Until recently, cars have remained entirely unconnected.  Off-the-grid as far as talking to other devices. On-Star changed that by building a cell-phone into the car and ever since it’s been a mad dash to add functionality that will take advantage of the cars new ability to talk to the outside world.

But with great power comes great responsibility…

The more connectivity and integration is built into any device (a car for our purposes) the more ways there are to access that device.  This is a natural evolution of technology.  Unfortunately those ways to access device also mean more ways for those with less than positive intentions to gain access as well.

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, and the University of Washington are researching vulnerabilities in electronic vehicle controls, trying to warn automakers about potential security holes. Many new cars have Bluetooth wireless technology and built-in connections for cell phones and other devices, and those connections could be exploited. In one example, the researchers called the car’s cellular connection and uploaded malicious code using an audio file. In another test, they found out how to pair the car to a Bluetooth-enabled device, which they used to execute code.

Hacking vehicle systems started as soon as computers were introduced to vehicles (and before that if you might consider removing your headers ‘hacking’ your exhaust system), but this has already required physical access to the car.  With the addition of wireless connectivity the aforementioned researchers have proven that barrier no longer exists.  The article goes on to speak of some of the challenges faced in attempting this type of hack, but there is absolutely no question this will get easier as time goes on…not harder.  Automotive companies will always try to close security holes, but no system can be completely locked down and still remain flexible enough to talk to other systems.  As additional technologies are introduced to bring smart phone connectivity into the vehicle the frequency of these hacks will increase greatly.  Just about every smartphone on the market can already be hacked to do things its not meant to do and the car wont be any exception.

Personally, I’m not terribly worried about it.  I’ve dealt with technology all my life and done a fair bit of the hacking myself…and, frankly, I’m looking forward to being able to hack my next car to do what I want. It is inevitable that people will try to take control of their devices at the lowest level and they will succeed.  Most will use this power for good and increase the mileage of their Prius or custom build an app for their phone to talk to their car, but someone, somewhere will create a ‘virus’ for the car.  In the PC world viruses are easy to catch and difficult to get rid of, but most don’t bring your system to a crashing halt.  Most are meant to steal information or processing power, not prevent users from completely using there computers.  In automotive I would expect the same to hold true.  Malicious code wont usually be made to send thousands of cars careening into each other.  Instead it will steal personal information, flash messages on the screens, and otherwise invade your life while still allowing the car to operate safely.

On the other hand, there are those PC viruses that format your hard drive for no good reason other than the creator wanted cause destruction.  This is possible in the automotive world as well, but no doubt that particular hacker would be aggressively pursued…much more so than someone crashing home computers.

By no means am I saying the sky is falling, but I do expect this type of intrusion into vehicle systems to increase over time.  Just like Apple computers never had viruses until they become ubiquitous (essentially) and the same will hold true in vehicles.  As the number of these systems increase, and in turn the number of people that can be reached with a particular virus increases, the automotive industry will have to deal with the same problems that PCs and smartphones have.

via [PopSci]

Related posts:

1. Hacker Uses Telematics System for Revenge
2. Smartphones and Embedded Systems
3. Application Spotlight: AppSpace.com

IBM has created a super computer called Watson that it will pit against Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter in a game of Jeopardy! in an attempt to demonstrate some of the most advanced artificial intelligence on the planet.  The three contestants will compete over three shows for a total of $1.5million in prize money.

The reason all this is important is because Watson will have to ‘hear’ the questions just like any other contestant, figure out what is actually being asked, and retrieve the information before his human challengers.  Considering most customer service IVRs can barely figure out when I ask for an operator this is an almost unbelievably daunting task.

I’ve joked previously that voice recognition technology wont be have met customer expectations until it functions like the computer on Star Trek (i.e. understands almost any request in any context) and Watson may be the first real world demonstration of the technology that would eventually get us to a place where no man has traveled before.

Competitor Ken Jennings hit the nail on the head, “… the retrieval process is trivial for a computer and difficult for a human, while the comprehension process is much easier for Ken than Watson.” Once Watson thinks it has figured out what is being asked it will have an answer within milliseconds… The tricky part will be whether or not Watson’s answer is to the right question.

This will be a really fascinating test (and much more understandable than Deep Blue vs. Kasparov).  Click through the articles I’ve provided for more information and I’ll cover this further closer to the airing of the episodes.

via [engadget] and [wired] and [NYT]

Related posts:

1. LinkedIn Question: What’s driving the development of … infotainment systems?
2. Telematics Update Conversation with Gary Gale, Dir of Engineering, Yahoo! Geo Technologies
3. Smartphones and Embedded Systems

Recent studies indicate 46 percent of adult smartphone users have apps on their phones and 36 percent of those admit to using those apps while commuting. Moreover, the 2010 study “Staying Connected on the Go: A Look at In-Vehicle Smartphone Integration Systems” conducted by the Consumer Electronics Association reports that 55 percent of smartphone owners prefer voice commands as their user interface for in-car smartphone integration, making the business case for SYNC and AppLink even more compelling.

Pandora internet radio, Stitcher news radio and OpenBeak are the first SYNC-enabled mobile apps (the same three reported quite some time ago..availability details below) so Ford has yet to open up the development API to a wider audience, but this is a good start.  The menu system should be fairly straightforward, but will face the same challenges as all voice recognition systems.  ’Play Station Classic Rock’ might be simple enough, but many systems already struggle with artist names and obscure genres.  OpenBeak will read your twitter timeline to you…thus far in my experience, not a great way to interact with tweets.  I’m definitely looking forward to testing out how well the system works at CES this year.

2011 Ford Fiesta owners will be the first to take advantage of the new AppLink feature and will need to download the update from their sites to a USB drive.

Probably more importantly than the feature itself is the announcement that the Apple iPhone will be supported.  Apple has the most widely used device with the largest app store so Ford must be very excited to bring this feature to their users.  Between the three supported platforms Ford Sync users are pretty well covered.

I’ve got my fingers and toes crossed that this type of tighter integration between smartphone, app and car will speed up in the automotive marketplace.  These voice controls are nice, but this approach of providing a consistent experience across mobile and automotive platforms while taking advantage of the user experience in each is one of the keys to the future the automotive infotainment industry.

Complete press release after the break.

via [Ford PR]

SYNC APPLINK NOW AVAILABLE AS FREE DOWNLOAD; FORD FIESTA OWNERS FIRST WITH VOICE CONTROL OF APPS

• SYNC^® AppLink, the industry-first software application that gives SYNC users hands-free voice control of their smartphone apps, is now available as a free download for 2011 Ford Fiesta owners at www.syncmyride.com

• Ford announces that Apple iPhone will be compatible with AppLink, along with initially announced BlackBerry by RIM and Android-based smartphones

• Pandora internet radio, Stitcher news radio and OpenBeak are the first SYNC-enabled mobile apps, some of which can be downloaded today from Android Market and BlackBerry App World, and soon from Apple App Store

• SYNC AppLink comes first to 2011 Ford Fiesta owners, with more SYNC-equipped vehicles soon to follow

DEARBORN, Mich., Dec. 22, 2010 – More than 14,000 owners of SYNC^®-equipped Ford Fiesta vehicles can start celebrating the holidays now by treating themselves to the gift of AppLink, a free software program that gives SYNC users voice control of apps stored on their smartphone.

The industry-first capability puts Ford out front in the race to integrate smartphone apps into the car. The AppLink download for Fiesta owners went live today on the SYNC owner website, www.syncmyride.com.

“More and more drivers are using their devices and their apps while in the car,” said Doug VanDagens, director of Ford Connected Services. “With AppLink, SYNC is a smarter solution for these drivers who choose to use these apps while driving – making it the only connectivity system available that can extend app functionality to the car using both voice and steering wheel controls.”

Ford is also announcing a surprise new member to the AppLink family: the Apple iPhone. The popular smartphone makes for a powerful addition, and will be joining Android and BlackBerry smartphones as compatible devices with the software that allows apps to be controlled through the SYNC voice recognition system – a smarter alternative to manually controlling apps while driving.

Recent studies indicate 46 percent of adult smartphone users have apps on their phones and 36 percent of those admit to using those apps while commuting. Moreover, the 2010 study “Staying Connected on the Go: A Look at In-Vehicle Smartphone Integration Systems” conducted by the Consumer Electronics Association reports that 55 percent of smartphone owners prefer voice commands as their user interface for in-car smartphone integration, making the business case for SYNC and AppLink even more compelling.

