Volkswagen is Seeking to Develop a Larger Percentage of its Vehicle Software In-House

German automaker Volkswagen AG is ramping up its efforts to develop the software and operating system (OS) for its future vehicles. However, rather than relying on third parties to develop the majority of code that will underpin millions of future Volkswagen vehicles, the automaker is looking to develop a bigger percentage of it in-house.

Eric Walz2020-06-19 15:30 PT

How Mercedes Benz is Keeping Drivers Safe Using ‘Car-to-X’ Communication Technology

One of the more recent technologies to emerge for passenger cars is vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2X) communications. Beginning in 2017, all Mercedes-Benz E-Class models have come standard with the automaker’s Car-to-X communication technology. The feature is now showing up in other Mercedes-Benz vehicles, including in the 2020 Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan.

Eric Walz2020-05-28 13:15 PT

China’s Baidu Completes its ‘Apollo Park’, the World’s Largest Autonomous Driving & Intelligent Vehicle Testing Site

The world’s largest intelligent vehicle infrastructure cooperative System (IVICS) has been completed in China, internet giant Baidu announced on Tuesday. The comprehensive test site is called “Apollo Park” and will support the development of autonomous vehicles as part of Baidu's open Apollo platform.

Eric Walz2020-05-27 12:15 PT

Continental Signs Agreement With Pioneer to Develop an Integrated High-Performance Vehicle Cockpit

One of the world’s biggest automotive component suppliers Continental is teaming up with electronics company Pioneer to develop a high-performance cockpit computer that integrates all of the driver information and infotainment systems in a single unit. As part of the partnership, Pioneer will provide the entire infotainment subdomain and Continental will integrate it into a high-performance cockpit for production vehicles.

Eric Walz2020-05-26 12:45 PT

Data Platform Provider Otonomo Announces Partnership with BMW Group to Aggregate Vehicle Generated Data

Automotive data services company Otonomo announced today a new partnership with German automaker BMW Group to increase the utilization of crowd-sourced data from BMW or MINI vehicles.

Eric Walz2020-04-14 15:00 PT

Cerence Inc Partners with HERE Technologies to Bring AI-Powered Voice Access to Maps & Navigation

A new partnership between Massachusetts-based Cerence Inc and high-definition mapping company HERE Technologies will give drivers a more seamless connection to their vehicles using speech recognition, artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Eric Walz2020-02-24 16:30 PT

Audi Vehicles Can Now Communicate with Traffic Lights in Düsseldorf, Germany

Audi announced that the German city of Düsseldorf will become the second European city after Ingolstadt where drivers can use Audi’s Traffic Light Information service, which allows Audi vehicles to communicate directly with traffic signals. The system uses machine learning algorithms to optimize traffic flow.

Eric Walz2020-02-05 11:05 PT

Aptiv Unveils its New 'Smart Vehicle Architecture' for Electric, Connected and Autonomous Vehicles at CES

Global automotive technology company Aptiv unveiled its new Smart Vehicle Architecture (SVA) at CES on Tuesday. SVA is a flexible and scalable vehicle-level architecture designed to reduce vehicle complexity during assembly, while improving safety and support software for connected and autonomous vehicles.

Eric Walz2020-01-08 10:15 PT

BMW Announces its Vehicles Will Support Android Auto in Mid-2020

German BMW announced that starting next year its vehicles will come with Android Auto wireless support, so drivers won’t need to sync their smartphones or plug in a USB cable each time they get into their vehicle. BMW said that Android Auto wireless support will be available in its vehicle lineup beginning in mid-2020.

FutureCar Staff 2019-12-11 10:45 PT

BMW Announces its Next-Gen Digital Key Technology

BMW announced today an update to its digital key technology that the automaker plans to introduce by the end of the year. BMW’s updated Digital Key will be enhanced by the ultra-wideband (UWB)-based release 3.0. This will offer maximum anti-theft protection and enable precise localization between the device and the vehicle.

