In a recent Hollywood Action film, one of the movie’s heroes is attacked in his SUV by three phony police cars. Luckily, his truck was a highly advanced, armored super-vehicle. The SUV’s on-board computer gave him play-by-play damage updates as the bad guys tried to break into his vehicle and eliminate him. Soon, the hero was able to race away. As he did, the SUV’s computer began informing him about alarming changes in his physical, vital signs… like blood pressure.
With the bad guys right on its tail, the SUV’s computer became aware of a traffic jam from GPS data and informed the hero, who requested an alternate route. The computer told the hero where to go and soon he was able to not only evade oncoming traffic but also his deadly pursuers.
This scene isn’t only a sensational vision of a car’s connected potential, but the future of a typical car’s on-board connected services.
The term “connect car” is slowly moving into the public’s vocabulary. “Connected Car” can be defined as any vehicle that contains devices that connect to other devices within the vehicle’s system, networks, and services outside the car. This includes plug-in devices like mp3 players and smartphones. It also includes online services such as GPS navigation, traffic updates, and regional directories (local business information and so forth).
Envision your next vehicle not only providing mapping and navigation services, but also alerts on changing traffic conditions with alternate routes. Furthermore, consider your next vehicle alerting you to low fuel levels and providing suggestions for local gas stations, along with directions.
The coming generation of vehicles will also provide information about restaurants, stores, and services. Love road trips? Wouldn’t it be great to let your vehicle tell you the best places to get gas, grab lunch, or make sightseeing side-trips? These are also innovations that are being developed for future connected cars.
One can only speculate on advances to entertainment services or your car’s ability to interact with your smartphone or other handheld technologies, from Pandora to your own music library.
At GROM Audio, we are excited about all these future innovations and are constantly looking for ways for our car kits to contribute. Currently, GROM is working with Bluetooth technology to allow our customer’s cars to connect with their handheld devices wirelessly. GROM is also working to develop “hands-free” options, permitting users to safely use their handheld devices through voice activation and other safer options.
GROM Audio has been founded on the concept of the connected car and continually is seeking to be leaders in this area of car technology growth. Whatever Hollywood has envisioned for their heroes, GROM is also working to provide solutions and advantages for their customers