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At Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year, Google announced the Open Auto Alliance, a partnership with Audi, GM, Honda and Hyundai to bring Android to the dashboards of these car manufacturers. Apple is working with both BMW and Mercedes to bring its iOS into the cars. Then there is Ford's Sync, a platform developed by Ford and Microsoft, which provides real time information on traffic, directions among other things. What do 'smart dashboards' mean for the consumer and what opportunities do they open up for brands?
"The car will be the smartest device"
Vishal Dhupar,
Managing Director NVIDIA South Asia
Toss your Android tablet into your car for your next road trip and watch amazing things happen. You can find your way using the latest navigation apps, and you can share your experiences on your favourite social networks. The problem is those apps can't tap into the amazing capabilities car makers are building into the latest generation of cars and trucks. And they don't always do so safely. That leaves automakers - who need years to build cars that have to meet strict safety and emissions standards - scrambling to catch up with trends that can sweep across the mobile ecosystems in months, even weeks.
In January this year at Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Google announced the Open Automotive Alliance (OAA), which aims to bridge that gap by plugging cars - and their amazing capabilities - into the same mobile ecosystem that powers your Android smartphone, tablet and television. OAA will serve as an open development standard for third-party application designers. Also, existing mobile apps will be adapted for safe in-car use. NVIDIA has joined hands with Audi, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai and Google as founding members of the Open Automotive Alliance.
Today there are many infotainment and navigation systems in a wide variety of cars including Audi, BMW, MINI, Tesla Motors and VW. Now automakers are taking it to the next level.
They are building applications that unlock everything from digital dashboards to next-generation safety systems, and even semi-autonomous driving. The aim is to help create cars that give drivers and passengers access to new and existing services in ways that don't distract drivers - by taking advantage of voice recognition technology and building these services into controls that drivers are already familiar with.
OAA is open to any manufacturers that wish to join, and it will establish compatibility standards that will benefit developers. Developers have limited resources to commit to creating apps; so the goal is to have automakers and suppliers building in-car infotainment systems compatible with the OAA standards so that developers don't have to adapt their apps to function with dozens of different manufacturer interfaces as they do today.
Cars are quickly becoming the smartest devices we own. Android will give automakers the ability to add the power of an open ecosystem to this mix. Look for the first cars with Android integration by the end of 2014.
"This is a one-of-a-kind advertising opportunity"
Narayan Murthy Ivaturi,
Director, Global Sales & Sales Strategy,Vserv.mobi.
Can cars gear up to be a viable mobile device for advertising? The sophistication in vehicle technology is making automobile companies embrace path-breaking technology and meet consumer demands for mobile connectivity, information, safety, basic communication and location services. Adding a layer of communication to journeys by seamlessly integrating utility and entertainment, brands can augment the driving experience manifold. This is leading to the emergence of a new ecosystem that can offer unparalleled opportunities for brands and advertisers to redefine consumer engagement.
The biggest advantage for the advertising industry is mainstreaming of location-based technology, which allows brands to focus on real-time offers based on the driver's current location. This will pave the way for being able to influence the driver's decision, using user-specific offers that can be sent straight to a car's display screen to locate and buy goods and services on the fly.
The connected car, with multiple screens, will also allow brands to target not only the driver but other passengers.
Many will be concerned with the obvious dangers of the connected car, but smarter cars will also have ways to make us safer from heads-up displays to in-car sensors that can alert drivers of dangers ahead or road conditions.
With ubiquitous mobile broadband-enabled internet access, connectivity and networking are becoming completely independent of location, leading to the rise of embedded devices. Ericsson estimates that there will be more than 50 billion connected devices by 2020. As the trend of 'internet of things' is altering computing, I foresee a future where we will have a connected device ecosystem, where not just smart dashboards but television sets, refrigerators, bikes etc will also present opportunities for brands to engage the user. While these "connected" devices will redefine user engagement, the success of brands relies on non-intrusive, customised content that provides immersive experiences.
"It is time to customise the dashboard"
Avinash Kamat,
Senior Project Manager, Infosys
If you have been following what's happening at the recently concluded CES in Las Vegas, you would know how fast our digital life is changing and how far it is evolving. With ubiquitous gadgets and clearer and smarter TV screens, it was just a matter of time before our cars woke up to the digital revolution.
Not many in the automotive industry will argue that the digital world of a consumer outside a car is very quickly merging with the one inside a car. This is what the connected car intends to do by making it an extension of the digital world. Imagine if the same could be extended to the dashboard as well. Think of it as a changing wall-paper. Instead of a cumbersome instrument cluster and a central console hosting the touchscreen panel and controls, we could see a more simple design of having a single screen within the car that displays the requested information.
This will also be event-triggered such that if the temperature increases to an abnormal level, then the temperature gauge will show up or if the speed is exceedingly high, then the speedometer will show-up and so on. There could also be gesture controlled or voice controlled or native buttons on the steering wheel that will bring the required screen on display. Of course, customers will have an opportunity to connect a USB drive or connect to the cloud to change the wallpaper display of the 'normal' screen.
This has an added unique advantage for a country like India, which is one of the countries with the largest number of road accidents. An experiment on government-run transport buses showed that drivers drove more cautiously and safely when a picture of their family was put up on the dash. Using the same, a family portrait could be displayed on the dash by connecting the mobile or USB drive.
Audi has unveiled a dashboard on its TT model that had an integrated dashboard showing the gauges as well as navigation all in the same view. This has been termed by a few experts as an 'overload of beautiful information'.
Naysayers apart, this will be the future. Consumers will be allowed to choose what they see on their dashboard. It is an exciting time for automotive companies and their Tier-I electronic partners. Radical changes within the cockpit are to be expected in the coming years and our perspective about the inside of a car will change drastically.