“SYNC and AppLink work hand-in-hand to answer consumer demand for safer, smarter control of smartphones while in the car,” said VanDagens. “Ford has worked hard to be a step ahead or at least in step with the speed of the consumer electronics market, and to leverage the technologies, features and services we know our customers want to be connected to while driving.”

Easy downloading

2011 SYNC-equipped Ford Fiesta owners need to log in to their account on www.syncmyride.com to access the free AppLink download in the Update & Customize section.

As with any typical download, the AppLink software can be stored on a USB memory stick, and then inserted and uploaded to the vehicle via the SYNC system’s USB port. In-car installation takes less than 10 minutes.

The first SYNC-enabled apps to market are Pandora internet radio, Stitcher news radio and OpenBeak for listening to Twitter posts. Once the AppLink upload is complete, customers can then visit their phones’ respective app store to download the latest SYNC-enabled Pandora, Stitcher or OpenBeak app to their smartphone as they would any other app.

Current availability of SYNC-enabled apps:

Pandora

• Apple iPhone: Coming early 2011
• Android: Available now (V1.5.3 or higher)
• BlackBerry: Available now (Version 1.1.6 or higher)

Stitcher

• Apple iPhone: Coming early 2011
• Android: Coming early 2011
• BlackBerry: Late availability

OpenBeak

• BlackBerry: Available now from http://m.openbeak.com and soon in Blackberry App World (Version 1.4 or higher)

Seamless voice control

AppLink makes the connection between app and SYNC fairly seamless and simple, using Bluetooth streaming on paired Android and BlackBerry smartphones and the USB port for a connected Apple iPhone.

To access a mobile app with a SYNC-paired phone, the user simply has to press the VOICE button on the steering wheel and say the command, “Mobile applications,” followed by the name of the app he or she would like to launch.

Once linked to Pandora, SYNC users can access their favorite personalized radio features, including creating and choosing stations, bookmarking songs for purchase, and giving songs a thumbs up/down all through voice. Command structure is intuitive and simple: “Play station classic rock radio,” “Bookmark song,” “Thumbs up” or “Thumbs down.”

“Where before users would pick up their phone, taking their eyes off the road and hands off the steering wheel while driving to select a station and hit play, AppLink makes all of that functionality available through voice control, just like managing AM and FM radio or your MP3 player through SYNC,” said Julius Marchwicki, SYNC product manager.

Similar voice command pathways and functionality exist for the Stitcher and OpenBeak apps. With Stitcher, for example, you can say the command, “Play station news” to listen to your favorite news radio or “Play station sports” to hear on-demand sports programming. Other popular Stitcher features such as skip station, thumbs up/down and “Add to favorites” are also available via voice.

Through the OpenBeak app, drivers can simply say the SYNC command, “Read timeline.” In seconds, their feed is read aloud using the SYNC text-to-speech engine – a very similar experience to listening to talk radio.

Additional SYNC-enabled apps and smartphone integrations are coming soon, said Marchwicki. AppLink will also be introduced on other SYNC-equipped new model vehicles in 2011.

Ford will feature demos of AppLink at the Pepcom Digital Experience media event in Las Vegas on Jan. 5, 2011, and then at the 2011 International CES consumer technology trade show in Las Vegas between Jan. 6 and Jan. 9, 2011.

# # #

About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 163,000 employees and about 70 plants worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Ford, Lincoln and Mercury, production of which has been announced by the company to be ending in the fourth quarter of 2010. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford’s products, please visitwww.ford.com.

Related posts:

1. Ford Announces AppLink
2. Ford Sync Feature Spotlight: API and Apps (aka AppLink)
3. Ford Sync Fact Sheet

It is agreed that the automotive industry needs to address the advanced features and functionality of smartphones in an automotive environment…but that’s about the only thing that’s been agreed upon.

Everything else, what services to deliver, how to deliver them, how to monetize the whole thing, and, most importantly, how to do it all safely remain undefined.  All the pieces are pertinent to the conversation, but without a doubt, the issues of driver distraction and safety overshadow all others.  It’s understandable of course, driver distraction is a real danger and between Oprah and Ray LaHood the issue has been given a lot of air time.  Unfortunately the fear of Ray LaHood, the DoT and rampant lawsuits seem to be the greatest barrier to delivering really cool consumer facing services.  Many companies are positioning themselves as simple service providers not liable for the end product.  The companies willing to take on the liability (logically) want to minimize their exposure and end up severely limiting the actual functionality offered to their end users.

The short term solution to liability of driver distraction is to deliver tightly controlled features i.e. things that can be easily integrated (like music services) and highly customized apps (like those released by OEMs for electric vehicles).  This works…sort of.  It’s really the absolute bare minimum and in many cases just using your existing smartphone apps while driving may work better.

Medium term people are looking towards voice control systems.  Voice control is great in theory, but it continues to under deliver on people’s expectations.  Sitting in my house with a desktop computer (a far more favorable environment than the car) I can’t effectively control much of anything or dictate a decent email.  Systems are getting better, but thanks to Gene Roddenberry and Star Trek, people expect a true natural language recognition system that no current system even begins to approach.

Long term there was one truly intriguing system that was discussed…the autonomous car.  No really, think about it.  If the major issue is driver distraction then removing the driver from the equation should be a pretty effective solution.  iSuppli’s Egil Juliussen, Ph.D. suggested 2015 for a real increase in Advanced Driver Assist Systems and ~2025 for some real forms of autonomous or semi-autonomous driving.  Talking about self-driving cars is still more Sci-Fi than it is bleeding edge, but I sure hope it’s coming fast because I hate driving (you grow up in Los Angeles traffic and not hate driving, I dare you).

I got the impression that even the already to market Ford Sync system (with all its features and screens) is more exposure than most OEMs are willing to accept.  Even with Ford’s aggressive approach to infotainment / entertainment in the car they haven’t really opened up their API.  I really hope that the industry doesn’t shy away from this arena purely because of the liability issues.  The always-on lifestyle is here to stay and burying your head in the sand is not the right thing to do for your customers.  Until there is an effective way for the wider world to develop application specific to the automotive environment, the end users wont be getting the best possible experience from their infotainment systems.

There is no easy answer and safety is probably the most difficult area to innovate.  The questions around how to integrate with the car, how deep to allow the integration, how to display the information to the user and how to certify the apps are all still too large to be effectively addressed.  Until there is a breakthrough in HMI technologies or there is clear cut regulation developing for the automotive environment is going to remain a minefield of liability issues.  Partnerships between OEMs to adopt particular standards could go a long way towards minimizing these issues and everyone agrees that it will be better to self-impose some restrictions than to have Texting Czar LaHood (that’s his title, right?) get more involved.

There are a lot of issues to be resolved beyond the distraction, but given the size of the market opportunity there is little doubt that if the risk is reduced to a reasonable level (i.e. driver distraction related liability issues are addressed), everything else will get figured out.

Come back soon, we’ll be talking more about the crossover between apps, content and the automotive industry, in particular, about some of the business model opportunities that exist going forward.

Related posts:

1. LaHood Still Looking at Cell Jamming Technology for Cars
2. Will Toyota’s Issues Shine Spotlight on All In-Car Electronics?
3. Challenges with Telematics Adoption

“There’s a lot of technology out there now that can disable phones and we’re looking at that,” Raymond LaHood, the Secretary of Transportation said during a discussion during MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

This will never happen. Ever.  There are to many legitimate reasons to use a phone in car (e.g. 911, passengers making calls, etc) and to few benefits to blocking it…not to mention the FCC wouldn’t approve it.  I don’t seen a need to spend a long time discussing this issue.  It’s just not going to happen.  Not even if there was a catastrophic distraction related accident to use as a rallying cry.

To be fair, LaHood went on to say, “That’s one way. But you have to have good laws, you have to have good enforcement, and you have to have people take personal responsibility. That’s the bottom line.”  Which is far more reasonable an approach.  The interview coincides with the Department of Transportations new, “Faces of Distraction” campaign which will no doubt seek to demonstrate the dangers of distracted driving (i.e. scare people).

