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Your Car May Soon Start Serving You Ads (siliconbeat.com)
An anonymous reader quotes SiliconBeat:
Santa Clara auto-tech firm Telenav has just announced an "in-car advertising platform" for cars that connect to the internet. Telenav wants to sell the system to major auto manufacturers. And although it's probably the last thing many consumers want, vehicle owners will pay more for connected-car services if they decline the ads. "This approach helps car makers offset costs related to connected services, such as wireless data, content, software and cloud services," a spokeswoman for Telenav said Jan. 5. "In return for accepting ads in vehicles, drivers benefit from access to connected services without subscription fees, as well as new driving experiences that come from the highly-targeted and relevant offers delivered based on information coming from the vehicle."
Auto makers including Toyota, Lexus, Ford, GM and Cadillac already use the company's connected-car products, the spokeswoman said. Telenav CEO H.P. Jin in a press release called the ad platform "an exciting new opportunity" for vehicle manufacturers to "monetize connectivity to cover service costs and even drive healthy profits while enriching the consumer experience with safely delivered, engaging and relevant offers"...
To prevent driver distraction, "ads only appear when the vehicle is stopped, such as at car startup, traffic lights and upon arrival," Telenav said... Of course, driver distraction won't be an issue in self-driving cars, and this technology suggests the captive audiences in those vehicles will likely be subjected to an ad barrage in robotic ride-sharing vehicles and automated cars whose owners decline to pay more to avoid in-car advertising.
Auto makers including Toyota, Lexus, Ford, GM and Cadillac already use the company's connected-car products, the spokeswoman said. Telenav CEO H.P. Jin in a press release called the ad platform "an exciting new opportunity" for vehicle manufacturers to "monetize connectivity to cover service costs and even drive healthy profits while enriching the consumer experience with safely delivered, engaging and relevant offers"...
To prevent driver distraction, "ads only appear when the vehicle is stopped, such as at car startup, traffic lights and upon arrival," Telenav said... Of course, driver distraction won't be an issue in self-driving cars, and this technology suggests the captive audiences in those vehicles will likely be subjected to an ad barrage in robotic ride-sharing vehicles and automated cars whose owners decline to pay more to avoid in-car advertising.
*Perhaps* for self-driving cars, but car manufacturers are SUPER paranoid about driver distraction to the point that there are strict rules about how fast stuff scrolls on a radio, and what types of information can be shown in certain colors, or flashing, or accompanied with sound. An ad blaring at you while you're waiting for a traffic light to change isn't going to happen. All it would take is one driver to say they were startled by the ad, hit the accelerator and smash into a semi truck, and the lawyers would be falling over themselves to file the first lawsuit.
My Other Computer Is A Data General Nova III.
Any car that comes with ads will not be purchased by me.
Mike @ The Geek Pub. Let's Make Stuff!
I have one of the old e-ink display kindles. No ads or bullshit. It displays pictures of famous authors when "off".
Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard