From a technical point of view there's not much difference between different vehicles from different brands in one price range, and thanks to uninspired product designers many are only distinguishable by the manufacturer's logo. If you've ever despaired connecting your new smartphone to a new car infotainment system, you know what's really important in a new vehicle.
Driver assistance systems are a controversial issue. Some functions tend to distract the drivers, others find (sometimes grudging) consent. Many drivers feel patronized, but a recent study shows clear benefits of the assistants.
Toyota again: In cooperation with the Toyota City municipal government, transportation companies and others, Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) began tests of an optimized urban transportation system called »Ha:mo«. The system is supposed to select optimal means of transport for users based on the operational status of public transport systems and traffic conditions.
Fleet management systems tend to be deeply integrated into a vehicle's systems, very expensive in purchase and maintenance. With chip-sized GPS systems and ubiquitous networking capabilities of modern cars, this obviously isn't neccessary anymore. A new tracking device is very flexible but its downside is that it occupies the cigarette lighter.
EMBEDDED WORLD 2011 – Virtual dashboards, car navigation and camera-based driver assistance from a single chip - impossible? Maybe, but Fujitsu says it can, with the SoC MB86R12 ‘Emerald-P’ with integrated APIX2 interface. It seems that the Doubtless, in cars of the future the is the virtual display will be the primary interface with the driver, replacing traditional instruments such as pointers, knobs and buttons and maybe even the view of the road ahead. It could bring entirely new applications into the car, not only increasing comfort but also safety, as is the case with camera-based driver assistance systems such as night vision assistance and head up display applications, the engineers of Fujitsu are convinced.
For me it is not terribly clear why one needs high-definition video in a car’s dashboard, since one is not supposed to watch the newest Coen brothers movie there and even a Sat Nav doesn’t need 1080p, much less the »virtual« tachometers. However, nowadays it’s even being installed in mid-range cars, so there seems to be some kind of demand. A good thing for semiconductor manufacturers.
When driving a car, do you still use a steering wheel? Or maybe a cruise control? Sorry, but you are quite a back number. Le dernier cri is a map-enhanced driver assistance system, at least according to dSpace and Navteq. Those two companies created a development platform for this type of system. Such futuristic tools are not only supposed to aid the driver but could also reduce CO2-emissions.
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