June 2005
Pages 78-82
Tech My Ride
A truckload of new high-tech options can turn your car into a mobile office, theater and more. Are you ready for the ride of your life?
By Chris Tucker
Not many years ago, a state-of-the-art stereo and maybe a sunroof were the apex of in-car technology. Now, however, the car bar is being raised as new innovations reshape every aspect of the driving experience: navigation, safety, entertainment, communication and more.
Chris Cook of the Consumer Electronics Association reports a huge increase in smart-car tech over the past couple of years, ranging from increasingly powerful GPS-based navigation systems to Bluetooth-friendly cars. And while many of these tech tools are designed to make driving safer and more efficient, many exist just to make our time behind the wheel a lot more fun.
According to Phil Maguey, president of the Telematics Research Group, the automotive industry increasingly depends on electronics and entertainment devices to differentiate new models. But the big automakers aren’t solely responsible for the new wave of car tech. Analyst Mark Dixon Bünger of Forrester Research notes that because of Detroit’s long product-development cycle – three to five years for most models – much of today’s exciting vehicle technology comes from aftermarket and consumer device providers who can whip out new products virtually overnight.
In the movie, I, Robot, Will Smith shocks a friend by daring to drive his car rather than letting the computer run the show. Autopilot control isn’t on the horizon – yet – but there’s plenty of new hardware and software driving this revolution.
Global Positioning Satellite (GPS). Thanks to General Motors’ OnStar, most of us know that GPS units use information from orbiting satellites to track a car’s latitude and longitude and dispense driving directions. That “Never Get Lost Again” promise has driven increased demand for GPS. According to Phil Magney of TRG, 27 automakers offer some kind of navigation package as standard or optional equipment on 2005 models, up from 23 last year.
But directions – by text or voice – are only the beginning of what GPS can do. OnStar, which will be standard in all GM models beginning in 2007, offers Automatic Crash Notification, which calls an OnStar emergency response center and sends a signal to a service center when an airbag is deployed or a mayday button pushed. The advanced version gives OnStar details on the severity of the crash that are relayed to 911 to predict the likelihood of life-threatening injuries. Forrester’s Mark Bünger, noting that some 42,000 people each year are killed in traffic accidents, says that systems like OnStar and the similar BMW Assist can aid in saving lives.
GPS also enables a new innovation called XM NavTraffic, a standard feature in the 2005 Acura RL. A mapping company called Navteq and XM satellite radio have teamed up to bring drivers in more than 20 metro areas real-time information on traffic accidents, construction bottlenecks and more. The system no only alerts the driver to stack-ups ahead, but can suggest alternate routes around the problem – all of it visible on the Acura’s 8-inch LCD. Look for many more models to play catch-up in the near future.
Voice recognition. Here’s good news for those who like a little sci-fi with their Sunday drive: Voice solutions for the car are better than ever, thanks in large part to IBM, a pioneer in voice tech. Select Honda and Acura models use IBM Embedded ViaVoice speech recognition, which will respond to more than 700 spoken commands – switch the radio on, change the channel, turn up the heat.
The IBM system also ships with more than a million city and street names accessible by voice. Say the address, and spoken directions guide you there. And if you need to locate a hospital, an ATM machine, or a nice restaurant on the way, just ask. And we’re not just talking addresses: Using review info from the Zagat surveys, your car can steer you to “an intimate little Italian eatery with a surprising wine list.”
Speech recognition in a car faces considerable obstacles, including the almost-constant background noise generated by a moving vehicle. But the new IBM system has made great strides in adjusting to various noise levels and drivers’ accents. And the company isn’t finished yet. Jim Holland, who runs IBM’s Pervasive Computing telematics arm, says his engineers are now working on in-car cameras that factor in lip movements to improve speech recognition.
While everyone applauds serious, sober-minded improvements in navigation, many observers believe that the real “killer app” for car tech will be entertainment, as more drivers demand the same audiovisual goodies that they enjoy at home. TRG reports that “rear-seat entertainment” options decorate 28 different auto models this year, a jump from 19 in the 2004 models. Here’s some of that show on the road:
Music. Now that millions have their own voluminous music libraries on iPod or other MP3 players, they’re taking the tunes along. In many cases, an inexpensive aftermarket kit allows the player to be plugged into the car’s stereo cassette player. You control the volume and selection nusing buttons on the car radio or, in some cases, the steering wheel.
Estone Digital also rolled out an in-dash AM/FM MP3 player last year, allowing people (passengers only, we hope) to rip CDs or record radio programs to a built-in, removable hard drive.
Movies and television. While the number of DVD players in U.S. cars will explode from 3.4 million units in 2004 to 9.2 million units by 2010 (according to TRG), the plain-old DVD screen may seem like an 8-track player soon. Live TV will soon be in cars: RaySat Inc. recently debuted a satellite TV antenna that attaches to the roof of a vehicle to bring in Dish Network and all other signals. And Sirius Satellite Radio says it will launch an in-car video service in 2006, providing several channels of kids’ programming.
To show what might be possible in a few years, a Ford concept car, the SYN US, sports a 45-inch flat-screen LCD built into the read door. Now get this: While you’re driving, an outside rear camera beams pictures of the real-world – like that looming 18-wheeler – to the screen. When the drive’s over, just rotate the seats and watch a movie.
It sounds like a smooth ride to the future, but the car-tech boom has its mixed blessings. Consider “geo-fencing,” as it’s called. Some of today’s cars are equipped with systems to alert the owner, by phone or e-mail, if the car is driven outside a certain area or beyond a certain speed.
So when the daughter of a car-tech CEO was speeding down a Los Angeles freeway, the smart car notified Dad – who happened to be at a business meeting in Japan. Imagine her shock when he called to bust her.
Moral: Thanks to modern car tech, it’s easier than ever for Daddy to take the T-Bird away. Even if he’s halfway ‘round the world.
Chris Tucker is a Dallas-based radio commentator and book editor.