Car Technology discussion thread

[PeeluckyDuckee]

Will this new era of car OS and car-to-car communication network usher in data plan requirements when buying or leasing a new vehicle? Sorry your vehicle requires car OS 2.01 in order to operate at full capacity and be able to network with other vehicles on the road, please see your nearest dealer asap? Each vehicle will have to obtain it's own IP address from DMV? Your daily/weekly driving history (routes, speed, stops, distance) will automatically be uploaded to your local police station, related insurance company, and other government agencies?

The auto industry will be undergoing a huge transformation, and at a faster rate than electric hybrids coming to market? Is this the new untapped market Apple, Blackberry, MS and others are vying to position themselves for? Exciting times we live in.

 

[bryanl]

My next car won't have a hand crank starter. Cutting edge.

 

[Kaido]

Will this new era of car OS and car-to-car communication network usher in data plan requirements when buying or leasing a new vehicle? Sorry your vehicle requires car OS 2.01 in order to operate at full capacity and be able to network with other vehicles on the road, please see your nearest dealer asap? Each vehicle will have to obtain it's own IP address from DMV? Your daily/weekly driving history (routes, speed, stops, distance) will automatically be uploaded to your local police station, related insurance company, and other government agencies?

The auto industry will be undergoing a huge transformation, and at a faster rate than electric hybrids coming to market? Is this the new untapped market Apple, Blackberry, MS and others are vying to position themselves for? Exciting times we live in.

I am curious about Apple's hardware implementation in cars. What happens when Apple switches to 4K Retina displays and your car's resistive touchscreen is stuck at 800x480? It also bloats the apps because then stuff like your navigation & music apps need to have graphics & support files to stream an interface to your car, as well as to the phone. I'm not really sure how this is going to play out in real life. Not to mention that Apple has just less than 50% of the smartphone marketshare, so of the people who have smartphones, only half have an iPhone - which is still a lot, but I hope they make an interface for Android, Blackberry, and Windows phones to play with the car too!

http://www.macrumors.com/2014/01/27/iphone-share-strong-android-lead/

I don't think that much tracking information will make it to the DMV, police, or insurance organizations, although they do already track publicly-available information like license plates:

http://gizmodo.com/how-automated-license-plate-readers-threaten-our-privac-493400783

However, there's a scary paragraph in there:

...according to recent research reported in Nature, it’s possible to identify 95% of individuals with as few as four randomly selected geospatial datapoints (location + time), making location data the ultimate biometric identifier.

But it's not like I'm going to stop driving my car to go places, and Snowden has kind of let the monkey out of the barrel with the NSA leaks on tracking information, so hopefully the government won't go overboard with tracking in the future. But you know, if the government had just come out and said yes, we do a lot of tracking for the purpose of security of our citizens, I don't think most people would have really cared. But they had to deny it, have more information leak, acknowledge it, and then repeat the denial cycle over & over again, so now people are paranoid about it. So I don't think worrying about information tracking is without merit in light of the recent leaks. But I don't think they really need a car to do it...they collect location data on cell phones on a daily basis, so unless you just don't have a cell phone at all, it's not like they can't figure out where you are:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world...92873a-5cf2-11e3-bc56-c6ca94801fac_story.html

 

[Kaido]

Hands-on with Apple's CarPlay system in a Ferrari:

http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/04/apple-carplay-ferrari-ff-hands-on/

But in all seriousness...would you buy a Ferrari if the dashboard looked like this?

http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/adam/c71fe1f897cad71a1b0d623f46c09aff/carplay-lead-image-630.jpg

The design elements look totally out-of-place on that console...yuck!

 

[dguy6789]

I'd be damn happy if I was in a position to say a Ferrari wasn't good enough for me because of the dashboard.

On a serious note, I love the technology stuff in cars. I think the Civic's highly electronic dash just looks way more sleek than all of the gauges of old that most cars still come with for example.

 

[Aikouka]

I'm just disappointed that she didn't show how you can move around on the maps screen.

 

[Kaido]

Pretty cool Arduino-based OBD-II & tracking system on Kickstarter:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stanleyhuang/freematics-vehicle-telematics-with-open-source-har

 

[BlitzPuppet]

Only thing that I worry about is/are lifecycles and longevity. I don't want to have to buy a car sooner than I planned just because the radio is intertwined into the OS of the car and a newer phone wouldn't connect via bluetooth etc etc.

 

[Kaido]

The 2015 Acura TLX is debuting at the upcoming NY auto show:

http://www.autoblog.com/2014/03/19/2015-acura-tlx-confirmed-new-york/

It has some pretty wild features:

The 2015 TLX will offer two advanced new powertrains – a 2.4-liter 16-valve, direct-injected i-VTEC® 4-cylinder engine mated to an all-new 8-speed dual-clutch transmission with torque converter; and a 3.5-liter 24-valve direct-injected i-VTEC V-6 mated to a new 9-speed automatic transmission.

Two-wheel-drive models, available with either the 2.4- or 3.5-liter powerplants, will utilize the next-generation of Acura Precision All-Wheel Steer™ (P-AWS&#8482 technology with independent left and right rear-wheel toe angle control. The TLX SH-AWD™, available exclusively with the 3.5-liter powerplant, will employ a next-generation Super-Handling All Wheel Drive™ system that is 25-percent lighter and incorporates new torque-vectoring control logic.

