Savvy car buyers expect vehicle technology packages to include powerful audio, navigation and phone-connectivity options. They expect to be able to hook up their brought-in media players and phones with little hassle and they want future devices to connect just as easily for as long as they own the car.
Car manufacturers are well attuned to these needs and have responded in kind. For example, iPod connectivity was a reasonable differentiator in the marketplace just a few years ago, but today this functionality is only notable by its absence. And automakers aren’t stopping with simple device integration. Many new vehicles, including Ford vehicles with Sync (illustrated at right), include robust speech functionality, connected navigation solutions and various personalization options.
There’s never been a more exciting time to be shopping for in-vehicle entertainment and personal productivity solutions.
And yet, broad efforts to integrate the latest consumer technology into the vehicle seem to be missing a critical component.
Manufacturers think that customers want to be able to plug their media players and phones into the car. And we do. And so they’re delivering it.
Some OEMs and trade organizations think that we want to be able to do some of the same things in the car that we do on our desktop computers. Like browse the web. Or purchase songs and search for things to do. A few manufacturers are offering these kinds of features, too. BMW, for instance, plans to bring it’s ConnectedDrive services, already offered in Europe, to the U.S. market soon.
At this month’s Frankfurt Motor Show BMW presented its Concept BMW Application Store, which demonstrates how future owners could download and store individual applications either from their car — at any time while on the move — or PC.
So what’s missing? Do drivers really want to download apps, shop online and read documents behind the wheel? Even if these activities are desirable, is a live Internet connection the last remaining hurdle to unlock this consumer tech utopia? Certainly not.
Going beyond device compatibility and content display solutions
The most critical, and so far, missing component of device integration is the active management of driver engagement based on the current driving environment. Car makers need to extend their focus beyond device compatibility and content display solutions. Real integration will occur only when brought-in technology assumes a role that is appropriate for use inside of a moving vehicle.
The next frontier of in-vehicle entertainment and productivity technology will not be defined by the number of devices that can be easily connected to your car, but rather by the way your vehicle manages these devices and delivers content on the road. A car that you buy in 2015 won’t be remarkable because it has a display that’s three inches larger or because it seamlessly connects to your new phone. The car you buy in five years will be remarkable because it brings you closer to the people, places and things that matter to you, all while protecting the driving experience from untimely or inappropriate interruptions.
Today’s device integration story is deemed by many to be a success because consumers can bring their digital devices and content with them into the car. Happiness is taking your music with you from your living room to the car and to the sports club without missing a beat.
The trouble is, it’s not such a good idea to be fumbling with your MP3 player while driving down the road. Likewise, it may not be such a good idea to take that incoming call while you’re merging across several lanes of traffic.
And here’s where we recognize the unspoken consumer needs that will drive the next wave of technology upgrades in the car: Content consumption and other non-critical activities must be smartly managed inside the vehicle. Consumers are unlikely to forego all of their usual infotainment needs and social connectedness when they get into a car. Drivers are smart and responsible, but today’s cars offer only meager tools to help manage primary and secondary tasks behind the wheel. Worse yet, many cars employ some type of warning to remind you to pull over each time you touch the navigation unit –- guidance that holds little sway over the masses.
Unless car makers are able to introduce worthy and proactive solutions, sweeping legislation may force decisive action upon the industry. Laws are already being drafted and proposed in numerous legislative forums. The ALERT Drivers Act of 2009, for instance, proposes to limit Federal highway funding for states that do not limit drivers from texting while behind the wheel. While commonly cited research supports the notion that texting while driving is inherently unsafe, laws that ban all aspects of text-based communications may impede research for alternative technologies that could prove to be both safe and productive for drivers.
By contrast, the remarkable cars of tomorrow will leverage intra-vehicle communications to actively manage secondary tasks based on a driver’s current involvement. Car manufacturers are investigating new tools and methods to control the delivery of content to the driver. One example of such investigations, Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, is dedicated to overall driver safety. Related efforts seek to leverage GPS, traffic and other data, pairing it with real-time data describing the physical status of the vehicle. When combined, this information can be used to intelligently inform drivers and guide the vehicle when risky behaviors are detected.
For the infotainment system, if the car can indicate that the driver is engaged and temporarily unavailable to manage non-critical tasks, incoming requests can be queued until a more appropriate time for delivery. Even in many of today’s most advanced vehicles, inbound calls and text messages are presented to the driver at the moment they are received. Likewise, drivers are typically free to browse their navigation devices or fiddle with mobile phone applications without useful recognition of the current driving environment.
