Mitsubishi looking at drone technology for drivers

When we’re rightly being warned all the time about the dangers of distracted driving, it could sound like an April fool joke that drivers could soon be operating drones from their vehicles. However, it’s June and not April and this is a serious proposition being put forward by Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America (MEAA).

Like some sort of electronic version of a trained falcon, drivers could have a drone housed within the vehicle that could be deployed when needed to soar skywards and send back information to the car. The information could be anything from a traffic jam up ahead to the location of the best parking spot available nearby.

According to the concept, by using the vehicle’s infotainment screen, the drone could be activated as a congested area is approached, and would then lift off from a housing located on the vehicle’s roof.

Once airborne the drone would then scout out the surrounding area, analyzing the landscape and sending back a live video stream that would be displayed on the infotainment screen. Parking space data would be cross-referenced with publicly available software or suitable websites.

Speaking at a demonstration at the TU-Automotive technology conference in Detroit, MEAA user experience manager Jacek Spiewla said: “You can bring in that information, fuse it to the drone’s video sensors and then put those together.”

The idea is the drone would be able to detect various parking spaces up ahead but would also identify those spaces which are reserved for accessible parking or those allocated specifically for electric vehicles and equipped with charging facilities. Once an appropriate available space is identified, the driver would be directed by the system to the space and the drone would come back and land on the vehicle.

Mitsubishi Electric’s vice president of advanced mobility,Mark Rakoski, says of the system: “A drone is a perfect technology that can find a parking spot for you. That was the user-experience concept behind it. In all cases, if you can find more solutions, then the technology is easier for the customer to digest and say, ‘I want to do that.’ ”

Of course, there would be local laws and regulations to overcome to implement this kind of drone technology, but Rakoski insists the technology is in place to make the concept a real feature on future vehicles.

Big Improvements Are On The Way For Infiniti’s Infotainment System

Including the long-awaited addition of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Infiniti is gearing up to replace some of the aging models in its lineup, but these changes are still around three years away. As company introduces major changes to its cars, it will also overhaul its infotainment system. Speaking to Go Auto, Infiniti reported it will make major changes to its controversial dual-screen infotainment display. The dual-screen design made its debut when the company replaced the G37 with the Q50. Though the system is a huge improvement over the old unit, it still isn’t the most advanced system on the market.

The graphics still feel cartoonish and stuck in the last decade, but Infiniti promises to deliver higher resolution graphics with the updated system. The update will also add long-awaited connectivity features, including Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and internet connectivity. Unfortunately, as with the changes to Infiniti’s model lineup, the infotainment improvements may not come right away. Infiniti product strategy vice president, Francois Bancon, confirmed an initial upgrade was slated for models built in 2019, but a fully overhauled system will be available on next-generation models starting in 2021.

As other automakers continue to improve their systems, Infiniti will be stuck waiting until 2021 for major improvements. Bancon offered some consolation by stating, “Apple CarPlay will be rolled out next year,” in 2019. “Next year is going to be the first step of improvement, and as we move forward with a bigger display, 12.0-inch, 15.0-inch whatever, of course we are going to improve the accuracy,” he said. The new system will retain the dual-screen design, which has received positive feedback from customers. “It’s intuitive and it works well. To be honest, only the media complain about the twin display,” he said. Infiniti needs to refresh its technology quickly, because its infotainment is starting to feel very old.

@Info credits Infiniti

Jaguar Land Rover Teams Up With Blackberry For Infotainment

Sounds like buttons are back in fashion.

In an interesting turn of events, it turns out Blackberry still exists. Once upon a time every other person had a phone made by the Canadian company – even UK prime minister Theresa may still had one until recently. However, that’s not the only reason Blackberry has been in the news recently – Jaguar Land Rover has announced that Blackberry will supply infotainment systems for the British car maker’s latest models.

 

Despite Blackberry’s relatively quiet stance in recent years, the JLR deal isn’t its first in automotive circles. It also struck deals with Qualcomm Inc, Baidu Inc and Aptiv Plc to license technology for automotive use. Under the terms of the JLR deal, Blackberry will license its QNX software for cars and Certicom security technology.

