Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Google Launches Android Automotive Consortium

Posted by samzenpus on from the search-and-drive dept.

DeviceGuru writes "Google announced an initiative with Audi, GM, Honda, Hyundai, and Nvidia aimed at fostering and standardizing Android in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems. The Open Automotive Alliance (OAA) is dedicated to a common platform that will drive innovation, and make technology in the car safer and more intuitive for everyone, says the group. The OAA is further committed to bringing the Android platform to cars starting in 2014. In its FAQ, the OAA suggests that this is not a full-blown Android in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) system, but rather a standardized integration stack between automotive systems and mobile Android devices. However, the OAA FAQ also discloses broader ambitions for 2015 and beyond: 'We're also developing new Android platform features that will enable the car itself to become a connected Android device.'"

9 of 117 comments (clear)

  1. Just give me a standard size and connector! by sootman · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Think of the kind of computer or phone you had 5 or 10 years ago. Do you want a 5-10 year old device hard-wired into your car 5-10 years from now?

    And no matter how "open" Google tries to make things, vehicle OEMs are just as bad as handset OEMs and cellular carriers and they WILL make these things suck. I know a guy who has a $100 windshield-mount GPS in his GPS-equipped car because he didn't want to pay the dealer $hundreds to update the maps in his built-in unit. So now he has a device on his windshield with a dangling cord and some dead space in his dash.

    --
    Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
    1. Re:Just give me a standard size and connector! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The only company that can actually get automotive companies to actually agree and do something "right" is Apple. If Apple put a 1-2 DIN audio head, they would push out the half-hearted attempts by vehicle makers and after market companies (Alpine, Sony) just like Apple seized the MP3 player market by storm.

      Apple would make a killing if they went into the automotive audio market. Standardizing the car interface, offering streaming, XM radio, AM/FM radio, and even apps so one can start the vehicle from remote, set the temperature and see when the vehicle is warmed up... stuff nobody can ever dream of doing except Apple.

      Android will just fragment as vehicle makers want their own features (OnStar), while Apple is the only game in town that can present a unified UI regardless of maker.

    2. Re:Just give me a standard size and connector! by msauve · · Score: 3, Insightful

      So, the solution is "one size fits all," or maybe "our way, or not the highway." I'm not buying it.

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    3. Re:Just give me a standard size and connector! by s122604 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The main reason people get new cars less frequently is that cars are a lot better than they used to be. It used to be getting a car to 100k miles without major engine work was a rare occurrence. Now, the automotive consumer gets pissed if that doesn't happen.

      I know that flies in the face of the "everything was better when I was young" old-man logic, but it's still a fact.

      The industry is looking for reasons to get customers into the showrooms on a faster cycle, hence the heavy focus on enhancements like this

      It also kinda explains why making the product easily upgradable isn't a big concern.

    4. Re:Just give me a standard size and connector! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The main reason people get new cars less frequently is that cars are a lot better than they used to be. It used to be getting a car to 100k miles without major engine work was a rare occurrence. Now, the automotive consumer gets pissed if that doesn't happen.

      For which you can thank the Japanese for actually producing cars which weren't pieces of shit, and forcing the American manufacturers to compete on quality.

      There were a lot of years where Detroit put out absolutely crap cars, and expected people to buy them anyway.

      Meanwhile, Honda and Toyota were making cars which were better built and lasted longer.

      To this day, I still get into an American car and think "why can't you buy a fucking Honda, take it apart, and understand what goes into making a decent car?"

  2. Re:Naturally by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Normally, we call a product "vaporware" before there is one single independent test of it.

    For some reason, with Google self-driving cars, we assume they deliver up to claimed spec. We cite the statistic about fewer accidents than with human drivers, even though conditions were chosen by Google, expert human back-ups were available throughout who were dedicated to the job of ensuring a car is driven safely, and there was zero review of the evidence used to make the claims.

    The Google robot car, for anyone remotely following the modern scientific method, should be regarded as an experimental idea, not a working implementation.

  3. Where's the Knob Alliance when you need them? by immaterial · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I want knobs. Knobs and physical buttons. Let them surround a fancy whizz-bang touchscreen if you want, but I damn well want to be able to turn up the heat or volume without looking.

    1. Re: Where's the Knob Alliance when you need them? by epyT-R · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yeah, because they dont' want to pay premium prices for a machine whose touch rots away from skin oils, bleach, and detergents within 5 years.. Tactile controls in cars are a necessity because it allows the driver to keep his eyes on the road. Digging through menus of bullshit is not acceptable.

  4. Critical infrastructure - air gap it. by sinij · · Score: 4, Insightful

    >>> "We're also developing new Android platform features that will enable the car itself to become a connected Android device"

    I prefer my cars air-gaped. Why? First, I don't trust automotive manufacturers to introduce adequate security measures. Second, I don't trust automotive manufacturers to stay on top of patching security holes over car's expected useful lifetime.