I’m not sure what the impact of federal laws would be as the states seem to be doing a pretty good job of creating the restrictions themselves.  Handset use restrictions are becoming standard and seem to have a positive impact on the issue of distraction.  Texting bans are also being rolled out across the country, but the effectiveness is not the same.  The difference between the two is that it’s fairly obvious when someone is holding their phone to their ear.  It’s easy to enforce.  On the other hand, a texting ban is basically impossible to enforce.  Not only can users just keep the phone low (where law enforcement wont see it), but it’s not illegal to use your navigation system or radio while you drive and as more and more drivers use their phones for directions and music it is impossible to tell the difference legal and illegal uses.

The remaining option is apps that will limit the functionality of the phone while in motion, but this also wont work because enforcement is essentially impossible.  The applications are opt-in, essentially requiring a driver to choose to restrict their own access.  In the end, that means the person is willing to not use their phone while driving, but doesn’t have the will power to self enforce.  It’s a small percentage of people that will fall into this group.  I can see an opportunity in the corporate or fleet environment where the use of the application can be required and enforced.

MSNBC also spoke with Paul Atchley, a scientist at the University of Kansas who studies distracted driving.

The real answer to the problem is a change in people’s attitudes. The research on drunk driving and distracted driving is quite similar, but the reactions of people to both are far different.

“When we ask young drivers about drunk driving, they say that judges should throw the book at drunk drivers, but not the person texting while driving,” said Atchley.

“The bottom line is that people want to use these devices,” said Atchley. “And things are going to get worse before they get better.”

Related posts:

1. Transportation Secretary ‘LaHood fears spread of in-car technology’
2. Texting Bans, Can They Work?
3. App Spotlight: SafeCellApp – Get Paid to NOT Use Your Phone While Driving

SafeCellApp (not to be mistaken with the ‘radiation blocking’ SafeCell) has taken an interesting approach to smartphone app usage and distracted driving.  Instead of blocking features, the SafeCellApp will pay you $1 per 100 miles (it’s really 1 point per mile and 100 points per $1 aka $.01 / mile) you drive without violating texting or cell phone use bans.  By using your location to check the local laws the app can decide whether that call you just made was legal or not (for example by detecting whether or not you used a hands free device).  Users will be awarded points for positive behavior and will lose points for negative behavior (no word on if you’ll have to pay the SafeCell if / when you end up with negative points).

At $11.99 that’s 1,200 miles of distraction free driving just to make your money back.  Earnings can be redeemed via eCards and gift cards which is great and it seems like there are lots of Rewards Partners.  I drive about a 100 miles a day so I’d be curious to try this out, but I don’t have an iPhone or Android phone (WebOS RULEZ!).  If I drive 500 miles a week and somehow managed to not text for any of those  approximately 12 hours a week I’d earn $5 a week or $260 a year, which isn’t much, but more than I earn for not texting now (which is zero).  In theory, already ‘safe’ drivers should benefit by being paid for something they are already doing.

It’s a novel approach to the rapidly growing problem of distracted driving.  In essence paying people to have good driving habits is intended to offset the inconvenience of not using your phone.  Most people would argue that the increased driving safety should be payment enough, but that theory carries varying weight with different people.  Maybe the financial incentive will be enough to put some people over the top about less distracted driving. Personally, I don’t think the amount is enough to move the needle. If not getting in a accident isn’t motivation enough a few cents isn’t going to make a difference for me.  In fact, I’d happily PAY $1 for every 100 miles to be able to use my phone throughout my entire drive more safely.

In the end, I’m sure this approach will do more good than harm, but there is no way it will be the solution to distracted driving.  Mobile devices are only becoming more ingraned in our daily lives and the tendancy to use them while driving will only increase.  Whatever the solution to the distracted driving problem is, it will be a solution that enhances the user experience, not something that looks to limit it.

Related posts:

1. Sprint Offers Android Based Distracted Driving App err… App to Reduce Distracted Driving
2. LaHood Still Looking at Cell Jamming Technology for Cars
3. Texting Bans, Can They Work?

Many groups form and take the discussions further by establishing regularly timed twitter chats focused on their interests.  For example, there are twitter chats any day of the week around topics ranging from bloggers and social media to farming (#agchat) to dogs  to astrology (#astrochat) to Justin Beiber (#JBchat) – yes, Justin Beiber chats!

In general, there are some chats focused on cars (#carchat), but the continued innovation and integration of technology, transportation, consumer electronics and telecommunications and more still fragments some markets.

The convergence, innovation and integration of related industries like mobile phones, traffic, infotainment or wifi and the related new tools, devices, services and companies is inspiring.  The always-on connected vehicle is here to stay and yet continues to evolve.

In order to recognize the convergence and integration of these industries, we are starting a weekly chat using #digicar as our focus.  Short for digitalcars, it also includes the integration of ITS systems, telematics and innovation such as mobile apps.  Join a growing group to discuss relevant topics about the always-on connected vehicle.

We will pick one or two relevant topics per week and hope to encourage the community to share thoughts in the discussion.

The first session will be held on Oct 15 at 1:00 EST.  We plan to build and grow the discussion around weekly topics, such as telematics, traffic, ITS systems, GPS tools, distracted driving, wireless devices and more.

Our chats will be fed to another service that gathers our discussion. With the archive, anyone can return and review the discussions and possibly use for research, blogs or content.

As mobile phones and always-on connectivity advances within cars, our first topic will be around the growing integration of mobile phone apps and their use.

Our first topic of discussion will be:   What are some of the latest trends for integrating mobile apps into the car? Join us for our newly starting twitter chat Fridays at 1:00 EST! Always use the #digicar tag to focus the discussion.

How to prepare:

• Join us for the first session on Oct 15 at 1:00 pm EST. And every Friday.
• Always use the hashtag #digicar
• Inform friends that you may have lots of tweets during the session
• Have some blog links at the ready to feed quickly to the discussion.

What future topics interest you? We hope to hear from your regarding interesting topics but hope you join us as we ramp up.

Kevin Shannon

@ConnectedCar

Related posts:

1. Twitter, Now With Geo-Location
2. Twitter Is Poised to Lead Real-Time Incident Data
3. LaHood Still Looking at Cell Jamming Technology for Cars

Overview

Ford SYNC^®, co-developed with Microsoft and using Nuance Communications voice recognition technology, allows customers to bring digital media players and Bluetooth^®-enabled mobile phones into their vehicles and operate the devices via voice commands or with the steering wheel’s redundant audio controls. SYNC is an agnostic software platform that connects with the vast majority of makes and models of Bluetooth-enabled cell and smart phones from all network service providers, plus digital music players and USB memory sticks.

Facts

• Launched in fall of 2007, first on the 2008 Focus, the most affordable Ford car at the time
• SYNC has since been installed on more than 2.5 million cars, trucks and crossovers
• SYNC will launch globally, in Europe and Asia-Pacific,  in 2011 with the introduction of the new 2012 Focus
• SYNC voice recognition available in U.S. English, Canadian-French, and North American Spanish (expanding to 21 languages next year)
• In general, SYNC is installed on 70 percent of all Ford vehicles sold. More specifically, among 2010 models, it was selected by 81 percent of F-150 buyers, 85 percent of Fusion buyers and nearly 90 percent of Edge buyers

Ford market research results:

• Post SYNC demonstration, non-Ford owners show a 3-fold increase in willingness to consider Ford

Of SYNC owners:

• 32% see SYNC as having played an important or critical role in their purchase decision.
• 60% of owners use the voice commands
• 62% are completely satisfied with 80% of heavy users completely satisfied
• 77% would recommend – 92% of heavy users would recommend.

Availability

SYNC, where optional, costs $395, the same price as when it launched in 2007.

• No subscription necessary

On most Ford products, SYNC is optional on mid-level trim series (SEL and XLT) and standard on high-end trim series (Limited and Sport).

• SYNC is available on the following 2010 models: Focus, Fusion, Fusion Hybrid, Taurus, Mustang, Edge, Flex, Escape, Escape Hybrid, Explorer, Explorer Sport Trac, Expedition, F-Series, E-Series, Super Duty (plus new 2011 Fiesta and Edge)
• SYNC is standard on Lincoln models including the 2010 MKZ, MKS, MKX, MKT, Navigator (plus new 2011 MKZ Hybrid and MKX)

Standard SYNC Features

Bluetooth connectivity for mobile phones – Voice-activated, hands-free calling including automatic phonebook transfer

• USB port for digital media players (such as Apple iPod and Microsoft Zune) and USB mass storage devices – Voice-activated access to digital music files including MP3, AAC, WMA, and WAV.