The QNX unit has been in use for some time, running car infotainment consoles. “Connected and autonomous vehicles will react and drive based on rich data,” said John Wall, general manager of BlackBerry QNX. “Our platforms help process data efficiently and keep it secure and trusted.”

QNX, which was originally developed in the early 1980s by Canadian company Quantum Software Systems was purchased by Blackberry in 2010. In December 2014, Ford announced it was replacing its Microsoft operating system in its cars with the QNX unit.

Following the demise of its once-popular smartphone business, Blackberry has turned its attention to cars, with the motor industry constantly evolving with more and more autonomous features being added. The move has so far been a success, with Blackberry’s share prices rising by more than 80 percent in Toronto in the past year. It expects the QNX unit to start generating revenue by next year.

@Info credits Jagur land Rover and black berry

Better than GPS: This digital address is pinpoint accurate, ensures you never get lost

Instead of a long rambling address, which still fails to direct people accurately, LinCodes wants you to have a 12-digit address and ensure you never get lost.

ow many times has the gentle voice of the GPS (Global Positioning System) on your mobile phone guided you straight into a wall? Or, how many times have you patiently explained the direction of your house to a delivery boy even after sharing your location?

While GPS has been a considerable blessing for most of us, it has not turned out to be completely hassle-free. And, it was this hassle which prompted 37-year old Pramod Rathi and his co-founder 29-year old Bharat Bagari to work on a solution which can provide better guidance than GPS.

In April this year, the duo launched their app aptly called LinCodes.

LinCodes, the founders claim, is precise and will guide you into a wall only if you are aiming for it.

Forget Pin Codes, Get LinCodes
Available as a mobile app, LinCodes is designed by the founders using Google Mapsas the foundation. Short for ‘Location Index Number’, LinCodes is a unique 12-digit digital address. These digital addresses have been generated by the startup by dividing the entire geographical expanse of the country into a grid of 10×10 ft squares and these segmented areas have then been given a unique numerical code as an address.

“LinCodes is a collective addressing system for India, based on a grid of 360 billion squares of 10ft x 10ft area. Each of that 10ftx10ft squares has been pre-allocated a fixed & unique 12 digit number. Using numbers means non-technical people can find any location accurately and without any language barrier, it can be communicated easily and more quickly with less uncertainty,” said Rathi.

Rathi says with the system, even rivers, forests, mountains and even trees and light poles can be assigned unique codes.

Users can generate a LinCode for any location or search for any location with the LinCode number as well as share it with their contacts. LinCodes also work as a map to direct users to their destination.

For ease of use, the app also provides its users with an option to save and create a list of multiple LinCodes for frequent destinations. Individual users can share their Lincode number with their contacts and so can office enterprises list LinCode number as a digital address.

Necessity is the mother of invention
It was while the founders were working in the real estate industry that the constant problem of locating addresses inspired them to put the problem to rest, once and for all.

“Either we were not able to explain the exact location or clients were not able to get it correctly, which more often than not lead to a lot of time wastage. This inspired us to make an easy and simple system to locate any destination,” explained Rathi.

The problem, as we all know, is all-pervasive, especially in a developing country like India with poorly addressed areas. “In India, a big part of our population suffers from poor or insufficient addressing system. This results in several, multi-faceted problems like issues with receiving deliveries to even reporting crime in a quick manner,” says Rathi.

Considering that internet connectivity is still a problem, especially in the interiors of the country, the app functions without an active data connection as well. “This solves a perpetual constraint when in remote and unaddressed locations, or in areas with poor or no connectivity,” added Rathi.

Guiding individuals and governments
Rathi claims the app has already been downloaded by more than 35,000 users in the space of six months and is registering a growth rate of 18% month-on-month. Rathi says he is confident of his app gaining wider traction given the boom in Indians’ internet usage.

The startup, claims Rathi, is already in talks with the two state governments – Rajasthan and Gujarat – for integrating LinCodes for state work.

The startup is currently engaged in marketing the app and launching additional features like real time tracking, asset management feature, and more.

RIP pincodes, now LinCodes give your exact address in 12 digits]

To know more click link   https://yourstory.com/2017/05/lincodes-startup/

CES 2018 Top Car Tech Trends by Edmunds (Automotive Information Services)

Artificial intelligence that controls your infotainment screen. A vehicle that can read your brain. Cars that can see around blind corners.

he event has increasingly become a way for automakers to preview their developments in car technology, from production-ready to wildly speculative. Here are three trends that could be coming to a car near you.

