Motor Authority - blog Tag: telematics

Ford is enhancing the capabilities of its vehicles by introducing exclusive new SYNC features that add traffic, directions and information (TDI) in a simple download found on the company’s www.syncmyride.com website. The latest application ties together the advantages of navigation and connectivity technologies and brings in even more options.

Sync TDI can control a customer’s existing mobile phone, includes an integrated GPS receiver to connect customers to real-time turn-by-turn driving directions, traffic reports and business searches, offers extra features and applications such as favorite news, sports and weather, and... Ford is enhancing the capabilities of its vehicles by introducing exclusive new SYNC features that add traffic, directions and information (TDI) in a simple download found on the company’s www.syncmyride.com website. The latest application ties together the advantages of navigation and connectivity technologies and brings in even more options. Sync TDI can control a customer’s existing mobile phone, includes an integrated GPS receiver to connect customers to real-time turn-by-turn driving directions, traffic reports and business searches, offers extra features and applications such as favorite news, sports and weather, and provides seamless voice-control of all these functions while in the vehicle – at no subscription cost for the first three years of vehicle ownership. To operate the system, all the driver needs to do is state the voice command “services”. Stating “traffic” will then send a text message to the driver’s phone with information such as location and severity of accidents or new road construction causing areas of heavy congestion. This message is then broadcast over the vehicle’s audio system. If a user states “directions,” a turn-by-turn route for a desired journey is downloaded and is spoken to the user over the vehicle’s audio system and displayed on the central information display near the radio. The latest system also enables drivers to personalize and categorize their favorite media topics, such as sports, weather and news using voice commands or through the Sync website. When available as an option, Sync retails for $395, and includes a GPS receiver new for the 2010 model year. Read More

Microsoft and Ford took a lot of heat when the software giant simply pointed out the capability of the Sync platform to handle targeted in-car advertising - without announcing any plans to actually do so. Mercedes-Benz had better prepare for a storm, as it is soon to roll out a test of a system that uses the Tele Aid in-car telematics system to pitch products and services to drivers.

The way the ads are phrased is clever, however. The one participating dealership, Ewing Autohaus in Dallas, Texas, will offer a free car cleaning kit if they bring their car in for maintenance. The test is so far only being conducted at this one dealership,... Microsoft and Ford took a lot of heat when the software giant simply pointed out the capability of the Sync platform to handle targeted in-car advertising - without announcing any plans to actually do so. Mercedes-Benz had better prepare for a storm, as it is soon to roll out a test of a system that uses the Tele Aid in-car telematics system to pitch products and services to drivers. The way the ads are phrased is clever, however. The one participating dealership, Ewing Autohaus in Dallas, Texas, will offer a free car cleaning kit if they bring their car in for maintenance. The test is so far only being conducted at this one dealership, though if it is well-received, it could roll out to other dealers nationwide, reports Automotive News. Mercedes is the first company to openly tap into this potential revenue stream, or as it is being used in this test case, a revenue stream for dealerships. Many dealerships make more money off their parts and service departments than they do off the actual sale of cars, so the idea makes sense: turn their money makers into real money makers. The question to be evaluated in the test market, however, is whether the in-car ads are too distracting, annoying or simply off-putting for their own good. After all, the Tele Aid system is pitched as an added layer of safety and convenience - leveraging the system to annoy and harass drivers might have the opposite of the intended effect. As a driver that enjoys the solitude and serenity of a well-made cabin and the peace it provides, here's hoping that this one final respite from the ad-crazy outside world is left untouched - or at least can be controlled with the press of a button or a turn of a knob. Read More

Jim Morrisson sang what may have been the best driving advice in rock and roll history in the quintessential "Roadhouse Blues": Keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel. While that advice may have been aimed at keeping a half-potted rocker between the lines, it's equally apposite in daily life. Ford today revealed a study backing up that assertion with evidence that voice-command systems reduce driver distraction.

Things as simple as having the car's computer read an incoming text-message rather than the driver reading it can have a huge impact, according to the study. The time a driver's eyes spend off the road to read a... Jim Morrisson sang what may have been the best driving advice in rock and roll history in the quintessential "Roadhouse Blues": Keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel. While that advice may have been aimed at keeping a half-potted rocker between the lines, it's equally apposite in daily life. Ford today revealed a study backing up that assertion with evidence that voice-command systems reduce driver distraction. Things as simple as having the car's computer read an incoming text-message rather than the driver reading it can have a huge impact, according to the study. The time a driver's eyes spend off the road to read a text message on a hand-held phone: 11 seconds. Listening to the same text message requires just 2 seconds of inattention. Today's in-depth navigation and entertainment systems add a lot of value to the in-car experience. But in many cases the level of complexity has risen so high that they are actually a detriment to safety, as drivers focus on navigating context menus rather than the city traffic that surrounds them. To make things safer, companies began introducing voice command systems, but until recently such systems have been inconvenient and laborious to use, thanks to fixed commands and limited functionality. With the advent of more advanced speech recognition software and more integrated applications, such as Ford's SYNC, Mercedes-Benz's COMAND or Lexus' new Enform, the intent is to keep the driver's eyes on the road, hands on the wheel and concentration focused. "Our SYNC research backs up what most of us instinctively know -- that it is better while driving to place a call using a voice interface than dialing manually, because you can keep your hands on the wheel and eyes on the road," says Susan Cischke, Ford's group vice president of Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering. Ford's data shows that drivers meandered over lane boundaries in at least 30% of cases where hand-held devises were used, as opposed to 0% when using SYNC voice commands to do the same things. "These real-world results indicate that SYNC's voice-interface offers substantial advantages compared to using a hand-held device to do the same task," says Dr. Louis Tijerina, Ford senior technical specialist. As self-serving as the study may seem, the findings coincide with a Virginia Tech and U.S. DOT study that involved 109 drivers and 42,300 hours on the road - over 2 million miles behind the wheel. The study found that using a hand-held device as 2.8 times more dangerous than normal driving, but that holding a conversation on the road was no more dangerous. The findings are good news for SYNC buyers, or for buyers of cars with similar systems. It's also a testament to the double-edge nature of technological progress: some advances bring greater safety, while others bring greater risks. Another example of technology being used to rein in other technology include the DriveAssist phone service, which keeps drivers from texting at the wheel. Read More

