The Connected Car News – Everything you need to know about how to connect your smartphone, iPhone, iPad, tablet or any other device to your car through Wi-Fi, Bluetooh, Ligtning connectors, USB, HDMI, DLNA and other means. We cover trends of connected cars that almost drive themsleves
Stop signs mean stop, the usual reason for stopping is to look both ways at an intersection to see if anyone else is coming. In areas without a lot of traffic stopping at stop signs burns fuel and wastes time/money.
Researchers at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute are in the early stages of research in which, instead of putting the road signs on the road, interactive signs appear inside the car. If no other car is present at the intersection, the will driver can drive on through.
GM 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.
August 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
President Obama got into the driver’s seat at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center in McLean, VA to try out vehicle driving simulation.
“Man, this is so exciting,” he remarked. “I haven’t been on the road in a long time.” After his test drive he said, “It was sort of like ‘Knight Rider.”
The president after a tour of the facility stated that self-driving cars could cut reduce accidents, gas use and commuting times. He noted that 80% of crashes could be abated and 3,9 million gallons of gas.
He also thought it was great that as a father of teenager, making driving safer is important to him as well as being good for the economy.
Obama wants Congress to fund more programs of the Federal Highway Trust fund. He also reported that traffic costs the average driver $800 a year in gas and outdated roads cause businesses to pay $27 billion more in freight costs.
He like that the technology of V2V and V2I helps saves lives, saves money and leads to new jobs in new industries.
He said, “Instead of barely paying our bills in the present, we should be investing in the future.”
He did complain that the driving simulator did not have radio.
The President visited the Human Factors Laboratory and Saxton Transportation Operations Laboratory, and spoke to employees .
Many are concerned that connected cars can be hacked. One of the most difficult cars to hack is the Tesla S and a group is offering $10,000 to hackers who can crack it. However, for most cars on the road today, car hacking is very difficult and requires knowledge and devices that most people don’t have.
When AUTO Connected Car asked security expert Mark Fitzgerald from Strategy Analytics about car computer hacking he said that it seldom happens.
SBD looked at in-car infotainment systems and rated them after testing them with actual drivers and experts. The study found the systems ranked highest to
SAP is working with Toyota and VeriFone for gas pump payments directly from cars. Drivers get notified when gas is low, are directed to a gas station that accepts wireless payments and then can get promos from the filling station such as discounts on smart water or other favorites of the drivers. The video claims that personal information will not be stolen. There is a marketplace for geo-location offers for the driver.
SAP aggregates information on a vehicle’s location, route and fuel level as well as points of interest. VeriFone provides point-of-sale (POS) solutions and Toyota ITC provides telematics data.
Clarion, recently announced it is a member of the Open Automotive Alliance (OAA). Clarion also reported that the NX604 Double DIN cloud-connected in-dash multimedia and
AT&T Connected Car Hackathon winners were announced after a weekend event in Santa Clara, CA. The apps make for safer, green and less hungry drivers.
After the media alvalanche from Android Auto, announced at Google I/O, it is important to note that infotainment systems designed by carmakers can be safer
“PND or GPS devices that’s so 2007,” I thought. Then, I saw information about the latest SmartGPS from Magellan that claimed I “could enjoy the
BMW has updated its app with best charging times for the best prices along and also offers locations of public charging stations.
The new BMW Smart Charging App makes it possible for BMWi customers to charge at times with the best rates saving as much as $400 a year. BMW claims it is the “first” automotive manufacturer to offer this automated and fully integrated functionality.