• Audible text message readback – Text-to-speech engine capable of reading aloud incoming text messages from compatible Bluetooth-paired phones

• Bluetooth streaming audio (A2DP) – Digital content, including music, podcasts, and Internet radio broadcasts can be played through the vehicle’s audio system

Standard SYNC Applications (for 2010 models)

911 Assist^TM

• First launched for the 2009 model year (and available for 2008 models as dealer-installed upgrade)
• Commands SYNC to use the Bluetooth-paired cell phone to make an automatic call directly to a local 911 emergency operator in an air bag-deploying incident
• No subscription: Free capability for the life of the vehicle

Vehicle Health Report

• First launched for the 2009 model year (and available for 2008 models as dealer-installed upgrade)
• Provides personalized report on command including vehicle diagnostics, scheduled maintenance, recall information, and dealership coupons
• Information sent via data-over-voice technology using Bluetooth-paired phone and accessed through the www.syncmyride.com website
• No subscription: Free capability for the life of the vehicle

Traffic, Directions & Information

• Launched for 2010 model year along with the addition of a GPS receiver as standard SYNChardware
• Delivers voice-activated, on-demand turn-by-turn directions, business search, traffic reports, and personalized information
• Information services include weather, news, stock quotes, movie listings, sports scores, horoscopes, and travel connections
• Leverages Bluetooth-paired and registered cell phone (smart phone or data plan not required)
• Free for the first 3-years of vehicle ownership; Continued access only $60 per year

Coming Soon

AppLink

• Industry-first capability providing drivers access and control of smart phone apps using voice commands and vehicle controls
• First launches on 2011 Fiesta
• Software will be available by end of 2010 for owners via download and installation directly from www.syncmyride.com
• Compatible with Android^TM and BlackBerry^® smart phones (Apple^® iPhone compatibility coming in mid-2011)
• First SYNC-enabled smart phone apps: Pandora Internet radio, Stitcher podcast radio, and OpenBeak (a Twitter client)
• Standard SYNC feature; no subscription necessary (owner must have compatible smart phone and data service plan)

MyFord Touch™

The second generation of SYNC evolves the device connectivity system into the operating system behind the new MyFord and MyLincoln Touch driver interface launching on the 2011 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX. MyFord Touch is a holistic approach to the driver interface replacing many of the traditional vehicle buttons, knobs and gauges with clear, colorful LCD screens and intuitive 5-way buttons on the steering wheel. In MyFord Touch-equipped vehicles, SYNC now controls the functions of phone communications, entertainment/audio, navigation/services, and climate. Voice recognition has improved ten-fold with SYNCnow responding to over 10,000 commands at the first press of the “Talk” button.

MyFord Touch, powered by SYNC, will migrate next to the 2011 Ford Explorer and 2012 Focus and eventually be available on over 80% of Ford products globally.

via [Ford PR] Thanks for all the info!

Related posts:

1. MyFord Touch Review From Mossberg
2. Ford Sync Feature Spotlight: Security
3. Ford Announces AppLink

PopSci is reporting that University of Utah (UofU?) is working on a system that would use physical feedback to alert drivers of a need to turn based on the route set in the navigation system.  The idea here is that using the sense of touch would reduce the number of visual and auditory inputs that are already bombarding drivers and increasing distraction.

This is not a terrible idea, but it will require a great deal of work to make it effective.  As it stands, audio directions are pretty effective.  You usually get a warning before your turn and also at the point you’re supposed to make it, not to mention the every hilarious attempts to read street names and the radio already turns it’s own volume down so as to not drown out directions.

A tactile solution can potentially address most of these issues (not reading street names unless someone is planning on learning Morse code), but I’m not sure how effective it will be beyond left and right turns.

On the other hand, the article notes studies have established that the brain can generally handle inputs over different senses as well if not better than multiple inputs over the same sense (i.e. we can process a visual source and an audio source better than we can process 2 audio sources).  So, the idea of using tactile feedback could have some significant value.  There are also benefits to the hearing impaired drivers which should not be overlooked.

Kia was demonstrating some haptic feedback inputs at CES last year that provided alternative ways to control in-vehicle systems while keeping more eyes on the road.  It’s the other side of the equation (output vs. input), but UofU is ‘talking’ with some OEMs, but there have been no major announcements yet.

Click through for the full press release from UofU.

via [Eurekalert] via [PopSci]

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1. Ford Launches MyFord Touch – Next generation of in-vehicle connectivity
2. MyFord Touch Feature Spotlight: Navigation
3. Application Spotlight: Waze

If you don’t know what a Chumby is, it’s a standalone open source internet enabled widget device (i know, that doesn’t mean anything to anyone)…basically it’s a little piece of the internet wherever you put it.  The device connects to Wi-Fi and rotates through the list of widgets the user has chosen (through the website) to be displayed.  Personally I had my eyes on the Chumby about 18 months before it was even released years ago… I ended up buying it as a platform for demonstrating the power of widgets and specifically to demonstrate the potential for users to customize the content delivered to them.This is another example of Tier-1s crossing over into consumer electronics platforms to rapidly deliver broad feature sets to their users rather than having to develop them in-house (i.e. the recent Harman / Aha Mobile acquisition).  There are currently about 1500 widgets from all over the spectrum.

As a long time Chumby user I have a particular love for the device, but I have to admit it’s not nearly as useful as I might have hoped.  The functionality is fine, but unfortunately the development community hasn’t taken off.  I’ve only got about 10 widgets that I find even marginally useful and after that I don’t have a need for 100 different zoo webcams (exaggeration but you get my point).
 Safety will of course continue to be an issue…  Chumby apps allow interaction (clicking, selecting, etc) so as with all new in-car technologies the driver distraction issue will need to be addressed.

I really do like the platform (even if it is flash light based), but I’m not entirely sure what widgets will be effective in an automotive environment. That being said, it’s an open source platform and users are constantly improving the ‘app store’ (for lack of a better term).  The introduction of an automotive partner should definitely spur the community to create some apps more appropriate to the car and I look forward to finding out what those might be.

 A couple note, the Chumby comes with a built in accelerometer which means the operating system can accept inputs from an accelerometer… Will the in-vehicle platform allow developers to take advantage of an accelerometer in the car? How much freedom will developers have to create apps for the car?
 The potential is there for some very fun and relevant apps, but it remains to be seen what apps will be thought up (or allowed to be developed).  Best of luck to QNX and in particular to Chumby that sprite little techno-blob-device that has a special place in my heart.

Full Press Release after the break

via [PR Newswire]

OTTAWA, Canada, Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ — QNX Software Systems Co. and chumby industries today announced that the QNX® CAR™ Application Platform now supports chumby’s rich media Internet content for connected screens, including applications that deliver specialized content from major media partners and a vast developer community, including text, photo, video, and audio content.

As a result of this initiative, automakers and automotive tier one suppliers can build multimedia head units and other in-car infotainment products that provide access to more than 1,500 chumby applications for news, music, sports, social media, weather, and other services.

The QNX CAR Application Platform is designed to help automakers and tier one suppliers reduce the cost and effort of building in-car infotainment systems. It allows customers to evaluate a rich set of QNX technologies as well as pre-integrated third-party technologies from vendors such as chumby.

“QNX CAR is an ideal platform for the deployment of chumby’s dynamic applications and services, which allow automakers and suppliers to deliver a rich and personalized Internet experience to the car,” said Derrick Oien, CEO at chumby industries.

“This initiative demonstrates our ability to quickly integrate Adobe® Flash®-based applications, such as chumby apps, within the QNX CAR environment,” said Andrew Poliak, director of automotive business development at QNX Software Systems. “With this simplified integration, automakers may bring media-rich applications to market faster to keep pace with demand for integration with the latest consumer technologies.”

QNX Software Systems is the global leader in operating systems and middleware for the in-car telematics and infotainment market, and has licensed its technology for use in more than 17 million in-vehicle systems worldwide.

About QNX Software Systems

QNX Software Systems Co., a subsidiary of Research In Motion Limited (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM), is a leading vendor of operating systems, middleware, development tools, and professional services for the embedded systems market. Global leaders such as Cisco, Daimler, General Electric, Lockheed Martin, and Siemens depend on QNX technology for network routers, vehicle telematics units, industrial control systems, medical instruments, security and defense systems, and other mission- or life-critical applications. Founded in 1980, QNX Software Systems Co. is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, and distributes products in over 100 countries worldwide. Visit www.qnx.com.

