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Software-Defined Vehicles Will Dominate At CES (computerworld.com)

Lucas123 writes: Carmakers and their tier 1 parts suppliers at CES in January are expected to launch an unprecedented number of software advances centered around cloud services and over-the-air updates. The number of in-vehicle processors continues to grow, and consumers have come to expect their car to mimic smartphone functionality. As hardware becomes more of a commodity, increasingly cars will be defined by software. There will be about 464 automotive electronics exhibitors at this year's CES — a record number, according to IHS Automotive. Human-machine interface will be a core technology at the show — augmented reality and virtual reality, in the form of gesture recognition and heads up displays, are expected to be among the most cutting-edge features.

Cloud-based speech recognition technology that uses machine learning skills to identify speech patterns more quickly will also be more commonplace. One development the analysts said they're "crossing their fingers" to see at the show is Modular Infotainment Platforms, which allow carmakers to offer the latest electronic systems prior to a model launch. Today, car models are often launched with years-old electronics. Apple's CarPlay and Google's Android Auto are also increasingly undermining the native infotainment system makers' business. Analysts believe all carmakers will eventually offer both APIs in future car models.

8 of 112 comments (clear)

  1. Going to be keeping my car for a while... by SuperKendall · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Those of us that work with software pale at the thought of myriad car components being "software defined".

    I think I'll be hanging on to my mostly hardware defined car for quite a few years as this all plays out...

    Don't get me wrong, I'm no luddite - I want a self-driving car badly. But I also don't like suffering the death of a thousand cuts with small things going inexplicably wrong in a car all the time either.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Going to be keeping my car for a while... by Progman3K · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Thank you for writing out what lots of us are thinking.

      I bought an android 'smartphone' 5 years ago. At the time, it was cutting-edge.

      Now it's constantly locking-up/rebooting and incredibly slow.

      I also can't install many of the newer apps on it because its firmware revision is too ancient(?!).

      I thought "maybe if I go to the telephone vendor and ask if they can upgrade the firmware"

      "Naw, we can't update it, buy a new phone"

      I can just imagine what dumb excuses the car-makers will have.

      --
      I don't know the meaning of the word 'don't' - J
    2. Re:Going to be keeping my car for a while... by billcopc · · Score: 2

      If carmakers would use simple, modular, open standards for all the computer and ICE stuff, I would be perfectly OK with it. They don't. They reinvent everything, every time, and it's always an impressively shitty implementation of whatever it is they were trying to accomplish. They can't even put goddamned RCA jacks on their stereos, and they dare call that shit "premium". Factory nav is a joke, because they cut $2 off the cost by using some bottom-spec CPU, or the touch screen is erratic, or the menus are hopelessly convoluted. It's like they hired those "engineers" who make the Chinese knock-off tablets, and bashed them in the head a couple hundred times before giving them a screwdriver and a $20 amazon gift card as the departmental budget.

      I have seen guys put a $200 Raspberry PI touch kit in their center console, running XBMC/Kodi, that blows away any factory system and even many aftermarket decks. I'm doing something a little more involved, because I'm a audiophile, a nerd, and a glutton for punishment... but the fact remains that we're all just lone hackers with hobbyist budgets, outdoing the billion dollar automotive industry. That just ain't right! Heck, a $150 android tablet does a better job at audio + GPS than any factory setup I've seen, even on the luxury vehicles.

      --
      -Billco, Fnarg.com
  2. Yeah, about that... by Locke2005 · · Score: 2

    Do they still think a touch screen interface is the best way to control car software? Because forcing drivers to look away from the road to pick the next song to play is BRILLIANT!

    --
    I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    1. Re:Yeah, about that... by Cro+Magnon · · Score: 2

      Most of the time, I switch between two stations. All I have to do is feel for the buttons and press "1" or "2". Without taking my eyes off the road.

      --
      Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
  3. Re:I've seen this before by Virtucon · · Score: 2

    Actually I do. I have done work for the automotive electronics industry. That's why I advocate "less is more" because of lock-in and it's not just about infotainment it's about all the other things that the manufacturers want to lock you out of. Headlights, Tire Pressure Monitor Sensors (TPMS), Stereo equipment and anything else that they can think of that a) forces you to buy from them for as long as you own it and b) forces you to get it serviced at their licensed dealers only. It's that way with headlights now on many top end cars. This kills the legitimate market for aftermarket parts and forces your insurance costs skyward.

    Shit if they could they'd DRM the windshields to force you to replace it using their OEM windshields when you get a rock chip.

    --
    Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
  4. Tracking where you drive, and when? by Anonymous+Brave+Guy · · Score: 2

    "We know everyone who breaks the law, we know when you're doing it. We have GPS in your car, so we know what you're doing."

    -- Jim Farley, Ford Global VP/Marketing and Sales, 8 January 2014

    Unsurprisingly, he then retracted that statement on 9 January 2014.

    --
    If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
  5. cars to mimic smartphone functionality by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    your car will only accept vendor approved gasoline.
    The car cockpit display will only work for the first 1000miles after that you have to pay 99cents per day.
    The car will continuously send its location and all other possible personal information, back to the manufacturer, the reseller, the supplier of the aftermarket seat covers and floor mats, and the manufacturer of every smartphone that has even been paired with it.
    While driving on the motorway, a full windshield covering popup will remind you that you still have to upgrade to os 9.2. you can only delay it, not reject it.
    The car will be sold with an artificial mileage limit per month. If you exceed the limit you pay surcharges per mile. Or, if you have the unlimited plan, the cars maximum speed will be 15mph for the remainder of the month.
    If you take your car to another country, the gasoline quadruples in price, the miles per month your car can drive reduces by 90% and there is a 50% chance that the roads in the other country are not compatible with your car.

    sure, customers want cars to mimic smartphone functionality.