Criminals using radios unlock connected cars

keyfogradioCriminals using electronic devices have been alarming car owners by breaking the code to keyless entry on vehicles, however the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) offers ways to prevent car break-ins.

JD Power voices voice recognition problems with connected car systems

voice_control_systemCar makers are not listening to what people want in voice recognition systems reported Kristin Kolodge, JD Power’s executive director of driver interaction.

JD Power studies in the United States have shown that voice recognition is the most common type of problem voiced by car owners.

As much as one-third of infotainment system glitches were due to voice recognition, Kolodge said during a presentation at the 2014 Management Briefing Seminars.

Connected car scare hacktics at Black Hat

hackinwhitecarCharlie Miller and  Chris Valasek the media darlings of car hacking claim that they will revel a vehicle “intrusion prevention device” at the Black Hat hacking conference in Las Vegas, this week. The two have appeared on CNN and in YouTube videos scaring the general public, by driving around in cars without dashboards in which one the two stops the car without the driver’s permission at very slow speeds.

Audi A7 has to reboot on Tampa Florida Expressway

audiconnecctIn testing a self piloted Audi A7 in Tampa, sensor problems caused the car to halt twice with Florida Gov. Rick Scott in the passenger seat.

For most of the trip on the freeway that can be shut off from real traffic, the Audi A7 worked well and took the heat using an array of sensors and cameras to navigate and pilot the freeway at 40mph while stopping and avoiding other cars

BMW new super chargers & free charging @ NRG eVgo through 2015

nrgevestationAt Plug-In 2014, in San Jose, BMW made two announcements free NRG eVgo charging and a new fast charger.

BMW with NRG eVgo, will offer free charging to BMW i3 drivers at participating eVgo Freedom Station sites equipped with DC Combo Fast Charging in California through 2015.

Cadillac takes wireless charging cue with Powermat in emblematic move

ccadillacwirelessGM announced that Cadillac will add wireless charging of smartphones in the 2015 model ATS sport sedan and coupe launching this fall. The wireless charging will be compatible with Powermat and other in-phone wireless charging technologies, therefore  once inside the car, you place the smartphone on the mat and you don’t have to connect a cord to charge it.

Because people keep their smartphones with them all day and Bluetooth uses a lot of battery juice, wireless charging in cars is an ideal solution.

Traffic lights better programming and connected cars = shorter commute times and better gas mileage with V2I

trafficlightsAugust 6 is 100th anniversary of the traffic light at an intersection in Cleveland, Ohio. Today, traffic lights are controlled by sensors that include proximity sensors with some intelligent sensors using localized software. In the future, traffic lights may make driving safer, reduce commutes, save time and lower emissions.

Researchers at MIT have developed a means of computing optimal timings for city stoplights that can significantly reduce drivers’ average travel times. The software adjusts signal times at intersections distributed across the entire city, with the objective of trying to improve conditions across the entire city, while present systems are timed to local information

Google competitor Baidu working on autonomous self driving car & bike, why?

img_boyThe biggest competitor in the world to Google is China’s search giant Baidu and in their parallel universe research and development labs in China and the Silicon Valley are working on self driving cars and  possibly bikes which may hit the road later this year.

A Baidu rep told Tech in Asia confirmed that Baidu is in the very early stages of development of driverless cars.

BMW ConnectedDrive outage & connected car app disasters

BMWappreviewsAfter our article, yesterday, explaining that BMW’s web/mobile interface has vulnerabilities that could be hacked, a few hours later BMW’s web portal was reported down. A BMW i3 owner in the UK reported that he has been unable to register for BMW’s ConnectedDrive service since July 19, continually receiving error messages. The outage is due to a system update in the UK and Europe. In the meantime BMW’s apps on Google Play have some of the worst user reviews, we’ve seen.