The result of this unbounded behavior is obvious. Each day we see drivers whose attentions are overtaxed and, even in relatively benign instances, our tempers flare in disgust.
The 2015 car
Tomorrow’s vehicles will have vastly improved situational awareness and will capably manage content consumption and other inbound communications.
Phone calls and text messages are timely beasts, but so is the task of driving a car. Merging in heavy traffic? Your incoming caller may be made aware of your inability to answer right away and offered the chance to hold briefly or leave a message instead. Need to send a quick confirmation via SMS? Hear your new text message read to you and speak your response without taking your eyes off the road. By actively adjusting both the time and method by which communications are delivered to the driver, technology-rich solutions can help to effectively balance appropriate driver involvement.
Content consumption, be it a review of recent news headlines or a scan of your email inbox, will be better managed by the vehicle’s newfound sensibilities as well. Crawling through rushhour traffic at a snail’s pace? Headlines may scroll before you and be tagged for future reading on your phone or PC. Stopped behind other cars at a lengthy red light? Your inbox may be temporarily accessible for rapid fire cleansing, flagging and prioritization. Caught in a queue on the entrance ramp? Flip through your latest Tweets or peruse friends’ status messages. Your vehicle will monitor acceleration and braking, lane position and location, as well as proximity and adjacency to other vehicles and outside objects. With this data in hand, the car can consider appropriate interaction methods and help the driver to remain alert while balancing personal productivity.
None of these activities is without precedent inside of the vehicle. Many consumers are already using their phones and other brought-in devices to “stay connected” while driving. The critical problem is that devices are largely unmanaged in the driving environment, and their content and communication flow freely at all times.
Back to the present
In today’s car, most connected phones ring the same if you’re parked in a lot or traveling on a busy highway. The lack of useful discretion keeps many users on edge whenever the phone beckons. Some companies like Safe Driving Systems and its flagship product, Key2SafeDriving, which limits cell-phone usage while driving, are forging ahead with new options, most of which are being marketed as solutions for teen drivers, by actively dissuading callers when the car is determined to be in motion. Incoming calls are sent directly to voicemail and canned texts inform callers of delayed response times. Similar GPS-based solutions can be found amongst smartphone apps on most major phone platforms. But while the spirit of these solutions is headed in the right direction, the threshold for use is likely too high to see widespread adoption.
Solutions for brought-in media devices are also beginning to take hold. Most MP3 players render the handheld unit’s controls inoperable while the device is plugged into a car stereo.
These safety-minded solutions are often incomplete, however, as a few basic controls transfer to the car while other features are left inaccessible on both the head unit and on the connected handheld unit. Without true feature parity, many drivers forego the connection or begrudgingly tolerate incomplete controls.
In general, handheld device interfaces are ill suited to the demands of an eyes-up, hands-on driving position. Multi-touch interfaces are gaining popularity on handheld devices, but this form of interaction requires dedicated hand-eye coordination and can be highly incompatible with most driving situations. Likewise, most touchscreen devices lack tactile or audible feedback, making unfocused input a challenge.
Ultimately, it’s today’s driver who bears the burden of juggling these incompatibilities. And despite the obvious risks, a sharp reversal of existing behavior is unlikely, even in the face of tougher laws and increased social awareness.
Looking ahead, consumers must demand solutions that move beyond simple device integration. Car makers are finding ways to increase a vehicle’s awareness of itself and of its surroundings, and now must broadcast this information to better manage brought-in devices. As a result, the most remarkable new technologies will allow drivers to remain productive and connected behind the wheel without risking critical responsibilities on the road.
The comments in this article are the opinion of author and are not necessarily reflective of his employer, Microsoft Auto.
Related links:
- BMW ConnectedDrive, Introduction page on BMW AG site; BMW ConnectedDrive, Media Information [pdf], 09.14.09
- ALERT Drivers Act, Bills, U.S. House of Representatives, The Library of Congress, 09.08.09
- Advanced driver assistance systems, Wikipedia entry
- Key2SafeDriving product page
Image credits:
Ford Sync image appears courtesy of Wieck Media; BMW ConnectedDrive Application Store image appears courtesy of BMW Group PressClub Global; Key2SafeDriving image appears courtesy of Safe Driving Systems.
