Wikitude is a stunning application. Created by Mobilizy, an Austrian firm that specializes in location-based application for the Android platform, Wikitude was one of the top finalists in last year’s Android Developers Challenge. The application uses GPS to display points of interest — tapping into Wikipedia — for your location and this can be displayed in list, map or, most interestingly, in camera view.

On a recent weekend road trip to Baltimore it occurred to me that this sort of application will eventually supersede current in-car navigation systems for two reasons: 1) you can take it with you, and 2) it’s developer friendly. Let me explain.

As far as portability, the phone can be easily transferred to my pocket when I get out of my car and still allows me to use the maps and GPS capabilities of the device, not to mention make phone calls, scan for open Wi-Fi and a whole lot of other things. From an ease-of-use perspective, smartphones such as the G1, iPhone, etc. will trump in-car GPS navigation systems; it’s really only a matter of time. And, as mentioned in previous articles in this series, car manufacturers are already experimenting with docking stations for smartphones.

Then there is the Android platform, which is very developer friendly. Although the certification process for iPhone applications has been simplified, there is still a higher barrier to entry for developers targeting iPhone apps. This, and the fact that developers have greater access to key phone functions, accounts for why would-be iPhone developers currently are attracted to the Android platform. Not to mention that the concept of third-party application development for current in-car devices is basically non-existent. It’s a safe assumption that the greatest innovation in geo-location services will continue to happen on smartphones, not portable navigation devices.

We’re not the only publication predicting the imminent demise of the portable GPS unit. In Smarter GPS to let cellphones point the way, New York Times writer Roy Furchgott argues that it’s one-way communication is its Achilles heel. Users now expect their communication devices to be fully Internet-enabled, to share information and aggregate information from other users (think Carticipate, recently released for the iPhone and previously covered here).

Industry insiders know current GPS navigation units will be replaced by mobile devices, it’s only a matter of time. The real question is, which platform will dominate the automobile industry and what telecommunications and automobile manufacturer alliances will emerge?

Related links:

• Android gets in the driver’s seat; Headlightblog.com, 12.16.08
• Mobilizy
• The Top 50 Applications; Android Developers Blog, 05.12.08
• Smarter GPS to let cellphones point the way; New York Times, 05.03.09
• Search, iPhone and GPS: Envisioning the future of digital automotive; Headlightblog.com, 08.22.09

Frank M. Rinderknecht, owner of Rinspeed Inc., says the iChange is a symbol for the fundamental changes the auto industry is undergoing worldwide.

Rinspeed is a Swiss automobile design firm and manufacturer established by Frank M. Rinderknect. In addition to restoring classic cars and modifying Porsches and Subarus, Rinspeed creates a concept car each year for the Geneva Motor Show. Automotive enthusiasts might recall some of Rinspeed’s previous concept cars, such as the sQuba — which was based on the Lotus Elise and doubled as a submarine — and the Splash, an amphibian vehicle with a top speed of 124 miles per hour on land and 45 knots on water.¹

Now comes the iChange, a single-seat concept car that can adjust its shape to accommodate up to two  passengers. The iChange is capable of reaching 62 mph in four seconds and a top speed of 137 mph.² According to Rinderknect, “the iChange is a symbol for the fundamental changes the auto industry [is undergoing] worldwide.” From Rinderknect’s perspective, the automobile manufacturers that will make it through these turbulent times will be the ones focused on radical innovation in the industry.³

The Rinspeed iChange has a 0-100 kph (62 mph) speed of slightly over 4 seconds and a top speed of 136 mph.

The fundamental principle behind the iChange is that weight is the most important factor in determining the amount of energy required, therefore Rinspeed has designed an extremely lightweight vehicle that runs on a 150-watt electric motor powered by lithium-ion batteries housed in the rear of the car. A push of a button can instantly transform the car from a three-passenger car back to a single-seater, maximizing aerodynamic efficiency.

The iChange, which does not have a key slot or a push-button starter, is controlled by the driver’s iPhone.

The iChange has no doors. Instead passengers enter in through the roof. Rather than a key, the driver uses her iPhone instead. The iPhone conveniently fits into a specially designed docking station. The driver can start the car via a native application on her iPhone. The iPhone can also be used to switch the headlights on and off.⁴

If that were not enough, the iChange has a killer entertainment system created by Harman/Kardon and powered by energy-efficient Intel processor technology. An eco-friendly navigation system displays route suggestions for minimal energy use in a 3D display. Furthermore, solar panels on the roof power cooling systems in hot temperatures.

