Cable Satellite International
Car
makers and tech companies view your car as a giant mobile with
navigational aids, apps, living room-style entertainment and
connectivity to the wider IoT. p26 http://www.csimagazine.com/Digital_edition/June2015/CSI-June2015.pdf
The
connected car has become the next platform for the evolution of
mobile technology - a ‘mega trend’ for the automotive industry
as recently described by the CEO of Renault-Nissan, Carlos Ghosn at
Mobile World Congress. According to analyst firm ABI, 60% of cars
shipped will be connected through mobile technology by 2017, and one
in five cars on the road will be ‘aware’ by 2018, according to
Gartner.
As
a sign of the times, MWC was this year awash with IoT and connected
car products and demos. Qualcomm had a Maserati on its stand and AT&T
showed off an Audi. The Fiat 500 was also a popular model on display.
The
reasons aren’t hard to fathom. Innovative in-car technologies are
being developed to make journeys safer, easier and more entertaining,
and this includes semi-autonomous and eventually driverless
technology, which are two key trends going forward.
For
a generation brought up tethered to Facebook, any connectivity
blackhole is a big negative. “People don’t want to buy something
that’s not customisable any more,” says Mike Edwards, product
manager - car audio, JVC Kenwood. “We are having to produce units
that are customisable for their lifestyle.”
“For
millennials, the smartphone is the centre of their lives,” agrees
Timur Pulathaneli, Connected Services at Ford. “A major factor
affecting their judgement of whether a car is good or bad is how they
can connect up their smartphone.”
BMW-owning
parents, for example, can download the myKIDIO app onto their
children’s tablet and show them a ‘Kids Cockpit’ illustrating
the car’s speed, the amount of remaining petrol and – crucially -
how long the trip will take.
US
consumers are lining up to buy. According to a Harris poll in January
for AutoTrader.com, a majority of drivers would pay up to $1,500 to
smartphones they will not adopt any services in have new
entertainment and safety features in their vehicles. Moreover,
research done by AT&T radio service Aupeo and General Motors
suggests that people want to buy cars that are connected to the
extent and are willing to wait a year to make sure the car has this
functionality.
Back-up
cameras, USB ports and smartphone charging are among top desires.
Accenture says in-vehicle tech is the top selling point for 39
percent of buyers, while just 14 percent are most concerned with
horsepower and handling.
“Every
major auto maker has a connected car programme as part of their
strategy. In-car connectivity has become a market differentiator,”
says Nakul Duggal, VP product management for automotive and M2M at
Qualcomm.
This
is a point underlined by Ford CEO Mark Fields at CES this year:
“We’re thinking of ourselves as a mobility company and not only a
car and truck company.” Ford has a wide ranging ‘smart mobility’
strategy that takes into account everything from connected bicycles
to smart cities.
The
first attempts at in-car connectivity tended to copy the smartphone
experience direct to the dashboard and failed to take-off, either
because the user experience was complicated or because it was simply
easier to get access by smartphone. “As long as consumers find it
easier to use their smartphones they will not adopt any services in
the car,” states Holger G Weiss, CEO of internet radio service
Aupeo. “It needs to be a very – intuitive setup, and the use
cases have to be perfectly optimised for in-car usage. It’s not an
experience to switch between three different, music apps, the FM
radio (traffic and news) and – let’s say – an audiobook being
stored on an iPad. Everything has to come from a single, personalised
and integrated experience.”
The
chief consideration for any in-car connected service is safety. For
the driver, this means applications must be non-distractive yet
contextually meaningful.
Most
automotive manufacturers offer a means of connecting a driver’s
smartphone to the car head unit, via HDMI or hot spot, where the
applications are mirrored. For example, JVC Kenwood, which supplies
head unit displays to Mitsubishi, VW and Kia, ensures that navigation
is hands-free by speech to text. Another example: Fords slimmed down
version of Spotify offers a limited number of tracks to ensure that
driver distraction is kept to a minimum
Augmented
reality head up displays (HUDs) project information in the driver’s
line of sight on the windscreen. Continental, for example,
manufactures them for BMW and uses camera and radar data from vehicle
sensors, combined with digital map data and GPS. This is designed to
keep the driver’s eyes on the road but don’t include control over
in-car entertainment systems.
As
for passengers, rear-seat scenarios can be a completely different,
lean back experience. What’s more connectivity is ideally
personalised to the tastes of different drivers and passengers. “For
content owners, the car will turn into a multi- billion dollar
opportunity, simply because the consumer will be able to choose and
consume,” reckons Weiss.
The
car has become a battleground for the likes of Google and Apple, each
promoting platforms which tailor Android or iOS specifically to the
in-car experience. At the same time, car makers are developing their
own platforms to try to control the consumer experience. Some of them
offer SDKs to third party developers to create services while a group
of German car makers are in talks to buy Nokia’s Here mapping unit
in order to avoid losing control to the likes of Google, Facebook and
Apple.
