connected car
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Tesla will start charging $10 per month for 'Premium' in-car data
Tesla wasn't entirely accurate when it said it would start charging for some in-car data on July 1st of last year, but it looks like owners have finally been asked to cough up. The automaker is notifying customers who ordered on or after July 1st, 2018 that it's switching them to 30-day trials of Premium Connectivity (i.e. the full data services they're used to), and that they'll have to subscribe for $10 per month to keep using the functionality. Anyone who ordered before July 1st, 2018 still has access to all features for free.
Georgia court rules police need a warrant to get data from your car
Your connected car data might be safer from prying eyes -- Georgia's Supreme Court has ruled that police need a warrant to obtain personal data from cars. The decision overturns an earlier state Court of Appeals ruling that defended police obtaining crash data from a car in a vehicular homicide case. The state and appeals court "erred" by claiming that the data grab didn't violate defendant Victor Mobley's Fourth Amendment rights protecting against unreasonable searches and seizures, according to the Supreme Court.
Ford's remote car starting and unlocking are available for free
Until now, all of FordPass' connected car features have technically been locked behind a subscription, no matter how basic -- while it was effectively free with up to five years of 'trial' service, there was still the prospect of losing remote unlocking simply because you didn't want to pay up. Now, however, you won't even have to think about it. Ford has scrapped trial subscriptions and made the most common features available for free. You can unlock your doors, start up the motor or schedule a maintenance visit so long as your vehicle supports FordPass Connect in the first place.
Toyota brings Alexa and CarPlay to 2018 Camry and Sienna
Good news: you don't have to buy a brand new Toyota (or score a very lightly used model) just to get modern mobile conveniences. The automaker has announced that you can add Amazon Alexa and Apple CarPlay (sorry, no Android Auto) to the 2018 Camry and Sienna. If you're itching for an upgrade, you can book an appointment for an installation at a dealership. While this isn't going to be much consolation if you're driving another model, this could prove a treat if you've been kicking yourself for buying a Toyota a little too soon.
Sling TV's success, selfie brushes and other stories you might've missed this week
This week has been a doozy: We got an update on Google's Project Ara, learned about the possible future of television from our Best of CES winner, watched a Beachbot draw Disney characters on the shoreline, oh, and did we mention our hands-on with a selfie brush? (C'mon, you know you're at least a little intrigued.) Details on all these things and more could be yours -- simply read on past the break.
Intel's working on a system to secure self-driving cars
The prospect of seeing self-driving cars on the highway someday soon came into even clearer focus earlier this week, when Google announced its work on an autonomous vehicle thats excludes a steering wheel and pedals. On the heels of that news, Intel is unveiling plans to support projects such as Google's, with a research initiative to explore how drivers interact with their cars and how to best protect connected vehicles from security threats. And the company's not just gathering data about drivers' habits; Intel's working on prototypes for improved in-car systems and even a hardware platform to protect "critical components." After all, few of us would step behind the wheel of a self-driving machine without safety measures in place to prevent it from being hacked and controlled remotely.
AT&T welcomes Volvo to its connected-car fold
Volvo's already got game when it comes to the connected car, what with its grocery delivery concept and vehicle-to-vehicle communications system. But this year, the automobile manufacturer is joining the AT&T flock to bring even faster in-car wireless services to its Sensus Connect infotainment center, courtesy of the carrier's Single SIM platform. Customers in the US and Canada who purchase a model from Volvo's 2015 lineup (like the new V70 seen above) will gain access to Volvo On Call, which lets you tap into tire and fuel level notifications, roadside assistance and the like, right from Volvo's iOS app. Sound awesome? If so, you can splurge on a new ride as early as this summer. Unless you're holding out for Apple's much cheaper CarPlay option, of course.
AT&T opens latest Foundry facility in Atlanta, focusing on the connected car, home automation and emerging devices
If you haven't been paying attention, here's the skinny: US carriers are doing everything they can to expand their horizons, and in the case of Verizon and AT&T, this sense of urgency has led to the creation of numerous innovation labs. In a nutshell, these facilities serve as incubation centers for startups and well-positioned outfits alike that are looking to add cellular connectivity to whatever it is they're hawking. AT&T's latest facility -- its fourth in total -- will open its doors later today, with the Atlanta-based Foundry focusing on innovation in the connected car and emerging devices sectors. Moreover, it'll be used to further AT&T's own U-verse and Digital Life platforms, though specifics of what exactly engineers will be toiling on remain under wraps. For an idea of what all goes down at places like this, have a look at a tour we took through one of Verizon's Innovation Centers right here; we're hoping to get a similar look at AT&T's lairs when time allows.
