 The
car dashboard is about to undergo a major makeover. What was
once the domain of the old-fashioned radio and later the new-fangled
CD-ROM player is about to become a home to fairly powerful
computers. In
the effect, the car has transformed into a cross border
between a car, a living room, and a cockpit for navigating
all the byways of the Information Highways.Our vehicles
are a big part of our lives.A car isn't only a means of
transportation, but it's an expression of who we are, our
personality. Products like the in-car PC will really take
that to the next level." Beyond being an expression
of who we are, cars are increasingly where we are."
 As
this in-car computing takes hold, look for communications,
audio, location, and diagnostic systems all to converge
on the dashboard. This convergence could have a profound
impact on cars, their makers, and their drivers. It has
the potential to really change the way we interact with
our vehicles.
The advent
of in-car computing networked to the outside world has some
profound implications for work and play. Some of the possibilities
include answering e-mail while driving, avoiding traffic
jams thanks to up-to-the-minute information, and getting
directions to nearby restaurants or gas stations. There
are also, of course, such potentialities as in-car computer
games and movies (for the passengers).
 TECHNOLOGY
The
outline of what will eventually be in-car computers is starting
to emerge.
On one hand therešs General Motoršs OnStar system and Ford's
RESCU (Remote Emergency
Satellite Cellular Unit), both of which offer location
and driver assistance services through cell phones and the
Global Positioning
System (GPS). There
are also stand-alone GPS units. The simplest models give
only location, while the most sophisticated respond to voice
commands and talk back with driving instructions. Analysts
believe that tomorrow's in-car computers will evolve from
these present-day examples. One vision that's already making
its way into the accessory after-market is the AutoPC. An
industry group, spearheaded by Redmond, Washington-based
Microsoft Corporation, has been working on these devices.
The size of a radio, the AutoPC combines a radio with a
computer, a GPS receiver, and a wireless modem. It responds
to spoken commands, can deliver information verbally, has
an address book, and communicates with a palmtop PC. There
are also plans to interface the AutoPC with the interior
car bus for diagnostic information, such as fuel gauges
or engine performance sensors.
 Visteon
Automotive Systems, a part of Ford, has announced an AutoPC
system it calls ICES
(Infor-mation,
Communication, Entertainment, Safety, and Security),
which should ship in 1999. While the AutoPC does offer connectivity
to the outside world, it does so through a wireless modem.
Intel and others are pushing a bigger brother of the in-car
computing concept, something called a connected car. Concept
cars have already been built demonstrating the idea, which
involves everything on the AutoPC, plus a high-speed satellite
downlink as well as several separate networked computers
for passengers. The link back to the Internet, however,
would still be through a wireless modem. Not only does this
allow for faster Internet connections, but there is also
the chance for passengers to do their own Web surfing or
movie watching.
There
are various factors which hinder the in-car-computing technology
to be a part of the regular feature in the cars of the future,
this include:
 Price
barrier
Temperature
barrier
Human Error
Networking
Problems
Product
or Service?
Advertising
a solution
Time
and Technology barrier
Speech barrier
Smart
in Smart Highways
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