In the auto industry's biggest move yet towards connected cars, General Motors plans to install wireless 4G data modems on millions of its future vehicles, enabling them to serve as Internet hotspots.
The plan, announced at last week's 2013 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, calls for the giant automaker to embed 4G LTE technology in vehicles across all its brands, starting with Chevrolet, Buick, and GMC in North America, and Opel/Vauxhall in Europe. The hotspot technology could bring new levels of connectivity to many of the six million vehicles GM builds each year -- some as soon as next year.
"You'll be able to get in the back seat with your iPad, go to your hotspot, and do anything that you could do on any other hotspot," Greg Ross, director of business development for GM's Connected Consumer Group, told Design News. "You could do voice calls or you could surf the Internet and watch Netflix in the backseat."
Although technical details are still scarce, GM said last week that it's teaming with AT&T Inc. to equip most of its 2015 models with 4G LTE broadband, a global standard for high-speed data communication in mobile phones. In GM's implementation, the vehicles would incorporate only the data modem, and not the display, battery, or other parts of a 4G phone. Since most vehicles are now sold with seven- or eight-inch displays in the center console, the 4G modem would work in conjunction with those displays.
"Let me be clear about one thing," GM vice chairman Steve Girsky said in a prepared statement at the Mobile World Congress. "The technology will be built in, not brought in. And it won't be phone dependent, either. It doesn't matter what type of smartphone you have."
GM stressed that front seat occupants won't have access to Internet-based video or browsing capabilities, but will still get the advantages of Internet-based navigation, remote vehicle diagnostics, and other features. In the front seat, all applications will have to be non-distracting and appropriate for use by drivers, the automaker said. "You'll have a pipe into the Internet, but I don't foresee the car turning into a laptop on wheels," Thilo Koslowski, vice president and distinguished analyst for Gartner Group, told Design News. "I call it Internet snacking, rather than Internet browsing."
GM foresees the technology as a high-tech extension of its existing OnStar telematics system, which has been offered in GM vehicles for 17 years. As is the case with OnStar's current system, the technology will allow vehicles to be reached when no one is inside, thus enabling remote starts and door-unlock services, as well as airbag deployment detection.
Koslowski added that the embedded technology offers advantages over use of handheld personal phones in the vehicle, since the modules will be able to employ the vehicle's existing antennas and power.
To be sure, GM's move to Internet connectivity isn't the auto industry's first such effort. BMW and Audi have announced similar plans, but not for the production volumes involved in the GM deal.
Some industry observers expressed concerns to Design News about the use of 4G hardware in vehicles that might be on the streets for a decade or more. Because vehicle manufacturers typically work in three- and four-year development cycles, while electronics makers crank out new products in months, analysts fear that older vehicles might eventually end up using outdated technology.
Still, See said GM's announcement will be greeted positively by many consumers who are hungry for more electronics in the vehicle. "People are demanding to be connected," he said. "This announcement is a clear play toward that."
We love our 2009 Malibu but never could get the blue tooth link to work with our LG phone. It is enough aggrivation to keep the almost useful computer stuff working at home without fussing with the car's problems also. I would favor fewer gimics to have bugs, and please no more touch screens!
Much like an earlier story on wiping information clean, now you will need to worry about the personal information your vehicle stores and how to remove the information if the vehicle is borrowed, sold or stolen. Not to mention concerns that China or another government will hack into the database for all vehicles. I don't know, do we really need to connect everything, everywhere?
I had to design an Internet enabled coffee maker during the dotcom bubble; fortunately it never made it to market.
Chuck, I'm like you--paying the highest possible amount for technology never made sense to me, and that's what you do when you b uy the very latest thing. It's called being an early adopter. I'm a late adopter for that reason, but also to see some bugs get worked out first, on the principle of "never buy v1.0".
I have a verizon smartphone and because they've gone to tiered (teary-eyed) voice and data plans I'm stuck in unlimited 3G world and won't go to 4G LTE until they reconsider or it snows in Hades.
If the GM units have 4G LTE they will be self-regulating. You'll buy your kids a movie and then discover what the charges are and never do that again. And you sure as heck won't be surfing in the front seat at their roaming rates.
Why do we need interactive entertainment systems in personal conveyances? GPS makes sense. Let's not provide the marketers another venue to junk our minds and experiences.
3drob, thanks for that observation. Building this stuff into a car and making it difficult to upgrade or swap stuff out is about as un-useful as building some things into a house that can make it hard to sell later because they are, in effect, customizations that the next owner might not want. Wouldn't it make more sense to design entertainment and other systems as plug-in modules so you could keep the car longer and upgrade the faster-changing technology? Or, so you could ditch the car and take the electronics with you if that was your preference?
"Pretty much every new GM car comes with 6 months of the service free. That's the rub. Is it worth it? A Wi-Fi hot spot might make the system more saleable if they don't charge much for it."
Itron, such technologies are good with clear hands, but when it comes to fake hands, it can spoil the entire systems. Recently a study conducted by one of the agency found that nearby passing vehicles can spy the datas through open Bluetooth ports. Similar thing can be happen in case of wifi also.
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