DETROIT — Oct. 19, 2010 — Imagine driving down a typical American highway in three years. Do you hear the growl of hundreds of engines and smell car exhaust? Are drivers punching radio buttons looking for a station with good reception, while passengers search for the best way out of a traffic jam using a fold-out map and a mobile phone?
Windows Embedded Automotive technologies are powering the touch-screen Information Hub for the 2011 Nissan LEAF electric car.
If today’s news from SAE Convergence 2010 Conference and Exhibition is any predictor, you’ll instead experience a clean, quiet future where drivers and passengers have an amazing variety of in-car entertainment options and powerful tools available safely at their fingertips.
Microsoft announced today that Windows Embedded Automotive technologies are powering the touch-screen Information Hub for the 2011 Nissan LEAF electric car. The hub gives LEAF drivers and passengers a navigation system and electricity charging station locator. It also shares power consumption monitoring information with drivers, and enables easy in-car climate monitoring – all on top of a smooth, quiet electric ride. Be sure to check out a video of the car in action.
Windows Embedded Automotive is the software platform that Ford, Kia, Fiat, Nissan, Alpine and Paccar are using to develop next-generation in-car infotainment systems in more than 80 vehicle models worldwide.
In addition, Fiat Group Automobiles is bringing the Fiat 500 car to the North American market this year. The 500 includes Fiat’s Blue&Me technology, powered by Windows Embedded Automotive, which takes mobile phones and digital music players and integrates them into the overall audio system and controls of the car. Drivers are given the ability to control these devices by voice.
Windows Embedded Automotive is the software platform that auto manufacturers and suppliers such as Ford, Kia, Fiat, Nissan, Alpine and Paccar are using to develop next-generation in-car infotainment systems in more than 80 vehicle models worldwide. Today, Microsoft unveiled the latest version — Windows Embedded Automotive 7 — which will support speech commands, touch input, hands-free Bluetooth phone connectivity, dashboard access to music and maps, third-party applications, and connections to a wide variety of portable devices.
So if on the way to the big Friday night game you want to play a high-energy playlist from your MP3 player on your car stereo, map a route to the stadium, and voice-reply to a text message from your sports buddies, an in-car system powered by Windows Embedded Automotive 7 will be your new best friend.
Increasingly, Americans do a lot of living on the road. According to the National Highway Traffic Administration, more than 254 million vehicles were registered in the U.S. as of 2007. And a 2007 Gallup survey of work and education found that American workers on average spend 47 minutes commuting to and from the workplace.
People want to make the most of this time in their cars, and with a foundation built on Windows Embedded Automotive 7, automakers can give them more and better options every day.
To see Windows Embedded Automotive 7’s interface in action, view the “Hands Free” and “Deliver Rich In-Car User Interfaces” demo videos.