AI-POWERED INFOTAINMENT SYSTEMS

Both Hyundai and Mercedes-Benz are showing how they will use artificial intelligence in a vehicle’s infotainment system to turn it into a personal assistant. It’s technology that, for now, is confined to smartphones or smart speakers.

Hyundai’s Intelligent Personal Agent is a voice-control technology that was co-developed by Silicon Valley-based SoundHound Inc., which specializes in voice-enabled AI.

The intelligent part of such software is its ability to recognize multiple commands. For example, if you ask it, “Tell me what the weather will be like tomorrow and text the kids to remind them about soccer practice,” it would recognize two separate commands in the same sentence and complete each task accordingly.

Hyundai’s technology functions much like Apple’s Siri or Google Assistant. It’s designed to respond to commands but also to proactively aid drivers by, for example, reminding them of upcoming meetings and recommending a departure time based on traffic conditions.

The system activates with the wake-up voice command, “Hi, Hyundai.” Once queried, the AI-powered agent can help make a phone call, send text messages, search destinations, search music, check weather and manage schedules. It also allows drivers to use voice control for frequently used functions such as controlling air conditioning, sunroofs and door locks. Hyundai plans to install the Intelligent Personal Agent in new models as early as 2019.

Mercedes-Benz is also debuting a new infotainment interface for its compact vehicles that’s based on artificial intelligence and what it calls an “intuitive” operating system. There are few details on the system’s capabilities so far, but the system is expected to make its way to some vehicles on the lower end of Mercedes’ lineup this year. The display itself looks like the dual widescreen setup that Mercedes used in late-model E- and S-Class sedans.

Mercedes Benz has stated that the name MBUX means that user experience (UX) has been taken care of. One unique feature of this system is its ability to learn thanks to artificial intelligence. The systems can also be customised to suit personal needs of the user.

One of the major features of this infotainment system is to include a high-resolution widescreen cockpit with touchscreen operation, navigation display with augmented reality tech, and intelligent voice control with natural speech recognition, which can be activated with the keyword “Hey Mercedes”.

The latest MBUX infotainment system also comes with an extensive touch operation concept which is a combination of a touchscreen panel, a touchpad on the centre console, and touch-sensitive buttons on the steering wheel. This fully digital infotainment system is expected to debut in the A-Class later this year.

Brain-to-Vehicle Technology

Nissan is demonstrating that the “brain” in an autonomous vehicle doesn’t always have to be a computer and that a computer can be used to make a person a better driver. The company is one of the first to conduct research on brain-to-vehicle (B2V) technology [pictured above].

To engage the technology, the driver puts on a wired cap. Picture a much smaller, sleeker version of Doc Brown’s brain wave analyzer in “Back to the Future.” The device measures brain wave activity, which the vehicle’s autonomous systems analyze and then use to anticipate your intended actions.

Nissan says that brain-to-vehicle technology can predict driver behavior to shorten reaction time when a driver is in control, for instance by making steering wheel turns or braking 0.2 to 0.5 second faster. All this will be largely imperceptible to the driver, Nissan says.

Brain-to-vehicle technology also is being tested to detect and evaluate discomfort during driving. This could be used to match the car’s driving style to the driver’s own style when the vehicle is in autonomous mode.

“There are a lot of situations where a vehicle’s default action when driving autonomously would not be what the driver would actually want to do if they were in control,” said Nicholas Maxfield, a Nissan spokesman. “Reading brainwaves is one way to shrink that gap between vehicle action and driver expectation.”

Of course, copying a human’s driving style may not be ideal in all cases, he said. The last thing you’d want is an autonomous car that speeds and makes erratic lane changes. The goal is to maximize driver safety during autonomous operating without departing too much from the driver’s own style.

This technology is still many years away from making it into a production vehicle, but Nissan says it shows the potential of combining human and artificial intelligence.

Cars That Talk to Everything

Finally, Ford is using the CES event to announce its recommitment to making all of its vehicles connected by 2019. In the short term, vehicle connectivity means you’ll see more Ford vehicles outfitted with Wi-Fi hotspots, remote unlocking and location services.