About chumby industries

chumby industries, based in San Diego, California, is a software company that works with consumer electronics OEMs to bring a rich and personalized Internet experience to a multitude of connected products, ranging from devices as simple as clock radios to high-definition televisions. The open chumby platform enables developers to easily create Flash content for chumby-powered devices resulting in a constantly growing catalog of more than 1,500 applications in 30 different categories.

Related posts:

1. The Internet Radio Universe
2. Smartphones and Embedded Systems
3. Google Will Bring The Internet To You!

Aha Mobile launched its “Aha Radio” application for the Apple iPhone® earlier this year, which has since become popular among mobile users for sharing real-time, location-based traffic reports, entertainment and social network information.  In addition to planned integration with HARMAN systems, the Company will continue working with third parties to enable customized Web content on their products by leveraging the Aha platform.

I do expect more of this type of acquisition to take place in the future.  The automotive tier 1s are in an excellent position to acquire and integrate big chunks of technology and if that’s not what is supposed to happen to a web based startup then I don’t know what is.

Companies and apps that deliver content and location based services are at the forefront of mobile technology and they wont all be integrated into automotive as third parties, many will get bought up (some maybe even by OEMs themselves) and delivered to customers as an exclusive option for the vehicle.

Aha’s platform offers a lot of opportunities to leverage the latest technologies and content, I’m looking forward to seeing what Harman can do with it. Full text of the press release below.

UPDATE: Roger Lanctot has written a nice piece about this acquisition and On-Star’s Facebook feature. Enjoy!

via [Harman]

HARMAN Acquires Palo Alto-Based Web Content Pioneer to Transform the Mobile Infotainment Experience

Interactive Publishing Platform Offers Safe, Convenient Mobile Internet Access for the Connected Generation

Stamford, CT – September 15, 2010 – Harman International Industries, Inc. (NYSE: HAR), the premium global audio and infotainment group, said today that it has acquired Aha Mobile, Inc., a leading provider of on-demand mobile and location-based Internet content services.  Based in Palo Alto, California, Aha Mobile is a pioneer in converting Web-based content to streaming mobile radio that allows users to safely access their favorite news, entertainment and social media via in-vehicle infotainment systems or smart phone.

“Delivering safe and convenient Internet access to mobile users is one of the biggest challenges facing the infotainment industry,” said Dinesh C. Paliwal, HARMAN Chairman, President and CEO.  “In particular, the rapid growth of social networking through platforms such as Facebook®, Twitter® and others must be carefully managed in the automotive environment to prevent driver distraction.  This transformative technology will enable HARMAN to extend its leadership by dramatically expanding the information available to today’s connected generation while providing a safe, interactive experience.”

Aha Mobile was launched in 2008 by a group of Web and multimedia veterans with a shared passion for delivering an “always-on,” connected lifestyle experience via dynamic audio content that originates on the Internet.  The company’s robust audio publishing platform blends user preferences, behavior, and predictive search technologies to deliver a customized information experience that even adapts based on the user’s expected traffic corridor.  Integrated speech-to-text technology allows users to verbally interact via social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook or select from an expected 1000+ channels of Web-based audio information.

“Streaming, on-demand Web content technology is a natural complement to HARMAN’s premium infotainment systems, and we look forward to expanding the reach of this innovative platform to delight new customers,” said Paliwal.  “We will deploy this new technology to strengthen our global leadership as the provider of choice for rich, interactive infotainment on the road, around the home, or on the go.”

Aha Mobile launched its “Aha Radio” application for the Apple iPhone® earlier this year, which has since become popular among mobile users for sharing real-time, location-based traffic reports, entertainment and social network information.  In addition to planned integration with HARMAN systems, the Company will continue working with third parties to enable customized Web content on their products by leveraging the Aha platform.

HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets – supported by 15 leading brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 20 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems.  HARMAN has a workforce of about 11,000 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported sales of $3.4 billion for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2010.  The Company’s shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NYSE:HAR.

Related posts:

1. QNX, chumby Bring Personalized Internet Experience to the Car
2. Smartphones and Embedded Systems
3. Application Spotlight: Aha Mobile

The solution is a decentralized approach that lets the traffic lights work together by figuring out how changes at each individual intersection would affect the entire system. Instead of being stymied by natural fluctuations in traffic, the system takes advantage of them, using random gaps to help improve traffic flow.

Click through to PopSci for the full article.

via [PopSci]

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Functionality will include key fob functionality (door locks, remote start) as well as the standard OnStar Remote Vehicle Diagnostics etc.

It does feel like this type of thing is becoming standard fare and there is nothing wrong with that (this is really just an extension of the web based application and sure didn’t take to much effort to port to smartphones).  Once again, these types of apps are usually win-win for the customer and OEM… The cost of delivering remote door unlock through a smartphone is infinitely less than having to use a call center and, as an end user, I think it’s a whole lot easier to click an on-screen than to talk to someone.

Each brand is expected to release information as they release their apps tailored for their particular customer demographic.

“We’re working aggressively to bring the Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC applications to market as soon as possible,” says Joel Ewanick, vice president, GM Marketing. “Because we know that each brand’s customers have different tastes, wants and needs, the apps will be very specifically tailored to offer them the services they value most, leveraging these innovative OnStar features as a compelling mutual foundation.”

For now we’ve already covered the OnStar Mobile App for the Chevy Volt and it sounds like these new apps wont be much different.
Checkout the Video below…

via [GM]

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3. The NextGen of Telematics

Nothing official from OnStar yet, but it sounds like this is going to happen sometime this month.

Clearly OnStar has to up it’s infotainment services to compete with Ford Sync (and the other players bringing up the rear) and they will likely also move some services to free a la Ford Sync.

In the end, pretty much all of these platforms are going to offer the same services from location-based-this to social-networked-that (very much like most major smartphones can all do the same thing) and the true point of differentiation will be how these services are delivered.

via [Bloomberg]

Related posts:

1. Challenges with Telematics Adoption
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It’s no surprise that the iPhone is the most popular camera used to take pictures hosted on Flickr.  It’s probably the single most popular consumer device that has a camera, the quality has improved, and it’s connectivity as a phone allows it to upload directly to Flickr (rather than meaning to upload all those pictures and getting lazy about it).

The thing worth noting here is that a camera does not need to be top of the line to be useful to people and the ability to upload on-the-fly is key.  The car is such a mobile platform and ubiquitous part of daily life that it should have a camera and not just a wonky backup camera.

Cameras (internal and external) would offer all sorts of engaging applications.  With built-in geotagging and upload capabilities the car might even be able to rival the smart phone as a source of still images and video.

Cars will eventually have cameras for things like lane recognition, but there will definitely be more fun options than that.  What would you use a CarCam for?

via [holykaw] via [picturemore]

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We’ve already covered the Sync Apps and APIs extensively so click through to the original post to read more.

You can also check out the Ford Sync category for more extensive information on the Ford Sync system.

Full text of the press release below.

SYNC AppLink to launch on 2011 fiesta, MAKING FORD FIRST TO DELIVER voice control of smartphone apps

· Ford will first offer SYNC® AppLink, a downloadable software program, on the 2011 Fiesta, allowing owners to access and control AndroidTM and BlackBerry® smartphone apps with voice commands and vehicle controls

· Pandora internet radio, Stitcher “smart radio” and Orangatame’s OpenBeak are the first SYNC-enabled mobile applications

· Ford to create SYNC developer community with launch of new “Mobile Application Developer Network” (www.syncmyride.com/developer), giving developers a pathway to partner with Ford on SYNC-enabled applications

· Ford’s platform approach with SYNC is poised to harness smartphone app development and mobile web access; apps expected to be a $4 billion industry by 2012; analysts predict the mobile device to become the No. 1 source for Internet access by 2015

SAN FRANCISCO, April 20, 2010 – Customers have spoken — asking for safe, convenient access to their smartphone apps while in the vehicle – and Ford is responding by announcing the new SYNC AppLink software that will allow hands-free voice control of popular smartphone apps.

SYNC AppLink, a downloadable software upgrade, will be released for 2011 Ford Fiesta owners with the award-winning SYNC communications and infotainment system later this year, allowing drivers hands-free control of apps on their Android or BlackBerry smartphones via voice commands and vehicle controls. Ford will introduce AppLink on all SYNC-equipped vehicles next year, as well as provide interoperability with iPhone and other smartphones.