With
dozens of car manufacturers with their own programming requirements,
today’s developer environment mimics that of the fragmented smart
TV landscape. Apple CarPlay which integrates iPhone, Apple maps and
Siri into the car dashboard vies with the Google-led Open Automotive
Alliance (OAA) whose members include Audi, Honda, Hyundai and Nvidia
and support Android Auto.
Both
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto primarily run on the customer’s
phone and will project an image on the car’s screen. A new version
of Google OS - Android M - is reportedly being engineered to be built
directly into cars, independently of a paired smartphone.
Then
there’s Microsoft which powers three different car manufacturers’
in-car systems, including Ford’s Sync. This includes AppLink which
enables drivers to access smartphone apps via voice control.
Auto-makers
can also take part in the GENIVI Alliance, a non-profit group that
includes Nissan, Volvo, and BMW.
MirrorLink
is an in-vehicle connectivity standard created by the Car
Connectivity Consortium whose members include Toyota, VW plus LG,
Sony, HTC and Samsung. It also enables consumers to connect
compatible smartphones and apps for display on car head unit.
Several
auto-makers have wheels in different camps. Ford uses Microsoft
systems but is also signed up to CarPlay. Kia uses Android for its
in-car systems, but is also a CarPlay member. GM is signed to
CarPlay, MirrorLink, OAA and GENIVI. Honda and Hyundai are both
MirrorLink and GENIVI members. This means drivers might get the
choice of Android or iPhone compatibility at the point of buying a
new car.
“One
of the big issues is to what extent manufacturers are happy to cede
control over how services are provided and to what extent are tech
companies trying to own the ecosystem,” says Dan Peters, SVP
product & design, Saffron Digital. “There is a tension similar
to that being played out in the home.”
Volvo
is outfitting all its models, starting with the XC90, which now
boasts a redesigned touch- screen interface using touch and swipe
navigation of the car’s infotainment system Volvo Sensus, and
integrates content from Apple and Google.
“Customers
will be able to use smartphone apps in a convenient way, while we
focus on developing integrated services that are relevant to the
driving experience as well as to the ownership of a car,” explains
Martin Kristensson, director connectivity strategy, Volvo Car Group.
“We will offer other, unique and integrated services that are
relevant to the driving and car ownership experience. These maybe
existing services like our Park & Pay solution for connected
service bookings, or over the air software updates or future services
to the car like ‘Roam Delivery - the possibility of having goods
delivered directly to the trunk of your car by handing out a
temporary digital key.”
As
with the Internet of Things, a pre-requisite for in-car connectivity
is ubiquitous fast mobile broadband. The jury is out on whether
in-car WiFi hot spots (as opposed to reliance on LTE networks) are
necessary, although research firm iSuppli expects a surge to 7.2
million worldwide units by 2017. GM’s 2015 models come fitted with
hotspots capable of connecting to 4G LTE networks.
Mobile
networks are not designed to optimise connection when moving at high
speed, so that challenge needs to be overcome and the take-up of
in-car connected experience is based on that.
“For
a group of people with devices in a vehicle a hotspot is currently a
better idea than reliance on LTE,” says Qualcomm’s Duggal. “That
said, everyone is working on an in-car connectivity 4G platform,
leapfrogging 2G and 3G.”
Probably
the answer lies in 5G which is scheduled for rollout around 2020.
Also important is the update cycle, which for cars is typically ten
years, compared to just weeks when it comes to servicing mobiles.
While phone apps can update automatically over the air, a car only
gets maintained manually.
“Hardware
and software have to become updatable in cars,” says Weiss, who
suggests that companies like Aupeo will play a role in connecting the
complex structure of a car with the dynamic speed of ICT services.
Ford’s
Sync Services is one solution. It operates over Microsoft Azure and
wirelessly delivers traffic reports, vehicle to dealership
diagnostics, plus navigation, sports scores (via Perform) and other
services like movie listings.
The
mega-trend set to transform the entire industry is autonomous
driving. The target is to reduce the 90% of car accidents caused by
human error.
Renault-Nissan
CEO Ghosn explained that this will happen in three waves.
Sensor-based semi- autonomous technology to navigate traffic jams
will be introduced in 2016. In 2018, autonomous drive will expand to
include change of lanes on the highways. Automated city driving will
happen around 2020 and in a decade, driverless cars will start to
emerge. Renault-Nissan is working on autonomous driving with NASA and
is among auto-makers with offices in Silicon Valley.
