Automotive Mobile Audio Video

Automakers, exploring the potential of wireless technology, will incorporate short-range wireless communications chips in one of five new vehicles by 2007, according to a new study. Market research firm Allied Business Intelligence said the promise of dashboard mobile telephone dialing, more advanced stereo systems, and even more efficient car production has automakers looking at the use of wireless chips.

Also, car companies are exploring the use of long-range wireless to warn drivers when other cars are too close, and to allow emergency vehicles to communicate with surrounding cars to clear a path on the road. Safety, it turns out, is a focus as car makers study the feasibility of potentially distracting gadgets in the car.

The initial move to wireless in the car will be mobile telephones, said Allied Business analyst Frank Viquez, with luxury car makers like BMW and Mercedes experimenting with digital dashboards and steering wheels that will dial numbers on the driver's phone.

Chrysler is due this year to release its "UConnect" hands-free car kit, signifying the introduction of Bluetooth a short-range wireless communications standard -- in a production vehicle. But phones are only the beginning. Viquez said Toyota Motor Corp. is looking to replace the wires that connect car stereos to the vehicle with wireless transmitters and receivers. And Ford unit Volvo, Viquez said, has experimented with equipping its car-building robots with Bluetooth wireless capability to allow better communication with central computers.

"Hands-free telephony will be just the beginning. The introduction of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi (802.11) into the automotive environment promises to enable a slew of new and sophisticated automotive applications," said Frank Viquez, ABI Senior Analyst and report author. He also noted that a partial list of such applications include remote vehicle diagnostics, compelling and less expensive telematics services, highly advanced automotive safety systems, and remote audio and video downloads into the vehicle.

The car is certain to eventually raise new sets of privacy concerns. Viquez said automakers could use Wi-Fi long-range wireless to gather information on how a driver is treating a vehicle, and to better gather information on scheduled car maintenance.

# posted by Medical Information : 3:42 AM