Auto makers demonstrate the interactive car

During CES 2008 on Monday, it seemed the idea of automotive electronics finally came unto its own, evolving from cheap accessories into useful, and even potentially productive, components.

But now that CE companies and auto manufacturers such as BMW and Chrysler are working more closely together, the problem they face involves synchronizing their evolutionary stopwatches. Here's the problem: While an electronics trend's lifespan is typically five years, an automotive manufacturer needs it to last longer in order to reap a profit from it, because its product cycles often need to be longer.

"Is it going to last?" is the question auto makers find themselves asking when trying to develop the next "in" thing for cars. Manufacturers have an extremely difficult time trying to figure out what trend will last and still be profitable five years down the road.

A main goal of auto tech companies is to have a consumer's vehicle connected with home and mobile entertainment that can then be extended outside of the vehicle. One such technology is the BMW ConnectedDrive, a technology able to help connect existing CE equipment with its own in-vehicle electronics. One of the features of ConnectedDrive allows users to Google search to help try and find food or entertainment while in the vehicle.

BMW understands the technology still has a long way to go before it is the ideal technology for all of its vehicles. Reducing barriers to collaboration and implementation, supporting legacy systems, and keep on the forefront of the technology are the car maker's biggest issues going forward.

The Next Generation Telematics Protocol (NGTP) is an open telematics framework allowing new manufacturers to hop on the teleamtics bandwagon. BMW is already using the NGTP technology, and looks forward to a hopefully bright future.

The panelists admit technology like this outside of BMW is sparse, but the technology is quickly developing.

"Time" and "treasure" are two of the most important steps to future consumer electronics development, said William Mattingly, Vice President of Chrysler's EE Engineering Core. Chrysler sees connectivity to infrastructure as the building block to technology in the car; consumers need the basic necessities but also need the "treasure" to keep people interested.

More electronics technology in cars also causes major safety issues as drivers easily become distracted if the technology doesn't work properly. The safety-oriented issue is a key road block manufacturers are trying to conquer with the progression of technology. Speech recognition is a budding technology, but car manufacturers are not quite ready to adapt the technology until it's close to flawless.

"The cost of safety services should be built into the price of the vehicle - not subscription based," according to a slide presented by Russell Shields, Founder and Board Chair of Ygomi. "We've got to make sure the safety technology work as long as the car works."

Another problem is that some safety services are immediately disconnected if a bill is not paid, but that isn't the right strategy for companies to take. Location-based services have the ability to cost less than $1 per minute, and a certain amount of safety features should be directly included in the MSRP of a car's price tag.

New safety technologies could one day be offered through the driver's phone in a vehicle.

A representative from Panasonic Avionics was on hand to discuss how consumer electronics also are appearing in avionics when we all fly. With the aviation business as it stands right now, we service users to the same effect as if they are at home, said Steve Sizelove, Product Research Manager.

Consumers are increasingly wanting portable electronics able to be easily removed from a vehicle - and manufacturers are listening. Garmin is battling to create portable navigation devices that have forward compatibility with simple, portable integration. Partnerships and compromise help companies like Garmin work with auto manufacturers to ensure the technology meets the needs of consumers.

Ford's Sync voice-activated mobile phone and digital music system was launched in 2007 with twelve Ford, Mercury and Lincoln models, with 300,000 vehicles sold in the first three months. Almost all 2008 Ford models will have Microsoft's Sync pre-installed, and the nation's #3 auto maker will hopefully have 1 million units installed by early 2009, according to Gary Jablonksi, Ford Product Development Manager for Infotainment systems,

Ford and Microsoft upgraded the Sync technology by adding 911 Assist and Vehicle Health Report will allow users to keep drivers safer by calling 911 if an airbag deploys, and on-board diagnostic data sent to the car owner if something goes wrong. No service fees or contracts involved with all Sync-equipped vehicles.

If you're a consumer looking for accelerated automobile technology, "the future looks bright," the panelists agreed.