Poliak talks about infotainment systems and points out that Panasonic has worked closely with Google on the development of the dedicated Android Automotive operating system we saw in the Polestar 2 and the Volvo XC40 Recharge. “We were at the heart of Google’s development,” Poliak told Engadget. “In fact, they use us as their reference design for the development of their Android car operating system and as the basic hardware platform.”
And as the cars of tomorrow become even smarter and more capable, Poliak expects these information systems to do the same. “You see these IVI (infotainment vehicles) becoming the brains of the show in the cabin environment of cars,” he continued. “To absorb the electronic content that drives your fully digital instrument cluster, absorb the brain for the content displayed in your HUD, and add extra technologies that will be in your IVI – to stream Spotify and offline content and all kinds cache memory of cool stuff. ”
One of the cool things is an immersive proof-of-concept sound system, born out of a partnership between Panasonic Automotive, Klipsch and Dolby Atmos Music. It’s effectively a Dolby Atmos sound system for your car. However, there is no word on when the technology will bring it to market.
The other kind is Panasonic’s newly announced 4K Augmented Reality HUD. “Panasonic’s AR HUD solutions cover more of the road surface, with traditional cluster content such as speed and fuel in the near field, as well as 3D overlays in the far field, showing navigation and other critical driver data that spatially maps the road ahead, Scott Kirchner, president of Panasonic Automotive and CEO, said Panasonic Smart Mobility in a press release. “And in the future with more self-driving vehicles, we can provide AR HUD an important extra convenience and insurance for AV passengers.”
But as we pack more and more features, sensors and capabilities into our cars, balancing computer resources on board with those in the cloud will be of utmost importance, Poliak explained: ‘a lot has to do with latency and a lot of it has to do with with bandwidth. ”
With Natural Language Processing, the technology that drives your virtual assistant’s voice command determines the nature of your request whether the command is handled on board or in the cloud. If your car’s built-in Google Assistant gives you a list of nearby Starbucks locations and selects your number two, this is an assignment you will handle on board. It is simply not efficient to send the request to the Google servers for processing and then place it back in the vehicle to load an address into the navigation system. If your assistant asks, ‘For what films did Gerard Depardieu win an Oscar,’ that kind of question should be sent to the top – and not just because Gerard Depardieu has never won an Oscar (Jeremy Irons beat him) the one times when he was nominated in 1991) – but because there is only so much information that you can pack into the finite computer resources of a car, and there is unfortunately not enough room for trifles about French film actors.
Panasonic / Phair
Surprisingly, we were soon able to see that certain AI functions are also handled on board functions. Panasonic announced at CES 2021 that it is working with spatial AI developer Phair to expand driver safety and navigation support in its automotive solutions, according to a press release Monday. The ‘deep-learning AI technology is available on infotainment systems in the car, detecting and analyzing the driver’s environment in real time and combining it with 3D vehicle location to provide additional guidance and safety information.’
The company also announced on Monday at CES 2021 two variants of wireless charging systems in the vehicle – moving coil and static coil. The moving coil style will actually move slightly within the charging column to optimize the position relative to the charging coil of the device. What’s more, it can deliver 15 W of power, roughly equal to what traditional fixed chargers can deliver. Both variants use the Qi 1.3 charging standard.
Looking ahead, Poliak argues that the lines between your home space and your car space will blur. ‘I really think COVID [instigated] an interesting change in the car environment in that it brought home the idea of using your car as your second space, where it used to be your job and your home, “he told Engadget.” Now it’s your home and your car . ‘
“It has had an impact on what electronics are updated and what we look at that can be done in a vehicle,” Poliak continued. “And to be honest, autonomous has already started to change the vehicle to your living room or office space, but it has accelerated it dramatically.”