Smart phones, smart homes, smart factories, smart cars – the inanimate objects in our lives are suddenly candidates for the high IQ society. By incorporating the connected car into the Internet of Things, automakers can leverage the benefits of 4/5G mobile communications and V2X technology. Not only to provide vehicles with detailed awareness of their surroundings but also to offer intelligent and anticipatory support to drivers, helping them to keep their eyes on the road.
“HARMAN was already showcasing examples of these technologies in concept vehicles, as far back as 2015," says Roger Jollis, Head of Telematics Marketing and Product Management, HARMAN Connected Car Division. “Reception-based routing, for example, knows where mobile reception is poor and will automatically adjust the routing to avoid these areas while you're on a call." Another example is the predictive refueling assistant, which not only knows the cheapest filling stations, but also suggests when and where best to refill based on the user's diary and planned routes.
This Intelligent Personal Assistant (IPA) also applies machine learning to anticipate driver habits. If, for instance, you frequently call home on setting off from the office, the IPA will pre-empt this and ask if that's what you want to do.
"Reception-based routing knows where mobile reception is poor and will automatically adjust the routing to avoid these areas while you're on a call."
The advancement of telematics and V2X is also set to have a profound impact on Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and will be an indispensable facilitator of autonomous driving. While experienced human drivers are still very strong in intuitive and judgment-based decision making, the connected car has the triple benefits of processing capacity, speed and focus. It can sift through massive quantities of data from multiple sources and act upon that information in a fraction of human reaction time. And it is also always concentrated on the task at hand and not distracted by “irrelevant" stimuli.
By being connected to other cars and the traffic infrastructure, your car is always one step ahead – it knows before you do that there is slow-moving traffic just around the corner or that there is ice on the road a mile ahead. And with existing driver assistance systems, it enables the driver to act on that information by reducing speed before even seeing the problem.
“Another interesting V2X development from HARMAN leverages a 'see-through' concept," adds Jollis. “The car can access camera data from the vehicle in front to gain an even more comprehensive overview of its surroundings. We already have functional prototypes of this innovative technology."
The move towards autonomous driving also demands a great deal of flexibility in how these intelligent systems are structured, not only to enable automakers to respond to varying global market demands but also to provide brand differentiation. “The modular, end-to-end structure of the HARMAN Ignite platform provides such flexibility and scalability," says Jollis. “It enables automakers to tailor their vehicle monitoring and safety systems as well as the entire user experience to suit the specific needs of their customers."