Ford also is announcing plans to adopt what’s called “cellular vehicle-to-everything” technology (C-V2X for short) in the coming years. This technology will make it possible for its vehicles to communicate with smart traffic signals, other vehicles and even a gas pump — to make wireless payments, for example.

Cellular vehicle-to-everything is a more advanced version of vehicle-to-vehicle connectivity (V2V) and uses cellular networks, which are faster than Wi-Fi, to communicate with other vehicles and roadside infrastructure, such as smart traffic signals and construction zone warnings.

The cellular vehicle-to-everything technology also has the ability to communicate at short range, even when there is no cellular signal. So a vehicle would have the ability to see around blind corners and understand its environment in inclement weather. For example, it could detect icy conditions on a road and warn the driver and other connected vehicles of the hazard.

Ford believes that cellular vehicle-to-everything technology is the key to getting more automakers to commit to connected-car systems and to standardize the technology that will be used. The chips this technology uses are not only faster, but they are also less expensive than the ones employed in current V2V systems.

EDMUNDS SAYS: We don’t expect to see many of these features, such as brain-to-vehicle technology, for several years. But smarter infotainment systems and more widespread availability of connected vehicles are just around the corner.

 

@Info Credits Edmunds

Maruti-Suzuki to provide smart play info system to support android auto technology

Maruti Suzuki will now bring the convenience of Android Auto in all its touchscreen infotainment system equipped cars like S-Cross (Alpha & Zeta), Ciaz (Alpha), Baleno (Alpha), Ignis (Alpha)New Delhi: Maruti Suzukitoday announced that all its cars equipped with the Smartplay Infotainment touchscreen system will now support Android Auto Technology.

The Apple CarPlay and MirrorLink technologies were already available on cars with such infotainment systems.

Android Auto is a simple and intuitive interface that lets android phone owners to connect their phones with the touchscreen infotainment system. Once phone is connected applications like voice recognition, calling, SMS readout, music playback and navigation etc. are displayed directly on the infotainment head unit touchscreen.

Maruti Suzuki will now bring the convenience of Android Auto in all its touchscreen infotainment system equipped cars like Maruti Suzuki S-Cross (Alpha & Zeta), Ciaz (Alpha), Baleno (Alpha), Ignis (Alpha), Vitara Brezza (Z+), Ertiga (Z+) and Dzire (Z+).

Customers owning Maruti Suzuki Cars with previous generation Smartplay infotainment system can get this software update from their nearest Maruti Suzuki workshop. The software update is free of cost and will be available till 31 March 2018.

Maruti Suzuki first introduced the MirrorLink technology in Ciaz, in 2014. Maruti Suzuki was the first company to introduce Apple CarPlay in India with its Premium hatchback Baleno. Thereafter, the company had introduced Android Auto in its premium compact hatchback, Ignis, a first in its segment, followed by the new Dzire and in the recently launched, new S-Cross.

@info credits Maruti Suzuki

The best of bike Infotainment technology across the world

Two-wheeled Tech: The best of bike technology across the world

Motorbikes and bicycles have always stood for the purebred freedom of travelling. Bikers have always vouched for how much more fun the two-wheeler are than the comfort of heated, insulated cabins. While the truth behind such claims are highly debatable (depending on your preference, of course), one area where cars have always outdone bikes is when it comes to technology. The latest cars all include elaborate infotainment and safety systems, and are now gradually veering towards Internet-connected infrastructures to take the journey of technology forward. Not to be left behind, bikes are gradually catching up with cars – from 200-watt audio systems to a rather fancy wind-to-electricity generation concept, when it comes to technology. The latest gizmos add much to the form as well as function in bikes, which is also what makes the engineering special, because of the space constraint to put screens and other elements in bikes. Nothing, though, is impossible in the face of technological advancements.

Indian Roadmaster

To get proof that bike technology is no mere pushovers, you only need to look as far as Indian Motorcycles’ flagship. The Indian Roadmaster is a luxurious novelty in the biking world, and as a result, it really is no surprise that this one includes one of the most impressive tech packages in the entire biking world. The long list of technology in the Roadmaster luxury cruiser includes electronically operated front windshield, ABS, cruise control, a remote locking trunk (!), tyre pressure monitoring unit, heated seats and grips, 15-LED indicators and a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system. This system offers a 200W stereo audio system, smartphone compatibility via Bluetooth and USB, FM/AM playback, a real time clock, weather with ambient temperature readout, audio and technical information display, and a full-fledged navigation unit.