Frank Rinderknecht may just be the Buckminster Fuller of today’s automotive world. The cars that he presents annually at the Geneva Motor Show are not simply meant to compete with the Ferraris and the Lamborghinis of the world. They are meant to solve the key issues of the day, and in the case of the iChange it’s about rethinking what a car should be in an era of increasing sensitivity to the ecological effects of over a billion cars on the road. Furthermore, the iChange suggests a progressive blurring of the boundaries between software and hardware design. Beyond the ability to start a car and control the entertainment system, the integration of a platform such as the iPhone OS opens the door for numerous opportunities for application developers, especially in the areas of social media, environmental consciousness and telematics. We’ve covered some examples on this blog already, such as Carticipate, Ecorio, and Gasbuddy. It will be interesting to watch how the mobile platform wars extend themselves to the automotive industry.

Related links:

• Official site of the Geneva Motor Show
• Rinspeed site
• Frank M Rinderknect; LinkedIn profile
• sQuba photo gallery; Rinspeed site
• Lotus Elise; Wikipedia
• Hughes Telematics working on downloadable apps for vehicles; Autoblog.com, 02,19.09
• Carticipate site
• Ecorio site
• Gasbuddy site

Sources:

1. Rinspeed; Wikipedia
2. Shape shifter: Electrified Rinspeed iChange hits 62 mph in 4 secs; Motor Trend, 02.17.09
3. IPhone-controlled car to demo at Geneva Motor Show; Macworld, 02.23.09
4. Rinspeed site

Image credits:
All Rinspeed iChange photos appear courtesy of Rinspeed Inc.

A Google car?
Google, at first glance, is an unlikely player in the automotive landscape beyond providing mapping services to existing car computer systems such as BMW Assist. Consider, however, the release of Google’s mobile operating system Android, and how it is being used by third-party developers to create some very innovative applications for cars.

The first phone to run Android — the G1 from T-mobile — was released a few months ago and is considered to be a potential contender for the iPhone. Like the iPhone OS, Android offers an SDK for developers and a “market” for promoting and selling applications.The following are just a few examples of those applications that are geared toward the automotive industry, pointing to the possible features that could be included in a networked computer-enabled car of the future.

Ecorio
Ecorio, formerly known as Eco2Go, is a green-themed car application that tracks mileage and carbon output. We covered this application back in June as one of the finalists in the Android Developer Challenge. As noted on Ecorio’s website, it is now available to G1 users from the Application Marketplace accessible from their phone. The application logs your mileage and includes an “Offset” feature, as displayed at right, enabling drivers to review the carbon footprint calculated for each trip and to buy offsets for it right from the phone.

KEI
This year students at MIT launched a handful of applications for the Android platform as a response to Google’s Android Developer Challenge. One of the applications — KEI — operates as a virtual spare key. It can be used to start a car via the Android-enabled device or unlock doors. The application is secured with 128-bit encryption and enables access to multiple vehicles, or to a single car by multiple users. Future KEI systems may include diagnostic capabilities as well. No information yet on when this app will be released for consumers. However, there are already a few companies that are close to releasing a similar product – see Delphi’s iPhone app, for example.

SugarTrip
The forthcoming SugarTrip app, as seen at right, promises it will uses the GPS capabilities of the G1 to help monitor street traffic and share information with other users. The application identifies heavy traffic zones on a given route and suggest alternatives. It can also help a driver to find a car in a parking lot using GPS to save its location (similar to Gpark, which we covered in an earlier article). According to Techcrunch, the company plans to monetize the app, which is free, with geo-targeted advertising. SugarTrip is being promoted as a green application because the company claims it reduces pollution by minimizing traffic congestion.

Toward an open-source dashboard
One of the differentiating aspects between the Android and iPhone platform is that Google’s OS (aka Open Handset Alliance Project) is open source and there are fewer barriers to entry for application developers.

To Apple’s credit, it is able to maintain a certain level of user experience integrity; the iPhone Human Interface Guidelines, for example, serve as a de facto quality control manual for app developers. By contrast, the lack of uniform usability guidelines for Android applications is a notable problem for some applications (missing exit buttons, for example).

The downside to Apple’s rigorous process for application acceptance is that it may create a significant bottle-neck to innovation in mobile application development and cause leading developers to migrate to platforms perceived as more open. Although few application developers are likely to restrict themselves to a single platform, Android may become the preferred platform for small startups looking to quickly get ideas out to market.

Until now we’ve seen mostly prototypes at car shows or cleverly rigged dashboard hacks to illustrate the potential for phone-car mashups. It is entirely plausible that economic conditions will trigger a new wave of innovation in the automobile industry largely triggered by advances in networked computing. At what point, we wonder, will automakers begin to open up computer systems to APIs?

