Connected Car

The recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) demonstrated that there really is no end to innovation in the technology world. The never-ending stream of new gadgets popping up at CES 2016 confirmed that connectivity is pervading every aspect of our lives, as demonstrated by the following three trends:

TV Screens: Sleeker and with more pixels

TVs are always a must see at CES. From the curved screens of last year, we have now moved to ones that can be rolled up and, more excitingly, to better resolutions than we could ever have imagined. This is enabled by new compression standards like Ultra High Definition (UHD) and, more recently, High Dynamic Range. HDR content and displays demonstrate a much greater range of brightness and luminosity, making images on the TV become closer to what we see before us in real life – effectively delivering a much more lifelike and immersive experience for viewers.

Wearables: Health and fitness is not just for the New Year

While the first few weeks of January sees a glut of health and fitness related products – from celebrity workout DVDs to smoothie makers – it also piggy-backed onto the continuing popularity of wearables to become a massive trend at CES, combining practicality with style. There was an abundance of smart clothes, including connected leggings and baby socks that alert parents in case a baby has problems breathing, as well as smart shoes that can substitute as a personal trainer. The race to connect continues, but this year’s CES has proved that consumers were planning to achieve this with style.

Connected ‘’Smart’’ Cars: We will all become Knight riders

When Knight Rider, the show featuring a fully autonomous car with artificial intelligence, was aired back in the 1980s, the thought of the real world having autonomous cars was pure fantasy. This year’s CES saw these dreams become reality, making it ever more apparent that cars are transforming into fully autonomous vehicles. New technologies demonstrated at CES aim to transform the passenger experience with panoramic screens that provide a range of infotainment and multimedia features. A multitude of features, such as turning on headlamps and opening garage doors automatically when a vehicle reaches a certain distance from home, are also enabling cars to evolve into real-life companions that can support day-to-day life.

The in-car infotainment experience is something we are heavily involved in through a range of embedded solutions that are integrated with automotive human-machine-interfaces (HMI), device management, dashboard and multimedia systems. Our solutions offer car manufacturers and tier-one suppliers the added confidence of deploying market proven technologies that deliver interactive content in resource constrained environments.

At CES, we showed our latest automotive innovations at the GENIVI showcase at CES, while multiscreen enthusiasts could see how our solutions deliver exciting new seamless and secure experiences across all screens at the Telechips suite at the Palazzo Hotel, or on the INNOPIA stand on the show floor.

For more information, please contact: tv@access-europe.com.

The two trillion dollar automotive industry is going through a seismic shift. Alongside massive demand from emerging economies, new electric based vehicles and tougher emission regulations; the notion of Big Data and connectivity is starting to dramatically alter the way drivers and passengers interact with carmakers and service providers.

Of the 70 million passenger vehicles sold each year, Millennials accounted for 27% of new car sales in the US last year, up from 18% in 2010, making them the second largest group of new car buyers. This group, which has grown up in a connected world with ubiquitous access to the Internet, is also the most likely to make buying decisions based on connected car functionality.

Millennials and many other car users expect the car to be a hub for information sharing and intelligent application usage. This can range from collaborative satellite navigation system like Waze that allow drivers to easily share their knowledge, such as diverted routes, accidents and traffic jams to interactive entertainment systems and fault diagnostic data, useful for car maintenance and breakdown services.

In a parallel to the Internet, with its free services like Google Maps or Dropbox, many of these Millennial car owners are prepared to gain useful services in exchange for data. A recent global study released by SDL found that 89% of Millennials in the US and roughly 75% in Europe would accept brands tracking personal data provided they’ve built trust with the user. Another study conducted last year by New York based agency MRY found that Millennials value cars and smartphones for similar reasons, including accomplishing daily tasks, keeping connected with friends and family, exploring new places and shopping.

To address this increased consumer demand for personalised information and media services, car manufacturers are developing hybrid infotainment systems based on embedded functionality. These systems support both the driver and passenger device to project a vehicle-optimised version of popular apps from the smartphone to the dashboard and rear-seat screens.

These converging trends provide a great opportunity for OEMs to strengthen their relationships with those Millennials who show a willingness to share personal information to personalise the car experience. In order for OEMs to offer custom experiences to their customers, solutions that provide better driver insight such as ACCESS Twine™ will prove crucial, allowing OEMs to receive information about the driver’s habits, media consumption, devices connected to the infotainment system and combining them with real-time feedback on the car use.

This granular data on the driver and the vehicle will enable manufacturers to improve the in-car services, customise the content catalogue available to the driver and passenger, offer tailored information about the next petrol station or rest area, and even deliver targeted advertising directly to the dashboard.

With the connected car concept still relatively new, developing the skill sets and technologies to offer innovative use cases to a largely untapped market offers early access to a multi-billion dollar market.