Discussions with friends in the mobile industry led to discussion about the impact of mobile in automobile industry and Connected Cars. Will the automobile industry drive the change to get cars connected and open up new services to the driving consumer. Or will it be mobile industry pushing the limits of automobile industry? Time will tell and I feel companies like BMW, Ford - who hired my good friend John Ellis from Motorola, Delphi are trying hard to make sure it will be the case. Startups like CloudCar, Carag.es are bound to be on the leading edge.
But it all started with CANBus as long back as in 1980s. A technology that was meant to ensure car diagnostics was easy by ensuring all electronics and mechanical devices in a car send status and alarms on to a bus like architecture, it powers the OBD(On board diagnostics) required for all cars built in U.S since 1996 and in Europe since 2004.
CANBus has evolved as more electronics and onboard computers have crept into the automobile. OBD, its successor OBDII and the european version eOBD now make it easy for mechanics to figure out the problem in a jiffy! With the advent of smartphones, it will make life easier for car drivers to figure out even before they go the mechanic but the road to this has not been easy
Case and point, the Cartrip device from Griffin . A device that plugs into the OBD and sends information to the phone wirelessly. The technology should be quite simple and at $90 a pop it would have been affordable. However the product has been a no show and looks like it will not see the shelves anytime soon.
Rest assured there are quite a few companies working on this mix. While startups are obviously looking at this space, even the big guys like Delphi are in the game. Jugal Vijavargiya from Delphi has a group working to make sure technology like this will be available as an aftermarket device or built into a car in the future. Mirrorlink is another exciting standard that could make it easy for cars to interact with applications in smartphones. Seeing Curiosity on Mars collecting and analyzing samples with its powerful imaging and computing systems and moving around reminds me of Tesla.
The latest Tesla is not nearly close to Curiosity. It is an example where a connected car and a life size display can bring in a ecosystem of services and technology that can change the way you think about a car. It is your own personalized infotainment system that also can drive you around. I envy Amit Rohatagi who was the first among people I know to be allocated the latest Tesla. Maybe I will get to test drive earth's little curiosity in the near future!
But it all started with CANBus as long back as in 1980s. A technology that was meant to ensure car diagnostics was easy by ensuring all electronics and mechanical devices in a car send status and alarms on to a bus like architecture, it powers the OBD(On board diagnostics) required for all cars built in U.S since 1996 and in Europe since 2004.
CANBus has evolved as more electronics and onboard computers have crept into the automobile. OBD, its successor OBDII and the european version eOBD now make it easy for mechanics to figure out the problem in a jiffy! With the advent of smartphones, it will make life easier for car drivers to figure out even before they go the mechanic but the road to this has not been easy
Case and point, the Cartrip device from Griffin . A device that plugs into the OBD and sends information to the phone wirelessly. The technology should be quite simple and at $90 a pop it would have been affordable. However the product has been a no show and looks like it will not see the shelves anytime soon.
Rest assured there are quite a few companies working on this mix. While startups are obviously looking at this space, even the big guys like Delphi are in the game. Jugal Vijavargiya from Delphi has a group working to make sure technology like this will be available as an aftermarket device or built into a car in the future. Mirrorlink is another exciting standard that could make it easy for cars to interact with applications in smartphones. Seeing Curiosity on Mars collecting and analyzing samples with its powerful imaging and computing systems and moving around reminds me of Tesla.
The latest Tesla is not nearly close to Curiosity. It is an example where a connected car and a life size display can bring in a ecosystem of services and technology that can change the way you think about a car. It is your own personalized infotainment system that also can drive you around. I envy Amit Rohatagi who was the first among people I know to be allocated the latest Tesla. Maybe I will get to test drive earth's little curiosity in the near future!
No comments:
Post a Comment