Toyota's Smart Insect concept EV packs Kinect motion sensor, voice recognition (video)
Toyota is showing off its new Smart Insect prototype at the company's CEATEC booth. The fully electric car charges via a standard 100-volt AC outlet, and it's decked out with gull-wing doors and motion detection courtesy of Microsoft's Kinect. The on-board motion sensors allow the car to recognize its owner based on face and body shape, and it predicts the owner's behavior by analyzing movement and determining when to open the door, for example. (It also allows for the front and rear displays to show a welcome message when the owner approaches the car.) There's also voice recognition for opening the car door and other functions, with a speaker on the hood of the car and dashboard-mounted "dialogue monitors" on the front and back. The tech carries through to the Insect's interior, which sports a wireless charging pad, a dash-mounted monitor that connects to the driver's handset and a button for dialing up Toyota's virtual agent. As a connected car, the Insect naturally ties in with entertainment and navigation services (in this case, via Toyota's Smart Center). There's also integration with a home energy management system, which allows the owner to adjust air conditioning and lock the front door via a smartphone app. As this is a proof of concept -- and one we couldn't test out, at that -- it's unclear how well these features work, and it's unlikely that we'll ever see the prototype make it to market. Still, it's fun to dream, and you can do that by tuning into our hands-on video just past the break.
Microsoft job posting hints at Connected Car strategy: Azure, Kinect and WP8
Redmond seems to have more grandiose ideas for Connected Car than it's let on before, judging from a recent help wanted ad on its site. Reading more like PR for its car-based plans, the job notice waxes poetically about using "the full power of the Microsoft ecosystem" in an upcoming auto platform with tech such as Kinect, Azure, Windows 8 and Windows Phone. Those products would use face-tracking, speech and gestures to learn your driving habits and safely guide or entertain you on the road, according to the software engineer listing. It also hints that everything would be tied together using Azure's cloud platform, so that your favorite music or shortcuts would follow you around, even if you're not piloting your own rig. All that makes its original Connected Car plans from 2009 seem a bit laughable -- check the original video for yourself after the break.
Dragon Drive! lets you take the wheel, while Nuance takes dictation
Do you like your cars smart? Are you itching to drive something a bit more K.I.T.T. than KIA? Well, this summer the glory of your Hasselhoff-soaked, '80s dreams will become reality, thanks to the folks at Nuance. Utilizing the same natural-language voice software currently employed across select mobile phones and TV sets, the outfit's hatched a new platform, dubbed Dragon Drive!, specifically for connected autos. The hands-free tech will support six languages at launch, with more to come throughout the year, giving drivers the ability to dictate texts and emails, as well as manage multimedia and navigation without ever lifting a finger from the wheel. So far, the company hasn't outed any initial partners for the voice recognition service. But if you're in the market for a high-end vehicle and your very own virtual Synergy, rest assured, your needs are going to be met. Hit up the break for the official presser and video tour.
Panasonic, AT&T team up for connected cars, rule out extra-long Ethernet cables
High-end automakers like BMW and Audi have already demoed their takes on the "connected car," and even Intel's gotten into the game with its safety-first, egg-shaped iteration. Now Panasonic and AT&T have partnered to explore the concept: Panny will provide hardware and integration, and Ma Bell will handle connectivity. All this concept-exploration will take place in Peachtree City, Georgia, and the team's "connected lifestyle projects" will likely include basic in-car infotainment systems -- think streaming music and video, along with social networking apps. But we're also hoping for some really blue-sky stuff, more like the Mini Cooper's driving-influenced playlist. After all, it won't be long before the cars drive themselves, leaving passengers to demand some serious entertainment. Oh, and speaking of entertainment, check out the press release after the break.
Audi starts calling its vehicular broadband plans 'Audi connect,' partners with Alcatel for LTE internet
Audi's had grand designs on the connected car for years now, and is presently looking to upgrade to LTE, but first it's time to address the most important consideration -- marketing the stuff effectively. To that end, Audi's unifying its infotainment initiatives under the brand Audi Connect, so it will be absolutely clear how you can pimp your ride with tech when you walk into an Audi dealership. That is, if you don't already have Audi Connect, because the company claims it's already present in the A8, A7 and A6. Those three automobiles can presently add an optional UMTS modem for online apps, though Audi's also working with Alcatel-Lucent to bring faster LTE connectivity by 2014. Expect a software update sooner than that: this summer, Audi hopes to add live traffic data and voice commands to control a suite of Google services as well. Find more details at our source links.
Intel Connected Cars will record your bad driving for posterity, take over if you're really screwing up
Intel's latest Research Day has sprung up a new vision for "smart" vehicles; a vision that frankly chills us to our very geeky core. Cameras and sensors attached to an Intel Connected Car will record data about your speed, steering and braking, and upon the event of an accident, forward those bits and bytes along to the police and your insurance company. Just makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, doesn't it? Don't get us wrong, the tech foundation here is good -- having cars permanently hooked up to the ether can generally be considered a good thing -- but what's being envisioned is as obtrusive as it is irritating. Oh, didn't we mention that the cars can become self-aware and overrule you if you try to bend the rules of the road? Because they can.
Next-gen dashboards get Tegra 2, Moblin, Atom, we go hands-on
Intel Atom processors, capacitive touchscreens, NVIDIA Tegra 2 graphics, Moblin installs... sounds like a suite of hot next-gen ultra-portables, right? Think again. Those are just some of the technologies used in the dashboards of cars that will be appearing on showrooms in the coming months and years, dashes that were largely on display at CES -- minus the cars themselves, usually. There we were treated to mobile glimpses of Google Earth, Pandora, and Slacker Radio on the go, plus the ability to lock and unlock your car via Ye Olde Internets. It's the future, and it's coming soon, so click on through already and get a sneak peek.
