Tag Archives: Eyes Free

Automobiles

Apple Patents Its Own In-Dash Infotainment System

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By Jeff Jablansky

Apple Receives Patents for In-Dash Infotainment System

  • As with an iPhone or an iPad, controls on the dashboard and center stack can utilize touch, pinch, and slide movements. The patent information explains the benefit in terms of operating the windshield wipers, which allows for the driver to select exactly the speed and frequency of each wipe rather than defer to fixed intermittent positions.
  • Apple’s patent mimics systems like BMW’s proprietary iDrive for primary controls, highlighted by a central control knob as the lynchpin of functions that are not controlled by voice, in the vein of iDrive.
  • An overhead camera, or two, is responsible for recognizing and monitoring driver and passenger behavior in the car.  Dashboard-mounted cameras are another option, designed for face recognition and airbag deployment based on seats occupied, among other inputs. In some circumstances, the patent hints that the software could disable the ignition for unknown drivers. Infrared technology also lets the car know which occupants are doing what in the cabin.

A bystander for some time in the world of in-car connectivity, Apple seems ready to dive head-first into the fray, according to patent information made public in early July. Following the lead of Microsoft, which has its name all over Ford’s Sync and MyFord Touch systems, Apple might be quietly preparing for an overwhelming entry into the automotive market not unlike the splash it made with the iPhone.

Siri Eyes Free integration highlights Apple’s approach to designing a tech-heavy, distraction-free driving environment, and automakers already are lining up to make it a part of their connectivity suites. Many of the Cupertino-based giant’s proposed technological advancements already have found their way into production cars, such as haptic-touch screens and programmable dashboards, but the list of functionalities is impressive nonetheless.

Apple Receives Patents for In-Dash Infotainment System

  • As with an iPhone or an iPad, controls on the dashboard and center stack can utilize touch, pinch, and slide movements. The patent information explains the benefit in terms of operating the windshield wipers, which allows for the driver to select exactly the speed and frequency of each wipe rather than defer to fixed intermittent positions.
  • Apple’s patent mimics systems like BMW’s proprietary iDrive for primary controls, highlighted by a central control knob as the lynchpin of functions that are not controlled by voice, in the vein of iDrive.
  • An overhead camera, or two, is responsible for recognizing and monitoring driver and passenger behavior in the car.  Dashboard-mounted cameras are another option, designed for face recognition and airbag deployment based on seats occupied, among other inputs. In some circumstances, the patent hints that the software could disable the ignition for unknown drivers. Infrared technology also lets the car know which occupants are doing what in the cabin.

Of course, it’s worth noting that Apple has thousands of patents and patent applications filed with the U.S. and the European Union, with only a very small amount ever coming to fruition. (Just last year we reported on a steering-wheel-mounted iPod-style remote control that we’ve yet to see any sign of in the real world.) Considering Apple’s already dipped a toe in the waters of in-car connectivity with Eyes Free, we’d imagine that something similar to these patents is in the works in Silicon Valley.

…read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Car & Driver

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Apple Needs to Move Siri From Beta to Indispensable

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By Chris Neiger, The Motley Fool

Detroit Electric SP:01

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Recent postings on Apple‘s jobs site show the company is looking to hire 12 new Siri developers — and it may be just in time. With Apple’s increased competition with Samsung and others, it’s not surprising the company may be looking to its personal assistant more indispensable.

Over the past few years, Siri has become an integral part Apple’s iOS, and although it has had some setbacks, it’s still arguably one Apple’s most innovative mobile features. But others have begun to catch up to Siri’s functionality — some even surpass it.

Source: Apple.

When Samsung launched its new Galaxy S4, the company came up with the tag line “life companion” for the phone and touted the S Voice feature. Similar to Siri, Samsung’s S Voice allows users to use voice commands to ask questions, place calls, and send texts. In comparison tests by The Christian Science Monitor, S Voice on the Galaxy S III was competitive with Siri, and even outperformed it at times.

The next contender, although not a voice personal assistant, is Google‘s new Android app Google Now. Google Now offers calendar reminders, location-based traffic updates and other time-sensitive information. The app was the recent source of a little controversy between Apple and Google. Google said the app wasn’t available on the iPhone yet because Apple hadn’t approved it, meanwhile Apple said the app was never sent to App Store for approval.

Apple’s strength in the personal assistant arena lies with its first-mover advantage in the space — particularly in the automotive industry. Apple is working with about a dozen automotive companies to integrate Siri into cars, dubbing it “Eyes Free.” When Siri is paired to the car via Bluetooth, drivers can ask Siri for directions, make phone calls, send and read texts, play music, and ask questions that don’t require a web browser to open.

Detroit Electric SP:01

Source: Apple.

Apple’s move into the automotive space is just another way it’s trying to keep current iPhone users hooked on Siri. The company needs to fill in niches like the automotive market to prove to smartphone users that it’s an indispensable feature.