“We
have a building block approach with more and more tasks being taken
over by the car,” says Pulathaneli of Ford, which runs a test fleet
of automated cars. “With systems based on radar, Lidar or cameras
you need to be in direct contact with the object (a neighbouring
vehicle or parking bay, perhaps) but with M2M connections you can
look ‘around the corner’, or look ‘through’ the truck hiding
danger ahead of you. It will be a technical enabler for a lot of
diverse applications in future.”
Semi-autonomous
features already available in Ford cars include lane-keeping assist,
adaptive cruise control and pre-collision ‘pedestrian detection’.
Experimental technology transmits dashboard alerts to drivers about
vehicles braking ahead – even around corners and through traffic.
Its Smart Device Link, an open-source version of Applink operated by
the GENIVI Alliance, offers software developers and fellow OEMs to
directly interface with Ford vehicles.
“We
need a standard that is powered by the car maker for car-to-car or
car-to-infrastructure connections, and at present, it’s only
enabled in Ford cars,” says Pulathaneli. “We need a standard that
connects Ford to Opal, Ford to Mercedes and so on.” Among
signatories are Baidu and AutoNavi, app developers working in the
world’s largest market for both smartphones and automobiles –
China.
In
a Qualcomm-powered concept car (Cadillac XTS) head-tracking software
alerts drivers should their gaze wander for more than a few seconds,
while a gesture-sensing camera allows them to control music at the
wave of a hand. Incoming data from a camera plus GPS and graphic
overlays let drivers know where they’re heading and when to make a
safe lane change.
Volvo
is building a test-fleet of 1,000 cars able to detect slippery road
conditions, transmitting this information to other Volvo cars, to
forewarn them of the danger ahead, and to road maintenance
authorities via the Volvo Cloud.
“Such
connected car services will, in the near future, deliver both
personal and societal benefits by reducing the potential for
accidents, allowing a more relaxed journey and lowering the costs of
road maintenance,” says Kristensson.
Greater
safety is only one part of the picture though. It doesn’t take a
great leap of imagination to predict that current restrictions on
driver enjoyment of entertainment in vehicles will fade to the
background.
“One
day you will see automated cars although the timing depends on the
development of the wider M2M environment but when you do then, of
course, you could think about using the time spent in car in much the
same way as you spend it sitting at home,” says Pulathaneli.
Peters
agrees: “The car is an extension of the family space and it’s
where we spend most of our time together outside of the living room.
In 15-20 years the consumer will expect to have the exact same
experience in the car as if they are at home on the couch.”
Mercedes-Benz modelled this scenario with auto-pilot concept car
F015. “Anyone who focuses solely on the technology has not yet
grasped how autonomous driving will change our society,” said
Mercedes-Benz chairman Dieter Zetsche in a CES2015 keynote. “The
car is growing beyond its role as a mere means of transport and will
ultimately become a mobile living space.”
Even
Volvo, the brand that purrs middle of the road safety and comfort,
says it is on a journey where the ‘living room experience’ in its
cars will develop. “Think of self-driving cars and all the
possibilities you will have from the moment you are not actively
driving,” says Kristensson. “You will be able to enjoy the
infotainment offers you prefer, connect with friends or your loved
ones, work or simply relax a bit.”
Traffic
and navigation apps like Inrix (Porsche is an investor) and Waze, use
crowd-sourced networks to cull data from road users. Inrix can link
drivers to social networking sites and alert them when friends are
near to determine the best way to meet up. It is only a short step
before location-based advertising starts to drive serious in-car
revenue.
Going
forward, cars will also be integrated with wearables. BMW prototyped
a smartwatch that will allow wearers to exit their vehicle and then
tell it to go park itself.
Jaguar
XE
Jaguar
thinks that in-car technologies in this increasingly connected world
are an integral part of the driving experience. With the new XE, the
company is introducing a new suite of driver aids and cutting-edge
entertainment systems. They have been designed to make journeys
safer, simpler, more relaxing and
enjoyable. The XE is the first of a line of Jaguar
vehicles
to run on the company’s InControl Touch Infotainment system for a
new 8-inch touchscreen. It supports smartphone technology and
InControl apps, which synchs Apple and Android phones to the car and
allows the driver to access entertainment
and
information apps installed on their phone for up-to-the-minute
parking information, conference calls, hotel bookings and traffic
warnings. These apps can all be accessed at the touch of a screen,
according Dr Mike Bell, Jaguar’s connected car director.
Passengers
can also make use of the in-car WiFi hotspot which allows multiple
devices to connect to the internet by the best possible mobile
connection using a roof antenna.
The
XE features plain speech voice control and Jaguar has ensured the
driver can access any level of the system by speaking to avoid
navigating multiple menus.
The
car will also come with an optional head-up display that displays
driver information directly onto the windscreen without causing
distraction. The display can be set to configure a range of
information, from speed, navigation guidance, traffic sign
recognition and cruise control settings.
The
system can be controlled remotely so that for example, climate
control is operated before entering the car.