“The growth in smartphone mobile apps has been explosive, and Ford has worked hard to respond at the speed of the consumer electronics market,” said Doug VanDagens, director of Ford’s Connected Services Organization. “SYNC is the only connectivity system available that can extend that functionality into the car. AppLink will allow drivers to control some of the most popular apps through SYNC’s voice commands and steering wheel buttons, helping drivers keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.”

The Android MarketTM and BlackBerry App World™ are among the leading growth markets for mobile apps. The new SYNC AppLink will seamlessly integrate apps using the vehicle’s voice and user interface controls, including buttons on the steering wheel, increasing eyes-on-the-road and hands-on-the-wheel time.

The first SYNC-enabled apps available later this year include Pandora internet radio, Stitcher “smart radio” and Orangatame’s OpenBeak app for Twitter, with additional apps on the way. Updated versions of each app, incorporating the SYNC application programming interface (API), will be available through Android Market and BlackBerry App World for customers to download.

Built-in, Beamed-in and Brought-in: The SYNC App Ecosystem

From its introduction, Ford has been building an ecosystem of available SYNC apps, continuously improving the consumer experience.

· Built-in apps, including Vehicle Health Report and 911 Assist™, are downloaded and installed directly on the in-car SYNC operating system

· SYNC apps like Traffic, Directions & Information rely on beamed-in, or “cloud-based,” information. Drivers access the Ford Service Delivery Network, a network of data centers providing turn-by-turn directions, business searches, and on-demand news, sports and weather information, through a simple voice-connection using their cell phone.

· SYNC AppLink represents the third category of the ecosystem, brought-in apps, leveraging apps installed on a user’s smartphone, such as Pandora, Stitcher and OpenBeak

Studies show mobile app development – a niche market just three years ago – is expected to blossom into a $4 billion industry by 2012. Sites serving specific mobile operating systems, such as Android and BlackBerry OS, have experienced massive growth, with analysts predicting the mobile device will become the No. 1 source for Internet access by 2015, surpassing the home computer.

Ford and SYNC will answer the consumer demand by offering the only platform available for drivers to safely control their mobile devices and applications in the car. Leveraging SYNC’s safer voice commands and steering wheel controls, drivers are able to keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. “Brought-in” apps residing on a consumer’s smartphone also eliminate the need for yet another piece of hardware to be installed in the car which only serves to add cost and complexity.

Customers will be able to download SYNC-enabled mobile apps through the same app store interfaces currently used. As SYNC-enabled versions of existing apps are released into the app stores, users will be prompted to download the latest version upon connection. Also, as developers grasp the notion that the vehicle interior has opened to them, a new dimension of apps designed from the outset to maximize the unique in-car environment will follow.

Opening the door to developers

To facilitate future SYNC-enabled app development, Ford has also activated a new developer network on its SYNCmyride Web site (www.syncmyride.com/developer). Interested developers can find a link to submit innovative ideas, and sign up for the latest information and news about the SYNC application programming interface (API) and software development kit (SDK). The package will allow developers to modify existing applications and create all-new apps that can successfully interface with SYNC

Working with trusted partners, Ford is completing beta-testing on the SDK. Once beta-testing is complete, a broader release of the development tools is planned for later this year. Initial reports have been positive, with one of Ford’s development partners creating a SYNC-enabled version of its app just three days after receiving the development tools.

“We’re very pleased by the rapid development time and positive feedback we’ve seen from our first partners,” said VanDagens. “We want to encourage all developers to visit our site and submit ideas, helping us tap into the global pool of innovation and

Related posts:

1. Ford Sync Release AppLink to 2011 Fiesta; Apple iPhone Supported
2. Ford Sync Feature Spotlight: API and Apps (aka AppLink)
3. Ford Sync Fact Sheet

Multitasking has gotten the headlines and rightfully so.  It is a powerful addition and something that has been significantly lacking from the iPhone arsenal (much like copy and paste was lacking for so long).  For your reference, multitasking means that multiple applications can be run simultaneously and applications can run tasks in the background.  This is important because previously an iPhone app couldn’t work without being actively open.  For example, users of location based apps like Latitude and Loopt had to keep apps open to have their position updated.  Multitasking allows ‘background location’ which means that users can actually check their email without giving up the location updates.  This is a key element of making location based services and advertising a viable element of the iPhone environment.

Background audio means that apps like MP3s and Pandora can now listen to music while using a separate app for navigation…a logical next step when you think about this next thing.

The second feature is what is being called ‘iPod out’ and speculation is that it points to an iPod / iPhone automotive dock coming from Apple. A simplified interface and dash mounted dock would go a long way towards making the leading smartphone a bit easier and safer to use in the car.  The details are still rolling in so you can check back for details, but it seems clear that Apple is at least acknowledging that people are using their phones while driving.

via [TUAW] and [gizmodo]

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“We understand that the new rule is mobile first,” Schmidt said. “Mobile first in everything. Mobile first in terms of applications. Most first in terms of the way people use things. And it means … that we have a role now to inform, to educate through all these devices.”

Schmidt mentions education being a key element of the future of mobile and we previously talked about how kids and education can be wrapped into rear-seat entertainment systems.

Schmidt also said, “What is important now is to get the mobile architecture right. Because mobility will be the way you will provision in the future.  Fast forward 5-10 years. The answer should always be mobile.”

Generally the discussion has been about the mobile web and smartphones (etc), but there is an extremely important lesson to be learned by the automotive industry.  The framework that is established in the vehicle is the key to a successful system.  The architecture has to be something that is flexible enough to be customized, but more importantly it needs to be extend-able.  One of histories many lessons has to be that what consumers want now is not necessarily what they want in two years.  Future telematics platforms needs to be developed with this in mind.

The technology world as a whole is just beginning to embrace this mentality with smartphones, mobile web, cloud computing and the like. In my post ‘The App is the Future of Telematics‘ we discuss the app landscape of the automotive industry and how different companies are taking different approaches to solve the problem.

In the same conversation Schmidt said that there is no such thing as communication overload.  While that’s true when walking around (or sitting in a meeting) in the car driver distraction is a major issue.  It’s not a slam dunk that every app developed for the mobile world will translate to an automotive application.  In fact, most wont and it will take careful planning to modify existing implementations for the automotive world.

There is no doubt that mobile is the future.  Automotive is part of the ecosystem and the industry needs to actively manage it’s piece of the mobile marketplace.

For good measure, you can watch Eric Schmidt’s talk at Atmosphere below.

Related posts:

1. Pearl Mobile DTV Is A Big Deal For Mobile TV
2. Smartphones and Embedded Systems
3. Your Car Can Be Hacked And Its Going To Get Easier To Do

I don’t have much news other than what is in the press release, but it seems like this joint venture, called Pearl Mobile DTV Company, automatically becomes a major player in mobile TV.  What does this mean for FloTV?

Pearl Mobile will take advantage of the “ATSC-M/H, an open broadcast transmission system developed by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) specifically for mobile devices.”  This technology is backwards compatible with existing broadcast DTV standards, so existing DTV receivers will need no modification to receive signal (usually this means the hardware will be cheap and widely available).  Almost most importantly, given the players coming together as part of this endeavor they are guaranteed content people want to watch.  And as we all know, content is king.

The release says, “The venture is designed to complement the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) National Broadband Initiative by giving consumers mobile access to video content while reducing congestion of the nation’s wireless broadband infrastructure.”

I don’t know exactly what that means, I do intend to figure that out.

For the automotive industry, the establishment of a mobile TV standard and the adoption of that standard is a big deal.  Satellite TV never really hit the mark and Flo has been making progress, but they are swimming upstream.  The increased availability of options will lead to better coverage and higher adoption rate amongst manufacturers.

There has been some talk about rear seat entertainment around here and this is another service that will definitely give RSE a boost.

Full press release below.

Twelve Major Broadcast Groups to Form Joint Venture to Develop National Mobile Content Service

LAS VEGAS, April 13 /PRNewswire/ — Belo Corp., Cox Media Group, E.W. Scripps Co., Fox, Gannett Broadcasting, Hearst Television Inc., ION Television, Media General Inc., Meredith Corp., NBC, Post-Newsweek Stations Inc. and Raycom Media today announced plans to form a standalone joint venture to develop a new national mobile content service. Utilizing existing broadcast spectrum, the service will allow member companies to provide content to mobile devices, including live and on-demand video, local and national news from print and electronic sources, as well as sports and entertainment programming.