One look at this behemoth will tell you that this is not one for the everyday lugging, and Indian has truly gone out of the way to load it with… well, everything.

 CB4Honda Intrceptor Concepte

On to a concept for the future, and what Honda’s design centre in Rome has come up with is a futuristic take on what a retro cafe racer would be. While it does look smokin’ hot, and is something that any bike lover would simply drool over, what had us intrigued was its ‘lit’ turbine unit placed where the average joe expects a headlamp. This small turbine is lit with strong LEDs to illuminate the path ahead, and the fan itself converts the bike’s kinetic energy into electrical energy to power a fuel tank-mounted touchscreen. We’re not entirely sure what advantages that might have, but it is certainly quite cool to see this rather effective piece of operation.

On to a concept for the future, and what Honda’s design centre in Rome has come up with is a futuristic take on what a retro cafe racer would be. While it does look smokin’ hot, and is something that any bike lover would simply drool over, what had us intrigued was its ‘lit’ turbine unit placed where the average joe expects a headlamp. This small turbine is lit with strong LEDs to illuminate the path ahead, and the fan itself converts the bike’s kinetic energy into electrical energy to power a fuel tank-mounted touchscreen. We’re not entirely sure what advantages that might have, but it is certainly quite cool to see this rather effective piece of operation.

BMW C400 X

BMW Motorrad’s latest take on the mid-sized scooter segment is a premium commuter that is loaded with all the latest gizmos that you can think of. To begin with, the 34hp single cylinder engine is mated with a CVT gearbox, along with ASC and ABS to emphasise on safety. It also gets BMW’s new LED headlamp with DRLs, a 6.5-inch multi-colour display that shows vehicle information and connects to phones via Bluetooth, and an integrated navigation system that relays directions via arrows.

The infotainment system is not a touch unit, but facilitates calling and music playback functions via buttons. What more, you also get app connectivity to access the scooter’s settings from your phone itself, which makes it ready for future connected infrastructure. It may seem a bit overloaded for a scooter, but the BMW C400 X is meant to be an urban intra-city commuter, and for that, it fits the shoes perfectly.

Harley Davidson Boom! Box

It would be impossible to talk about the latest technologies coming to bikes, and not mention Harley Davidson. The pioneering company has designed a retro-fitting infotainment system for its bikes, calling it the Boom! Box. Two flavours – Standard and Premium offer 4.5-inch and 6.3-inch displays respectively, and has a rich array of features to accompany long cruises.

The Boom! Box system includes a bike-mounted speaker setup, and you can pair your phone to this system via Bluetooth (or USB) to get audio feedback via the speakers, or wireless headsets. You get FM/AM channels, Internet radio options (like SiriusXM), Bluetooth music playback, calling and SMS readout, a voice command transceiver, and even an integrated graphic sat-nav! Harley also offers good customisability, including display and keyboard customisation with a host of colours and different layouts, choosing audio outputs, and almost everything that a car’s infotainment system can do.

Cobi Connect

Cobi calls itself the ‘world’s smartest connected bike system’, and provides a full suite of peripherals and apps for bicyclists. The Cobi Connect suite is centered around smartphones, and to begin with, provides a mount with a rugged, protective, rain-proof, charging case to slip your smartphone in. This is also accompanied with a five-way controller, so that you do not have to reach out for the touchscreen while on the move.

Once mounted, you can connect your smartphone to a wireless headset, and switch on the Cobi app. This app provides a dashboard display showing tripmeter, speed, gradient, AmbiSense front headlight and rear light, navigation, music control, phone connectivity, and a fitness section that relays heart rate and calories burnt. Furthermore, Cobi’s data syncs with Apple Health and Google Fit, which would allow you to merge your existing fitness data to your biking ones. You also get an electronic bell that emulates the standard bicycle bell.

In essence, the Cobi Connect is possibly the first all-inclusive infotainment system, designed solely for bicycling enthusiasts.