Related links:

• BMW adds new ‘BMW Search’ service to BMW Assist powered by Google; BMW press release, 09.15.08
• Android; Google Code
• T-Mobile G1 microsite
• Android Market
• When your car is your phone: the convergence of mobile computing and automobiles; headlightblog.com, 06.26.08
• Android Developer Challenge
• Ecorio; download information
• iPhone controls vehicle in real time using Delphi’s concept web app; Gizmodo, 01.10.08
• SugarTrip
• Search, iPhone and GPS: Envisioning the future of digital automotive; headlightblog.com, 08.22.08
• Android’s SugarTrip takes a new approach to dodging street traffic; Techcrunch, 10.20.08
• iPhone Human Interface Guidelines; Scribd, 02.29.08

Additional resources:

• Android on wheels on in the dash could be coming as soon as 2009; Edmunds.com, 09.24.08
• MIT class unloads seven android applications; Android Guys, 05.10.08
• MIT students demonstrate their Android applications; CrunchGear, 05.09.08
• G-Park iPhone app lets the forgetful bookmark their car; Gizmodo, 07.07.08

Image credits:
Ecorio app image courtesy of eco2go Facebook group; SugarTrip app image courtesy of TechCrunch

1) It is the most user-friendly mobile phone designed to date;
2) It is attracting third-party application developers in droves.

While Google Android has sparked a lot of interest, it is clear that the iPhone platform is gaining the initiative in the mobile platform wars. Even Google is hedging its bets by creating iPhone applications (more on that below).

Out of the 500-plus applications released in July with the launch of the iTunes App Store, there are a number of noteworthy automobile-focused applications based on the GPS capabilities of the iPhone. I’ll look at a few of the standouts in this article.

Carticipate
The creators of Carticipate describe their app as an “experiment in social transportation” and it cleverly combines three hot-button themes: environmentalism, skyrocketing gas prices and social media. The Carticipate application, as seen at right, helps users to find members in their social networks in order to share rides. Users can also notify friends, groups or family members as to their travel plans.

Simply enter your destination and the app will show members in your network who have the same travel plans. Carticipate also lets you save destinations – for example “home” or “work.”

The application is compatible with the iPhone and iPhone 3G and is available free of charge from the iTunes App Store.

Google Mobile
While not designed specifically for cars, it’s an easy bet that Google Mobile will be the search engine of choice for car drivers due to its focus on relevance, map integration and sheer market dominance. Features of the free app include the ability to search iPhone contacts, time-saving suggestions such as search history and auto-complete, and one-touch access to services such as Mail, Photos, Talk and Reader (see video demonstration). Interestingly, of the 500-plus applications available at the time of the app store launch, Google was the only search engine to build an application for the iPhone.

G-Park
Key to success in applications these days is specificity, and a prime example of this is G-Park developed by PosiMotion. G-Park, like many of the newly released iPhone applications, focuses on one simple function.

G-Park pinpoints your location via GPS, assuming you can remember to do that, and then saves your location so that you can find your car later. Simply hit the “Where did I park?” button, as shown at right, and you are linked to Google Maps with directions to your car (see demonstration video). An app like this could be especially useful if you are parked in a large airport lot and will be traveling for a couple of days.

The application works on the original iPhone, iPhone 3G and iPod Touch with G-Fi Mobile GPS network router. The G-Park app retails for $.99.

Speed
Created by 19-year-old Dubliner Steven Troughton-Smith, Speed uses the GPS functionality of the iPhone to tell you, with a fair amount of accuracy, how fast you are going. While this may seem redundant for cars, it can also be used for boats, bicycles, trains and various other modes of transportation. You can easily switch from MPH to KPH by tapping on the display. The Speed application is compatible with the iPhone 3G and is available free of charge.

Where
Where is an application that uses services with location-based data, such as Yelp, to find restaurants, rental cars, hotels, events and where your friends are. The application also helps you, as shown at right, to find the cheapest gas for your location by pulling in data from GasBuddy.com. This kind of data is particularly important to have on mobile because, as explained on the GasBuddy site, “gasoline prices change frequently and may vary by as much as 20 percent within only a few blocks.” The Where application is compatible with the original iPhone, iPhone 3G and the iTouch and is available free of charge.

Your car as Operating System
GPS-enabled applications such as G-Park, Carticipate, Where, and so on are emblematic of a new wave of innovation in the development of applications for automobiles. It is only a matter of time before applications like these make their way into the dashboads of automobiles through alliances between car manufacturers, mobile device manufacturers, wireless carriers, and application developers. Imagine being able to pick and choose applications that you want to install in your car just as you would on a Mac or PC. While this may seem far-fetched and complicated, automobiles are increasingly becoming mobile computing platforms in their own right (think Ford Sync). As discussed in the aforementioned article, When Your Phone is Your Car, the iPhone is a prime contender for in-car integration due to its ease of use and early adoption by numerous developers. It will be interesting to watch the effect of these kinds of applications on the design of cars and the overall driving experience in the next few years.

Talk back
What mobile applications do you use in your car currently? What car-related applications would you like to see built for the iPhone or other platforms? Post your comments below to share your thoughts.