Broadcast spectrum to be utilized for the new mobile service will come from the three owned-and-operated station groups — Fox, NBC & Telemundo, and ION — and the nine local broadcast groups, which are Belo, Cox, E.W. Scripps, Gannett, Hearst, Media General, Meredith, Post Newsweek and Raycom. Separately, these nine local broadcast companies formed Pearl Mobile DTV Company LLC as a vehicle for their involvement in the venture.

By aggregating existing broadcast spectrum from its launch partners, the new venture will have the capacity to offer a breadth of mobile video and print content to nearly 150 million U.S. residents. In addition to broadcast spectrum, the partners will commit content, marketing resources and capital to the new venture. The service will employ ATSC-M/H, an open broadcast transmission system developed by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) specifically for mobile devices.

The venture is designed to complement the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) National Broadband Initiative by giving consumers mobile access to video content while reducing congestion of the nation’s wireless broadband infrastructure. In addition, the service’s mobile content network will have the capacity to deliver local and national time-sensitive emergency information to citizens across the U.S.

Regarding the announcement, Jack Abernethy, Chief Executive Officer of Fox Television Stations, stated: “We are excited about building a platform that makes mobile television universally available and economically viable. This venture is the first step in forging cross-industry and company partnerships to deliver content to consumers.”

“This initiative offers a path for the next generation of video consumption, and will help the FCC in its goal of ensuring efficient and reliable broadband service for US consumers,” said John Wallace, President, NBC Local Media.

“Local broadcasters are the backbone of the U.S. media industry,” said David J. Barrett, President and CEO of Hearst Television Inc. “This sharing of content, broadcast spectrum, marketing resources and capital is unprecedented, and underscores U.S. broadcasters’ commitment to bringing vital local news, weather, and emergency information to increasingly mobile U.S. consumers. This is a critically important initiative that holds great promise for our audiences and the television industry. This is truly the next generation of local television service.”

“This venture takes to the next level the work we embarked upon three years ago with the development of Mobile DTV technology, in anticipation of digital TV capabilities and consumer mobile demand,” said Brandon Burgess, CEO of ION Television.

“Mobile digital television places each of our companies at the center of a consumer transformation, putting us on cell phones, netbooks, DVD players and even in-vehicle entertainment systems,” said David Lougee, President, Gannett Broadcasting, Gannett Co. Inc. “And it’s the consumers who are the big winners. From news and entertainment to emergency information, virtually all U.S. consumers will soon be able to bring their most valuable content with them wherever they go.”

Information regarding a dedicated management team that will focus on securing additional content, spectrum and distribution partnerships for the venture will be made available at a later date.

via [prnewsire]

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1. Google Will Bring The Internet To You!
2. Where Do Kids Fit Into Telematics Strategies?
3. Rear-Seat Entertainment Sales to Double by 2015

With the oncoming proliferation of apps and advanced connected applications the RSE market is a huge opportunity.  I’ve already spent some time talking about how kids could fit into telematics strategies and some of the potential for RSE systems.

Because RSE users are encumbered by all those silly driver safety laws they can become (and rapidly are becoming) rolling media centers / offices.

Toyota, meanwhile, has an RSE in its new 2011 Toyota Sienna minivan that features a 16.4-inch-wide screen drop-down LCD, a DVD player, a 100W AC 120V outlet, an auxiliary input for gaming systems or other devices, and an iPod interface.

At present, the largest display for an RSE system anywhere allows for a split-screen view when two sources have been activated. Next are the 10.2-inch screens—seen on the new 2011 Audi A8, and whose RSE system will include its own AMI, a 20Gbyte HDD, two SD card slots, a DVD player, a Human Machine Interface (HMI) and connectivity with the rest of the vehicle.

With the availability of mobile broadband, especially 3G-to-WiFi devices, that allow mobile connectivity for one or more passengers make streaming music / video, web browsing, email, on and on, so easily accessible that it’s hard to imagine a future for RSE that doesn’t include large touchscreens and connected apps.

via [isuppli]

Related posts:

1. Will Toyota’s Issues Shine Spotlight on All In-Car Electronics?
2. Ford Announces AppLink
3. Google In Position to Control Mobile Future

The iPhone has a huge hardware lead, but Android is rapidly being rolled out across many different handsets.

The forecast expects revenue from mobile app sales to decline by 2012 as a result of price competition, but I would still expect overall revenue to increase significantly as mobile advertising comes into its own in 2010 and beyond.

According to Vice President of Forecasting Jake Saunders, “As competition heats up, app makers are both dropping prices and ‘going free’ to stay on top of the download charts.”

The proliferation of handsets and the adoption and integration of these technologies into the vehicle will only serve to further increase the app market.  The future of revenues is probably not in selling the apps so much as advertising and other related revenue streams.

Advertising in the car continues to be a question mark.  How can you deliver ads to the vehicle without making the driver and passengers want to kill themselves unobtrusively?  While many many service providers are scrambling to figure out location based mobile advertising the paid app market will continue to fuel the smartphone movement.

via [abi research]

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Continental’s ‘Always On’ concept is built around allowing the user to interact with the vehicle through various ‘views’:

Mobile View

The user’s view from their mobile phone. A simple, intuitive text-based mobile interface that allows you to “text your car, and your car will text you back”.

Car View

The user’s view from the car. This is the primary feature area of AutoLinQ™. The CarView can include an in-vehicle display and compute platform, along witha pre-loaded Android™ application set.

Home View

The user’s view from the home (or office) computer. This feature includes a vehicle-hosted (or server-hosted) multimedia web portal that allows drivers to interact with their vehicles from the comfort of home or office. Functions supported in Home View include:

• Online vehicle status and information
• Vehicle security and control
• Driver-specific application selection and download to vehicle
• Driver-specific vehicle personalization
• Vehicle diagnostics and dealer access
• Online owner’s manuals
• Driver-specific vehicle restrictions and owner SMS notifications
• Enhanced trip planning and navigation
• Social networking
• Communication / Telephony / E-Mail
• …and more.

Partner View

This web site is the foundation of the AutoLinQ™ Partner View. Its all about fostering a community of partners and developers that thoughtfully and safely open the AutoLinQ™ platform to the imagination of the world. Here, we intend to freely distribute open source tools and APIs that simply extend existing Android™ frameworks and tools.

Continental’s approach here is to allow the user to interact with the vehicle through all the channels that most people use to access information now (i.e. phone and personal computer) and to customize each ‘view’ to make it appropriate for the platform.  In the car users will primarily interact with apps through hard buttons, voice controls and the navigation screen (as you’d expect).  The standard web view is, well, pretty standard and offers the greatest functionality (again as you’d expect).  The mobile approach of using primarily text messages to access information is an interesting one.

Users can query the vehicle to find it or open doors or find out if they left their lights on and the system will automatically alert the user of the alarm being triggered, over heating in the car, low battery and more.  Pretty extensive control for text messages which have generally suffered from a poor user experience (if the user has to memorize the proper commands then it wont work).

Continental looks to be integrating AutoLinQ with a broad range of vehicle systems including enough access to start the engine (and presumably touch other vital systems).  The system seems to have more vehicle integration than Sync’s system (which is great), but this also raises some questions about application quality and overall safety.  Continental says that only OEM-certified apps will be use able while driving and that they are working with developers and automakers to “verify a core set of applications to help ensure that the information brought into the car is integrated in a thoughtful, secure and safety-minded way.”  So, how difficult will it be for the average developer to create an application that can be used while driving?

It shouldn’t be any more difficult to get your app approved than it is currently for the Android Marketplace, but it’s hard to say because each OEM will have to come up with it’s own rules for approving apps and will provide users with a web portal tailored to their system.

Also, in an interesting twist, the Android OS is open source.  It is readily customizable and extendable which makes it extremely powerful.  In fact, Continental is leveraging that power to deliver a vehicle specific API for the OS (as part of an SDK) that will empower developers to create the vehicle specific applications that can take advantage of in-vehicle controls and voice commands.  That being said, I’d be very interested to know if Continental has any concerns with hackers and modified OS ROMs being loaded into the system (things that are perfectly legal and frequently done for Android smartphone users).

