘ although we still feel that not answering a call or using speech-to-text at all is probably the safest approach.
Nonetheless, the Choreo system’s management controls have been integrated into the Continental head units to enable speech recognition, text to voice, voice to text, and app features which can be activated or deactivated depending on whether the vehicle is moving. This should ‘allow drivers to safely enjoy their personal applications, content and services without taking their eyes off the road.’
Continental VP of Software and Connected Solutions, Brian Droessler, said ‘By working together, our companies will enable vehicle manufacturers to offer the digital lifestyle their consumers are looking for.’ Airbiquity has also worked with Nissan, Infiniti and Renault. This Continental deal is the first direct collaboration with a global head unit supplier serving the vehicle manufacturer market.
Intelligent Mechatronics Systems:
Also at the Detroit Telematics conference, Intelligent Mechatronics Systems (IMS) unveiled the latest revision of its DriveSync connected car platform. Its new cloud-based architecture allows IMS partners to implement value-add services, even after the car has left the production line.
The platform makes use of the OBD-II (On-board Diagnostic) port, found on all cars manufactured after 1996. This means that the system could be retrofitted to older vehicles for users wanting to access the vehicle’s telematics information. An Android app can provide most of the functionality, such as music, video and radio, with navigation and voice to text, but the phone needs the OBD-II port for access to accurate data regarding the car itself.
The DriveSync platform is available to OEMs, but its real value looks likely to be appreciated by consumers looking to add an aftermarket upgrade to a car they already own. By the looks of it, all the system requires is an app download and a phone cradle to work, with the telematics functionality added by an OBD port dongle. OEMs would make use of this system by rebranding the app and licensing IMS’ back-end or hosting it themselves. A benefit of this approach is that adding IVI functionality to a new car will not ramp up the price of a model, allowing an affordable IVI option for budget-conscious consumers.
Magellan:
Magellan used the Detroit show to announce that its SmartGPS Eco V2.0 was now available to OEMs and Tier 1 operators. Magellan has been doing steady business with satellite navigation units for cars, as well as fitness and outdoor activities equipment for tracking user location and exercise. Now its flagship smart GPS unit is off to market.
The ‘smart’ part of the GPS unit is that as well as providing navigation services to users, the device can pull information from the cloud to update its user with discounts and ‘money saving content.’ A well-advertised and prominent feature is the ability to find the cheapest fuel in the vicinity and have the unit direct you to it. That functionality can be personalized, and users can access the Magellan social network to save favorite locations and plan journeys.
The unit can gather information from selected content partners, allowing the vehicle to access services like restaurant reviews, promotions from the likes of Yelp and Foursquare, iHeart Radio internet radio and Redbox movies. Traffic news and weather reports are also easily accessible to the driver.
The Magellan unit is another variation on the theme of the aftermarket connected car product. It’s an area of the market which the vehicle manufacturers can’t easily cater for but one that is ripe for the likes of Magellan, Continental and IMS. While all three have a slight variation on the theme, they all address the fact that cars have long lifespans, often changing hands several times before they are decommissioned. An aftermarket solution allows a customer to add the required IVI functionality to whatever car they currently own, and a modular design allows them to upgrade when the electronics in the IVI unit are no longer up to task ‘ something that is likely to happen if the car lasts 10 years or more.
Gemalto:
Also at the Detroit Telematics conference, Gemalto has showcased its latest automotive connectivity products, including high-speed mobile connectivity, GPS navigation features and emergency call (eCall) functionality for roadside security. NFC tech is also being used for keyless entry and ignition using a mobile phone, all of which Gemalto says ‘within the trusted partner environment of secure services, transforms a car from a mode of transport into a high-speed connectivity hub capable of powering advanced intelligent driving devices.’ We think Gemalto is getting ready to be the backbone of autonomous vehicles, on the back of its extensive NFC and GSM M2M deployments.