GenZe 200

The GenZe 200 Series e-bike takes much of the goodness of Cobi’s after-market bicycling infotainment solution, and provides it as an integrated feature. The GenZe 200 Series e-bike gets an integrated LCD display to show you travelling data, and simultaneously comes with a connected app that provides extended data such as battery range, navigation routes, ride history and fitness data. The connected smart bike is one of the first smart bicycles being factory-fitted with connected services, and comes in purview of connected biking which is gradually being introduced across the world, to improve two-wheeler safety.

Alongside, the GenZe 200 also gets throttle and pedal assistance, to make the bicycling experience smoother than what basic e-bikes offer. To facilitate the use of a smartphone while riding, GenZe also fits it with an integrated USB charger and mount to keep your phone charged and held in place during mountain hikes.

USB Smart Hub ICs going to rule Smartphone-Connected Automotive Infotainment

With the rise in in-vehicle infotainment systems, car manufacturers need to provide a reliable, intelligent connection between the car’s display and one or more smartphones or tablets. Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MCHP), the industry leader in supplying the integrated circuits (ICs) that enable these connections, provides unrivaled options with its five new USB 2.0 smart hub ICs. These devices, available in a variety of architectures, offer greatly increased flexibility to fit car manufacturers’ design needs and meet consumer demand for easy-to-use, intuitive systems.

The five new devices enable multiple architectures so manufacturers can implement their design of choice to easily interface with all major smartphone operating systems. These systems allow the graphical user interface of the phone or tablet to be displayed on the vehicle’s screen and enable integration with voice commands inside the car, all while simultaneously charging the mobile devices. They also enable driver assistance applications on mobile handsets to be integrated with an automobile’s infotainment system.

Microchip’s new smart hub ICs enable cascading of the hubs to the second- and third-row seats with simultaneous data and charging in all ports. For example, if there are dual USB ports, one port can connect the phone or tablet to the head unit, leaving the other port free to charge and upload/download data. With Microchip’s new USB4914, USB4916, USB4925, and USB4927 smart hub ICs, car makers can customize solutions to meet their design needs. As the car becomes more of an entertainment environment, manufacturers can create solutions that allow consumers, for example, to use one phone for navigation and another for music or video.

“Microchip is the leader in USB hub ICs for the automotive industry,” said Mitch Obolsky, vice president of Microchip’s USB and Networking Group. “Our long-term investment delivers patented technology that provides unique host/device bus configurations for handset connectivity into vehicles to allow better access to information and safer driver assistance and communication.”

Microchip’s new USB4715, USB4914, USB4916, USB4925 and USB4927 USB 2.0 smart hub ICs provide unique USB configurations including single- and dual-bus implementations for optimal connection to infotainment systems. All devices operate with standard USB drivers present in most automotive head units for faster development, system validation and field updates. Each device also contains an integrated 32-bit microcontroller for advanced bridging, audio application support and USB Power Delivery (USB PD).

Development Support
A demonstration application board and evaluation board are available for each of the new USB 2.0 smart hub ICs. The demonstration application board emulates a system that a tier one supplier or Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) would use in their actual application. Microchip also provides a USB Power Delivery application showing charging for the USB PD 3.0 specification.

Pricing and Availability
The USB4715, USB4914 and USB4925 are offered in a 48-pin QFN package. The USB4916 and USB4927 come in a 64-pin QFN package. Devices are available today in volume production starting at $3.25 each in 10,000 unit quantities.

 

The Future of Transportation: Vehicle Connectivity

Vehicle connectivity is changing the way society experiences transportation.

The rapid advancement of vehicle technology is dramatically altering transportation models around the world. From early stage consumer infotainment features, to ride sharing and on-demand mobility services, to fully autonomous vehicles in the future, connectivity in the car has been the driving force behind recent automotive technology advancements. As a result, vehicles have morphed into much more than just a way to get from one place to another, but extensions of consumer digital lifestyles and a catalyst for significant change in the way society will experience future mobility.

To visually summarize the past, present and future of vehicle connectivity, Airbiquity developed an info graphic, Mapping Vehicle Connectivity: The Driving Force Behind Automotive Innovation, comprised of four key phases of the connected car.

Phase 1: Connecting the car.