Telematics services are expanding even as the global car market contracts, with Toyota/Lexus the latest to join the arena with its recently-announced Enform system. Now General Motors' OnStar system is looking to expand by partering with other carmakers, according to the latest reports.

Talks between GM and 'several automakers' are currently underway, reports Automotive News, in pursuit of deals to share the OnStar service in the U.S., Canada and potentially other parts of the world as well.

The decision to get back into the business of re-selling OnStar services overturns GM's previous end to relationships with Acura, Volkswagen, Audi, ... Telematics services are expanding even as the global car market contracts, with Toyota/Lexus the latest to join the arena with its recently-announced Enform system. Now General Motors' OnStar system is looking to expand by partering with other carmakers, according to the latest reports. Talks between GM and 'several automakers' are currently underway, reports Automotive News, in pursuit of deals to share the OnStar service in the U.S., Canada and potentially other parts of the world as well. The decision to get back into the business of re-selling OnStar services overturns GM's previous end to relationships with Acura, Volkswagen, Audi, Subaru and Isuzu. Those deals were in part terminated due to a switch-over from analog to digital equipment in the OnStar system, but GM says the decision to end third-party service was mutual. OnStar hopes that the new tie-ups will help boost sales of service subscriptions, which are down commensurate with auto sales in 2008. "It's a new range of customers for us and a new opportunity for dealers to participate," said OnStar president Chet Huber. Read More

The incidence of drivers going the wrong way up expressway ramps in Japan is apparently high enough to merit a specific effort to combat its occurrence. Nissan is working on a system that combines GPS location, a map database and an advanced telematic computer system to warn drivers if they attempt to go the wrong way.

Senior citizens are frequently at the wheel in such wrong-way accidents, and with Japan's ever-growing elder population, it's a forward-looking decision to begin the wrong-way prevention system, though it's burdened with the ungainly title of 'IT-Assisted Road Information System'.

Other features of the new system being... The incidence of drivers going the wrong way up expressway ramps in Japan is apparently high enough to merit a specific effort to combat its occurrence. Nissan is working on a system that combines GPS location, a map database and an advanced telematic computer system to warn drivers if they attempt to go the wrong way. Senior citizens are frequently at the wheel in such wrong-way accidents, and with Japan's ever-growing elder population, it's a forward-looking decision to begin the wrong-way prevention system, though it's burdened with the ungainly title of 'IT-Assisted Road Information System'. Other features of the new system being co-developed with West Nippon Expressway (West NEXCO), include systems to warn drivers of unintended speed changes on ramps and downhill stretches to help further reduce accidents and congestion. The system is already being researched, with public testing and demonstrations to begin in the near future. Nissan has lately stepped up its long-standing initiatives in car safety, incorporating new telematics-based systems, satellite data and live feedback from cars on the road to inform complex next-generation traffic, pedestrian safety, collision avoidance and location-aware safety systems. Unfortunately for the rest of the world, many of these cutting-edge developments rely heavily on the advanced network and communications infrastructure inherent to Japan - at least for the present.Nissan IT-assisted Road Information System Read More

Late yesterday Ford revealed its latest-generation SYNC in-car connectivity system, which for 2009 is updated with a new personalized Traffic, Directions and Information system. The new services will be available on nearly all 2010 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models, however, their availability will be limited to the North American market.

Today, at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show taking place in Las Vegas, Ford announced that SYNC will go global in 2010. It will first be launched in Europe and then it should migrate to the Asia Pacific and Australian markets.

To deliver the service, Ford will be working closely with a number of... Late yesterday Ford revealed its latest-generation SYNC in-car connectivity system, which for 2009 is updated with a new personalized Traffic, Directions and Information system. The new services will be available on nearly all 2010 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models, however, their availability will be limited to the North American market. Today, at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show taking place in Las Vegas, Ford announced that SYNC will go global in 2010. It will first be launched in Europe and then it should migrate to the Asia Pacific and Australian markets. To deliver the service, Ford will be working closely with a number of technology companies, including Microsoft, INRIX, TeleNav, Tellme, M/A-COM and Airbiquity. One of the key benefits of Ford’s SYNC is that it is built around an open system that accepts hardware, software products and applications. Ford has no interest in developing its own proprietary system. In addition, the SYNC system is upgradeable. Customers can add new features and applications by using simple download features. Plus, all the new features come without a monthly service fee for three years. Ford also used the Las Vegas event to offer a glimpse into the future with a preview demonstration of its next-generation SYNC system. The technology is still in development but a video preview shows a few of the elements we will soon be able to access in Ford cars. These include configurable controls and the use of an electronic personal assistant, or “avatar,” named Eva.Ford previews next-generation SYNC Read More