But Android phones are making a move into autos as well, through the use of Nuance Communications‘ voice technology. Nuance already works with over a dozen car companies to bring voice controls into cars, and some smartphone makers like ZTE are working with Nuance to bring car-ready voice integration to their devices. Nuance is currently developing a personal assistant of its own that has yet to be released, which has led to some speculation in the tech world that Apple may purchase the company to eliminate further competition.

With Apple opening up 12 new spots for Siri developers, it may be a sign that Apple recognizes the personal assistant competition is heating up. Given that iOS 7 is likely to launch this summer, it may be the right time for Apple to bring …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Automobiles

Ferrari FF Gets Apple’d: Siri Integration and iPad Minis Now Included [2013 Geneva Auto Show]

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By Andrew Wendler

While the 900-pound news gorilla on the Ferrari stand in Geneva is the freshly unveiled 900-plus-hp hybrid LaFerrari, the Scuderia’s FF grand tourer, which debuted in the Swiss city in 2011, is getting a few new features.

Referred to variously as a shooting brake, an estate car, a two-door wagon, a tourer, and occasionally the less-than-flattering “hatchback,” the all-wheel-drive FF’s infotainment functions are now easier to access thanks to the integration of Apple’s Siri-based Eyes Free voice-command system. Apple hardware makes an appearance, too, in the form of a pair of iPad Minis for rear-seat riders. Making its encore showing in Geneva is the panoramic glass roof that debuted in Paris last October. )The new goods are cool and all, but we’re still more geeked about the FF’s innovative all-wheel-drive system.)

While these aren’t major updates, every bit of attention the FF can garner helps when it’s sharing booth space with one of the most-anticipated reveals in prancing-horse history.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Car & Driver

News, Politics, Government

Update: Apple's Siri (Finally) Hits The Road…In A Chevy

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By Jim Gorzelany, Contributor

Chevrolet officially wins the race to integrate “Siri,” the ubiquitous iPhone’s voice activated “intelligent assistant” into its model line, officially launching on February 13 on the youth-oriented Spark and Sonic models, or at least those fitted with the automaker’s MyLink infotainment system. Anyone who’s ever had to suffer through the erratic touchscreens and unnatural voice commands with which today’s overly complex automotive multimedia systems punish its users has likely pondered why they can’t be engineered to operate as intuitively as an iPhone, and Apple’s new “Eyes Free” feature helps bring that a step closer to fruition. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

Automobiles

Honda Introducing Dealer-Installed Eyes Free Siri Integration on 2013 Accord, Acura ILX and RDX

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By Alexander Stoklosa

2013 Honda Accord V-6 coupe

Honda has announced that later this year, any customer with a 2013 Accord or 2013 Acura ILX or RDX can have Apple’s Eyes Free Siri integration fitted to their cars. To recap, Eyes Free tech enables Siri use through a car’s Bluetooth connection, utilizing a car-mounted button to activate the iPhone’s digital personal assistant instead of the phone’s home button. In the case of the Accord and pair of Acuras, Eyes Free will be a dealer-installed option. 

According to Honda, the “installation” is in fact a mere software update. To activate Siri, drivers simply push the Bluetooth button that comes on the car’s steering wheel and hold it for a moment. A Honda representative wouldn’t comment on future factory Eyes Free integration for either the Accord, ILX, RDX, or other future Honda/Acura products, but given that the feature is only a software re-flash away, it would be easy for the company to roll it out. We were told the company will closely monitor customer reaction to the Siri upgrade.

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Car & Driver

Automobiles

Hyundai Shows Off Next-Gen Infotainment Platform, New Connectivity Features [2013 CES]

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By Alexander Stoklosa

Hyundai Blue Link

Hyundai is using the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to demonstrate the goods it has in the works for its next-generation infotainment platform. The automaker currently offers touch-screen infotainment systems and its Blue Link telematics software, and it seems both are in for a few key improvements.

Starting with Hyundai’s next-gen infotainment hardware, the company says it will incorporate a high-resolution, multi-touch screen; Wi-Fi and 3G data connectivity; web browsing and mobile hotspot capabilities; and media streaming via apps like Aha and Pandora. Oh, and Bluetooth will again make an appearance—version 3.0—and form the core of the system’s ability to play nice with mobile devices. Backing up the new, sharper screen will be Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL), which will allow customers to route video at resolutions up to 1080p and with as many as eight channels of digital sound to the display, presumably when the car is parked.

Hyundai also is looking to improve the hands-free aspects of the man-machine interface, and is working to integrate Apple’s Siri digital assistant and improved voice recognition into its infotainment suite. Siri phone control and assistance will come by way of Apple’s Eyes Free car-integration technology, while natural-voice recognition comes courtesy of Hyundai’s existing partner in this arena, Nuance. That company’s latest Dragon Drive voice services platform will form the basis for Hyundai’s latest in-car systems, as well as the automaker’s Blue Link telematics suite, allowing more conversational interactions with in-car tech.

Finally, following the announcement by its corporate partner Kia regarding plans to integrate Google Maps and Local Search into its next-gen UVO infotainment setup, Hyundai, too, has indicated those features are headed to the next iteration of its hardware.

2013 Consumer Electronics Show full coverage

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Car & Driver