The first phase of the connected car was establishing connectivity between the vehicle for call center and concierge services like GM’s On Star. Many automakers followed suit and introduced similar safety and convenience services. Simultaneously, Bluetooth technology was introduced which enabled drivers to safely make and receive “hands free” phone calls while in their vehicle for the first time. This phase wouldn’t last long however, as the widespread consumer adoption of more sophisticated smartphones drastically altered the driving experience and in-vehicle environment.

Phase 2: Infotainment

The second phase of vehicle connectivity was driven by the introduction of smartphones and pervasive use of mobile apps. Leveraging the connectivity that preceded it, infotainment quickly became a ‘must have’ feature for new car buyers, especially millenials. The first infotainment service was announced by Ford in 2007, and by 2015, all major automakers had integrated some type of infotainment system into their vehicles. Infotainment programs allowed popular apps like Spotify and Pandora to enter the vehicle environment, mirroring the already familiar smartphone-based mobile experience and extending consumers’ digital lifestyle into their cars.

Phase 3: Software and data management

As we enter phase three, the phase we’re currently in, vehicle technology is advancing again with the introduction of over-the-air (OTA) services, which enable the transmission of software updates and data between a vehicle and the cloud. For context, imagine if you had to go to a physical retail store every time you needed to update your smartphone operating system or apps. It would be very inconvenient, correct? Similar to a smartphone, vehicle software  will increasingly need to be updated as well – and OTA technology allows this to happen remotely. Prior to OTA, consumers had to visit dealerships to get their vehicle software updated, a costly burden for automakers and a hassle for vehicle owners. With OTA, global automaker cost savings for mitigating software recalls and cyber security threats alone are forcasted to increase from $2.7 billion in 2015, to $35 billion by 2022, according to research firm IHS. In addition to revolutionizing vehicle vehicle software update and data management, OTA will also serve as a foundation for the fourth phase of connected car: fully autonomous driving.

Phase 4: Autonomous driving

The introduction and adoption of fully autonomous vehicles, those requiring no human intervention, will dramatically alter the future of mobility. As the driving wheel disappears from vehicles altogether, vehicle design will radically transform as automakers shift to accommodate additional technology developments like the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI), new transportation models, and enhanced user experiences. Looking towards an autonomous future, transportation will no longer be centered on the traditional concept of individual car ownership in favor of a new era of “smart” transportation and on-demand mobility services.

n conclusion, vehicle connectivity has been central to many of the major automotive technology advancements over the last two decades, and will continue to impact the way society experiences transportation going forward.

New engines, infotainment bugs hurting auto reliability

• New technology in cars and trucks is making them less reliable, a Consumer Reports survey found.
• Vehicle owners continue to be frustrated with new systems that are filled with bugs and glitches.
• The survey is based on the impressions of more than 640,000 vehicle owners.\

New and more advanced transmissions as well as more complex infotainment systems are hurting the reliability of cars and trucks.

That is the conclusion of the Consumer Reports annual auto reliability survey.

“It is really the new technology that is being added to the new vehicles that has really been the problem,” said Jake Fisher, director of auto testing for Consumer Reports.

The survey, based on the impressions of more than 640,000 vehicle owners, is considered a benchmark report in the auto industry.

This year, Fisher says, vehicle owners continue to be frustrated with new systems that are filled with bugs and glitches. In particular, new transmissions designed to improve the performance of new models are often delivering an inconsistent ride for drivers. Fisher says these technologies have more than their fair share of problems.

So which brands get the highest marks from their owners?

This year, Toyota was No. 1, with Lexus coming in second and Kia moving up to third, the highest ranking that brand has ever achieved.

What stands out to Fisher about the most reliable brands is their conservative approach to introducing new systems into vehicles.

“These are auto manufacturers that are very slow and methodical as they add to that technology,” said Fisher. As a result, Toyota and Lexus owners complained less about seeing glitches in their vehicles.

On the other end of the survey, three domestic brands were ranked as having the least reliable models, with Cadillac falling six spots to dead last in the survey.

“With General Motors, they put out a lot of new product very recently, and they are struggling with that,” said Fisher. “We expect that over the years, over the generations, the life generation of these vehicles, they are going to get a lot of the bugs worked out.”

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@Info credits CNBC (Consumer Reports annual auto reliability survey.)