FutureCar Staff 2019-11-12 11:10 PT

HAAS Alert Seeks to Improve Road Safety by Notifying Drivers When Emergency Vehicles Are Nearby

Mobility startup HAAS Alert developed an emergency alert system it calls the “HAAS Alert Safety Cloud” that sends warnings directly to a nearby vehicles via the infotainment system when emergency vehicles are nearby or actively responding to a scene. The company’s mission is to eliminate preventable roadway collisions involving emergency vehicles.

Eric Walz2019-10-11 13:15 PT

General Motors Vehicles Will Have Google Assistant Built-in Starting in 2021

Drivers of GM vehicles will soon be able to use Google Assistant and other Google products in their cars without having to sync their smartphones. GM said it will work with Google to bring new infotainment options for a voice assistant, embedded navigation and in-vehicle applications to Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles around the world beginning in 2021.

Eric Walz2019-09-05 13:15 PT

HERE Technologies Making it Easier for Drivers to Navigate with New Partnership

A new partnership was announced today between industry leading mapping and location platform service provider HERE Technologies and Total Traffic & Weather Network (TTWN), the largest provider of traffic, weather, news and sports reports. The partnership will offer drivers another way to help avoid traffic, by incorporating precise real-time traffic information from TTWN in location services provided by HERE.

FutureCar Staff 2019-06-03 15:30 PT

GM Says its Vehicle Lineup Will Be Capable of Receiving OTA Updates Beginning in 2023

Following the footsteps of electric automaker Tesla, General Motors said on Monday that all of its future models will be able to receive over-the-air updates by 2023.

Eric Walz2019-05-20 12:12 PT

FCC Will Reconsider Opening the 5.9 GHz Band for Wi-Fi & Connected Cars

​The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) plans to vote next month on launching a new review of a key band of the 5.9 Ghz spectrum that has been reserved for automakers that could boost Wi-Fi use, a person briefed on the matter said on Tuesday. According to the FCC, the increase in spectrum will allow automakers to improve advanced driver assist systems.

Eric Walz2019-05-14 14:08 PT

Jaguar Land Rover is Testing ‘Smart Wallet’ Tech to Pay Drivers in Cryptocurrency for Sharing Data

​Britain's largest automaker Jaguar Land Rover said on Monday it is testing software that will allow drivers of its vehicles to earn the IOTA cryptocurrency as a reward for sharing vehicle data.

FutureCar Staff 2019-04-29 10:58 PT

Toyota Halts Plans to Include Short-Range Communications Tech in Vehicles for the U.S. Market

Toyota Motor Corp is abandoning plans to install Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) Technology in its vehicles. The technology enables vehicles to communicate with other nearby vehicles, infrastructure, traffic signals and other smart city infrastructure.

Eric Walz2019-04-27 06:00 PT

Volkswagen AG Creates a New Division to Focus on Vehicle Software & Services

As automobiles become internet connected devices filled with more high-tech features, an increasing focus of automakers is on passenger experience and mobility services rather than a vehicle’s mechanical systems. To support this effort, German automaker Volkswagen AG created a new division named “Digital Car and Services”. The new division will focus on bringing more robust software into Volkswagen AG vehicles to provide a better mobility experience to passengers.

Eric Walz2019-02-25 15:00 PT

HERE Technologies Develops New Map Data That Includes Cell Signal Strength for Connected Cars

Mapping company HERE Technologies​ has partnered with Continual, a leading provider of connected car and subscriber analytics to developed a new map data set called HERE Cellular Signals, which includes the strength of cellular networks around the world. To create HERE Cellular Signals, HERE fused its global radio (cellular) map with its leading GPS map of the road network.

FutureCar Staff 2019-02-20 13:27 PT

Audi’s New Traffic Advisory System Helps Drivers Catch Green Lights

Luxury automaker Audi has improved upon its Traffic Light Information system by adding a Green Light Optimized Speed Advisory (GLOSA) feature, to help driver’s avoid the frustration of getting stopped by red traffic lights. The system works by suggesting the the optimal driving speed, so that a upcoming traffic signal is more likely to be green as the vehicle approaches.

FutureCar Staff 2019-02-19 13:24 PT