Related links:

• Carticipate website
• iPhone App Store — G-Park; AppStoreApps video on Revver, 08.03.08
• G-Park information; PosiMotion website
• Dude where’s my car: G-Park iPhone app lets the forgetful bookmark their car; Gizmodo, 07.07.08
• Where website
• GasBuddy.com
• High Caffeine Content; blog for Steven Troughton-Smith, developer of Speed app for iPhone
• 24 iPhone applications that accelerate mobile search; SearchEngineWatch.com, 07.11.08

Land Rover LRX concept with an iPhone docking station integrated into the center console.

But for those looking for full on car-phone convergence, the Land Rover LRX concept car shown at the Detroit Auto Show in January may be closer to the mark. Users can start the engine and adjust seat and window settings via the iPhone as seen in this video.

Even more radical is Delphi’s latest vehicle-access software created specifically for the iPhone. At the Consumer Electronics Show in January, Delphi demonstrated a concept application that can be used to start a car’s engine, lock or unlock doors, and monitor gas usage via a Bluetooth-enabled key fob. The diagnostic capabilities of the application suggest numerous opportunities for roadside assistance-related services.

Delphi’s Wireless Vehicle Access software as viewed on an iPhone.

What does all this clever hacking mean for the auto industry?
With the automobile rapidly becoming a powerful mobile computing platform, close collaboration among car designers, mobile device manufacturers, software developers and wireless carriers will be required as future cars are developed. This all comes at a time when the “American Idolization” of mobile application development is in full swing: venture capitalists Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield and Byers’s March announcement of its $100 million iFund launch was timed to coincide with the release of the new iPhone SDK; Google has been running a $10 million competition for Android applications; Blackberry has announced its own $150 million contest; and Nokia has been holding its Mobile Rules competition for a couple of years now. These competitions are fostering a new wave of innovation within the mobile industry and it will be interesting to see what sort of automobile-related applications emerge out of them.


One can imagine a restaurant directory and Google Maps mash-up that takes advantage of the new 3G iPhone’s built-in GPS capabilities for example. Or for environmentally conscious drivers there might be apps like Eco2Go, one of the top 50 applications selected from the first round of the Android Developer Challenge. Eco2go calculates a users’ carbon footprint over time. As drivers become more eco-conscious, applications like these could help them monitor how their vehicle usage is affecting the environment. For example, this Eco2go can display a list of recent trips and recommend public transit alternatives.

At present time the iPhone may have the upper hand in terms of potential automobile compatibility. While there is definitely a certain amount of cache that comes from being associated with the Apple brand, it is the ease-of-use that makes the iPhone top-of-mind for in-car integration. From a user experience perspective, what has been most significant about the iPhone is that it has shattered the long-held notion that cell phones must be inherently difficult to use. To that end, there is a shared ethos among Apple designers and car interior designers — simplicity rules. Very little learning time is required — ideal for when you are trying to operate the device while driving. Factor in the iPhone’s music player and speech-recognition capabilities (via VoiceSignal for example) and it will be difficult for other phones to compete in the near term.

As numerous “iPhone killers” come out of the woodwork, expect to see new alliances develop between car manufacturers, mobile device manufacturers, platform developers (iPhone, Google, Blackberry) and carriers in the near future.

Talk back
What car-phone alliances would you like to see? What kinds of car-related applications should developers be thinking about?

Related links:
BMW welcomes the new Apple iPhone; bmw.com
Ford says SYNC goes over big at CES; Autoblog, 01.12.07
Now this is how a Nokia-branded car should look — the Nokia Ford Mustang; IntoMobile, 10.05.07
A Nokia-branded Renault Twingo Nokia special edition? Lame . . .; IntoMobile, 10.04.07
iPhone featured in Land Rover LRX Concept Car; The iPod Observer, 12.14.07
Land Rover LRX concept unveiling at the Detroit Auto Show; Autoblogvideo on YouTube, 01.14.08
Delphi: Remote-control your car with an iPhone!; PC Magazine, 01.07.08
iPhone controls vehicle in real time using Delphi’s concept web app; Gizmodo, 01.10.08
Latest iPhone SDK agreement limits GPS software capabilities; Ars Technica, 06.11.08
UW engineers win Google Android; The Iron Warrior (the newspaper of the University of Waterloo Engineering Society), 06.11.08
The hybrid promise: One owner’s experience; headlightblog.com
Android Developer Challenge; Android, Google.com, 06.10.08
iPhone speech recognition demo; Gizmodo, 08.22.07
LG, Samsung have Apple phone killers ready; X-bit labs, 02.13.07


Further reading:
What would the i-Car be like?; Engadget, 08.29.07
Ford says SYNC goes big at CES - Autoblog
The Nokia Mustang is at CTIA; IntoMobile, 03.27.07
Nokia, Renault co-brand Twingo car; ZDNet, 10.03.07
Eco2go homepage and Facebook group