The TLX was designed to deliver vault-like quietness in all driving conditions, with major improvements in noise reduction through enhancements to body stiffness, body sealing and sound insulation, and the application of electronic Active Noise Control. The TLX will be available with Acura's most advanced safety and driver-assistive technologies including Collision Mitigation Braking System™ (CMBS&#8482, Forward Collision Warning (FCW), Lane Departure Warning (LDW), Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS), Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Low-Speed Follow and Blind Spot Indicator (BSI).

Low-speed follow is an added feature to radar cruise control that allows the car to brake to a full stop automatic, which is pretty neat. Very interesting to see an implementation of all-wheel steering as well, although my first reaction is "boy, that's going to be expensive to fix" haha.

 

[Kaido]

Audi Traffic Light Assist helps you hit every green light

Audi partners with AT&T to introduce in-car LTE in the US

Volvo's connected cars could make winter driving safer for everyone:

That traffic light thing is pretty nifty, I wonder if Garmin will offer that in their off-the-shelf GPS products at some point. It's also interesting to see more cars (non-vans) being offered with a data package. And Volvo has historically been the leader in safety technology, so that would be a pretty cool way to add some extra functionality into self-driving cars & road communications systems.

 

[JCH13]

(1)...Assuming future laws, enforce wi-fi forced engine shut down, for law enforcement use. Then I want one, so if someone tail-gates me, I zap their engine off for at least one hour, or in bad cases, it sends the permanently disable the engine signal.

(2)...A similar wi-fi dongle, which lets me switch traffic lights to green, at will.

(3)...Assuming ALL bicycles have to also be fitted with wi-fi enabled dead-locks, I can activate it if any cyclists annoy me.

(4)...A wi-fi voice impersonator, so that if law enforcement are chasing me, it sends a fake message to the chasers, to immediately back off and abandon the chase, else they will be fired, immediately.

(5)...A wi-fi box, which activates reverse, and partial accelerator, to any cars that I point at, so I can get to the front of any Petrol/Gasoline queues.

(6)...A wi-fi box, which gives me free internet access, and TV viewing, while driving.

(7)...A wi-fi box which cleverly detects the impending accident (because I am simultaneously internet surfing, texting, watching TV, partly sleeping, massively speeding, and a pile of other things, while driving, and reminds me to brake, or if law enforcement are near/watching.

(8)...I might need some entertainment, while taking a break in the car, on longer journeys, so a wi-fi box, could give me some entertainment options.

(9)...A wi-fi high interference box, so that if any motorists are playing really loud music, I can switch it off and/or destroy their horrible sound system.

(10)...A first-aid kit. So that if anyone is injured or ill, I can help them out. (It has a built in radio signal generator (wi-fi), so if it is opened, medical staff know about the situation).

DISCLAIMER: This post is meant in jest/joke, so please drive sensibly/responsibly and safely!

This video shows amazing (to me, at least) new car safety systems, already available on some cars

I would simply put a couple microwaves on top of my car to jam/annoy/warm up everyone inside of a modest radius.

 

[twinrider1]

I'd trade all the bells and whistles for a vehicle that wouldn't corrode and was designed for simplified maintenance.

 

[Kaido]

This is pretty cool - Sharp is making free-form LCD displays, so you can pretty much design the shape of the screen however you want. This would make for some super-cool car displays, especially now that more cars are getting all-digital displays:

http://www.engadget.com/2014/06/18/sharp-flaunts-free-form-displays-for-funky-shaped-devices/

 

[Kaido]

My buddy just picked up a Buick Encore, which came with a pretty neat technology package that I believe is based off Autonet Mobile:

http://www.autonetmobile.com/

It's similar to Directed's SmartStart system (sold by Viper & Python), but has even more info like TPM data & MPG tracking & calculations (similar to a ScanGauge). Autonet also has a 4G module available, which has a ton of features like Find My Car, Geo Zones, Speed Tracker, Parental Controls, Valet Mode, and WiFi Hotspot. Really really neat stuff.

 

[Kaido]

CES this week - Parrot just dropped an awesome car radio:

http://www.engadget.com/2015/01/04/parrot-rnb6-android-auto-apple-carplay/

Parrot's car infotainment systems may not be as well-known as its drones and audio products, but here's one that's worth paying attention to. The yet-to-be-named "RNB6" is a two-DIN unit that comes with a gorgeous 7-inch 720p "IPS Pro" touchscreen, along with a 4 x 55-watt audio amplifier and a wired wide-angle 1080p dash cam (with "Super HDR"). The device runs on a slightly customized version of Android 5.0 that offers media playback, navigation, telephony, dash cam, air control, parking assistance and onboard diagnostics (for tire pressure, parking sensors, air conditioning and more); as well as voice control for some of these features. Depending on the type of phone you plug in, the RNB6 can also toggle Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to let you control your phone via its own touchscreen.

One other impressive feature here is that, like Parrot's audio products, the RNB6 lets you adjust the sound stage inside the car, so that when the driver is by himself or herself, the music can be set to sound as if you're sitting in the middle instead of off-center. Parrot even offers some presets for certain car models for you to download, and similarly, you can share your presets to help other RNB6 users. As you'd expect, you can also play with the equalizer plus various other audio parameters.

Sadly, Parrot isn't yet ready to share prices and dates, so we'll let y'all know when we hear more later this year.

Lots of overdue features here, and a great suite in general:

* Large color touchscreen
* Apple & Android compatible (screen mirroring features)
* HD dashcam
* Onboard diagnostics integration
* Audio localization (just a driver, or with passengers)