Ford Sync is going the same direction by providing an API, but the AutoLinQ system differs in a few distinct ways.  Sync uses the MS Auto OS, apps will be downloadable to smartphones of different types and most importantly there is no additional approval process for applications because the Sync framework’s Rules Engine is responsible for making sure a particular application doesn’t violate predetermined best practices.  Continental’s AutoLinQ is tied to Google’s Android OS (and that particular app marketplace) and apps will be downloadable directly to the system.  It will require that apps be approved by the Android Marketplace as well as whatever additional rules Continental or an OEM might impose.  This might be a slightly higher barrier to entry for app makers, but I believe that the increased integration gives the system and applications more power to create ground breaking applications.

Continental is working with NAVTEQ to leverage their Network for Developers for “quality data and services as well as access to an existing ecosystem for the development of relevant applications for AutoLinQ.  In addition to core applications such as navigation and search a half-dozen partners are also already working on early prototype applications combining vehicle and social information to create exciting new experiences.”  Open source communities are generally filled with rabid proponents of that technology and by using Android Continental automatically leverages an extensive networking of existing apps and developers looking to launch free and paid apps to the user community.

I really look forward to getting hands on with this system at some point.  The power of an open source operating system and a new API will make for previously unimagined applications.  I really want to see how the implementation is adapted for in-vehicle use and if it is powerful while remaining safe or if had to be watered down to keep distraction to a minimum.

The app is the future of the telematics system.  With Continental’s AutoLinQ, DENSO’s Blue Harmony, Ford’s Sync and more it’s clear that users will have numerous options to choose from.

Related posts:

1. The App is the Future of Telematics
2. Hacker Uses Telematics System for Revenge
3. Application Spotlight: AppSpace.com

In the April 2010 edition of Fast Company Anya Kamenetz talks about how technology is impacting childhood creativity and the way kids learn.  It’s a great read and you should definitely click through the link at the bottom, but first I want to talk about how this movement might impact the automotive world.

Generally the focus of all telematics except streaming video has been the driver.  The burgeoning in-vehicle app ecosystem is generally focused on enabling the driver to interact with their phone or apps in a safer way.  On the other hand, the primary consumers of rear seat entertainment are children.  As every OEM and Tier1 moves to implement some sort of advanced telematics technologies taking advantage of brought in or downloaded applications I’ve heard nothing about rear seat entertainment and how this movement towards open frameworks will impact and be impacted by the kids in the back seat.

American children now spend 7.5 hours a day absorbing and creating media — as much time as they spend in school. Even more remarkably, they multitask across screens to cram 11 hours of content into those 7.5 hours. More and more of these activities are happening on smartphones equipped with audio, video, SMS, and hundreds of thousands of apps.

I have to believe that RSE is a major opportunity for the new breed of app enabled infotainment systems.  Sure, kids in the back seat could use their phones as they normally do, but as with the rest of the equation, the OEMs will have to sweeten the deal.  For example, in the back seat, 2 larger touch screens connected to each other to allow connected gaming would no doubt be a huge hit for any family regularly driving around with 2 young ones in the back.  Hardware costs could be a concern, but aren’t modern minivans just rolling entertainment centers for kids?

Not only are kids absorbing media, but they are learning at the same time.  The article highlights children from ages as low as 3 that are using technology to improve learning.  For example, learning how to spell or do your multiplication tables from an iPhone app (come to think of it, I know a few adults that would benefit from a math and spelling refresher).  Though kids have traditionally consumed video from the RSE, there is a distinct difference between video and both game and learning apps (it should be noted that most learning apps are just games with a purpose…So kids are often learning without realizing it).

“You put a kid in front of a TV, they veg out,” says Andrew Shalit, creator of the First Words app and father of a toddler son. “With an iPhone app, the opposite is true. They’re figuring out puzzles, moving things around using fine motor skills…”

And this engagement is key both in keeping kids interested as well as convincing parents to adopt these technologies.

With the launch of the iPad this past weekend, Apple is targeting education (amongst other things) as a key market for the device.  Text book manufacturers have announced iPad versions of text books and schools have even announce ‘an iPad for every student.’

Advanced applications of mobile connectivity don’t just have to enable web browsing, Facebook, and email.  They can enable not only fun, but also educational.

via [fast company]

Related posts:

1. Rear-Seat Entertainment Sales to Double by 2015
2. Eric Schmidt Says, “Mobile Is The Future”
3. Pearl Mobile DTV Is A Big Deal For Mobile TV

Now, sit back and enjoy a little reading before you take a long lunch and leave early… It is the weekend after all!

How Do You Use Apps In The Car? – The iPhone App Store has over 100,000.  The Android Marketplace just reached 30,000 apps.  Billions of downloads have already been delivered to devices and the market grows every day.  Users everywhere are becoming accustomed to downloading and installing applications that extend the utility of their devices and the car is the next platform that will benefit from this explosion in applications.

The Dangers of GPS, ‘The Simpsons’-style – In this clip from a recent Simpsons episode, Homer drives the kids to school, but reminds us to never blindly follow anyone (especially a GPS).  Now, maybe if the system he used had real-time data connectivity (or if he had listened to Bart) Homer wouldn’t have ended up where he did…10 feet off the ground.

The Internet Radio Universe – Roger Lanctot offers a great overview of what internet radio is and isn’t. We know that in-car connectivity is on the rise and streaming music will be one of the major uses of that bandwidth.

The Mobile Web vs Apps vs Both – As the mobile web (i.e. sites specifically designed to be viewed on mobile devices) is being replaced by mobile apps and sites that are dual purpose (i.e. the standard site can be viewed reliably in a mobile browser) Google seems to think that developers should be leverage the mobile web to create cross platform applications.

Ford Sync Has The Lead, Will It Hold On To It? – As the mobile web (i.e. sites specifically designed to be viewed on mobile devices) is being replaced by mobile apps and sites that are dual purpose (i.e. the standard site can be viewed reliably in a mobile browser) Google seems to think that developers should be leverage the mobile web to create cross platform applications.

Related posts:

1. Ford Sync Has The Lead, Will It Hold On To It?
2. The Mobile Web vs Apps vs Both
3. inTELEMATICStoday.com Weekly Round-Up

As it stands now developers generally have to create versions of their apps for both the iPhone and Android (and webOS a distant 3rd) not to mention a separate version for the ‘standard’ web.  This can be a daunting task and in many cases developers will just go with iPhone development because it has the largest user base.

Technologies like HTML5 might offer developers an alternative option that not only works cross platform, but also removes application stores, over the air updates, memory issues and more from the equation.

For example, recently Apple and Google had a little tiff over gVoice apps the big-G tried to get approved in the iPhone app store. Long story short, after some back and forth, Google decided that developing a mobile version of Google Voice in HTML5 was a better option than bothering with app stores.  With a single blow Google created an ‘app’ that works on Windows Mobile,  the iPhone and my ever forlorn WebOS.  And, for the record, it works well…though I must say, not as well as the gVoice app that used to be available (the major difference is that you have to dial out to listen to voicemails rather than just clicking ‘listen’ in the app…I expect that to be resolved eventually).

It raises some interested questions as OEMs begin to draw their party lines…  Each OEM is looking to find a solution that allows users to take advantage of mobile connectivity just like they do with a smartphone, but while driving safely and leveraging the advantages of the in-vehicle platform (continuous power, better speakers, increased mobility, etc).  Rather than choosing a platform that may close off options or leveraging the user devices to minimize what the system has to do, does it make sense for OEMs to consider the web browser as their platform for delivering apps and services.

Obviously I’m not talking about a fully operational web browser while I’m driving, but it essentially turns the in-vehicle system into a thin client with the browser as the portal to the various web sites.  It could easily be configured in almost exactly the same way apps would need to be setup (i.e. big buttons, easy menus, lots of shortcut buttons, etc), but rather than downloading an app to the car or having to pair your phone the in-vehicle system displays the app in real-time as needed.  The standard thin-client problems would, of course still exist (primarily, if there is no connection then there is no service), but those problems exist in many forms under the app model as well.

Since connectivity will never be available across 100% of any country I’d expect that in the long term there will be a blending of the thin-client and embedded models to create a hybrid that takes advantage of the best of both worlds.  I definitely believe that it makes the most sense for developers to pursue opportunities that will have the broadest reach and to that end, it’s definitely worth considering what Google is saying.

via [Venture Beat]

Related posts:

1. inTELEMATICStoday.com Weekly Round-Up
2. Ford Sync Has The Lead, Will It Hold On To It?
3. Ford Sync Feature Spotlight: WiFi And Mobile Hotspot In The Car