We’ll start with the idea that there is no real need for physical switches or dials in a car. Physical entities are expensive to manufacture and impossible to change … until the next model year. But, the next model year may become the next OS release…
You may view your car dashboard as an extension of your desktop on your laptop or your iPhone. The great genius of the iPhone is a beautiful display, a solid software framework, and … apps. Do you want a better battery level indicator, more accurate, more precise, a better more informative dial. Does your range predictor drive you crazy? Choose a better one, choose the best-rated app in the iTunes store. Do you want kilometers rather than miles, parsecs, no problem. Make it larger or smaller to your taste with the now well-known gestures. Do you want to add a better battery charge dial, visit the app store and see who does the best. If you don’t need that battery temperature dial taking up space, delete it. Auto customization has a whole new meaning – software customization – who has the coolest instrument panel? Long ago, the mobile phone folks figured out how to do safe over-the-air phone updates without turning your phone (or your car) into a brick.
All with voice control too. The genius of Apple is that Siri has a name and can “get” far more than “Home” or “Navigation”… Restaurant locations, destinations, plotting your route by milestones along the way, answering questions about things you see as the trip progresses, all available and answered through Siri and the unbroken Internet connection.
When you rent a car, take your iPhone with you, plug it in and your rental car becomes the desktop of the car that you know and love. The rental car morphs into your personal car, with all your personal settings, and dial and gauge preferences. All your favorite music and radio stations are already loaded. If you want to add some local flavor, dial in the mix.
Your whole road trip travels with your smartphone, and instantly loads into the rental car. You want to add charge stations to your GPS maps, the locale-specific download begins. All your contacts are available, make calls through the vehicle heads up bluetooth connection, Skype if you want it. Voice recognition, well Siri already knows your voice. That great charge station app, already loaded. Transmit your GPS locations to your onboard GPS, done. No need for 2 GPS systems. Your car instrumentation is totally customizable and already loaded in your iPhone to iPad. Plug it in and the mobile Apps take their place. How many thousands of Apps will make up the car that you will drive? You want 3D GPS, because we all know the impact of altitude on our range, well use a range estimator that knows your terrain and correctly predicts your range. Siri notices when it would be a good time for a diversion to the closest available charge station.
Cruise control – touch the speed you want on the speedometer, or ask Siri – “Siri, please drive the speed limit to Costco in Kona and park at the Level-III charge station”. OK, “the park at a Level-III charge station” is a bit of a stretch… And how to know the speed limit? Well, signs are posted all along the way. Forward/Side facing cameras with pattern recognition read the signs. And we are just a step (OK a huge leap for mankind) away from Autonomous Driving. Download the best Autonomous Driving App and off you go. The smarts are in the Apps that are being continually created by software developers. Your car gets “smarter” with over-the-air software updates.
When you step in to your car you no longer “enter the void” – you are always connected to the Internet. That sense of connection stays with you in your car (or your rental car – your identity travels with your smartphone device). It gives a whole new meaning to “Follow us on Facebook”. A bit much when you are driving? Use the Autonomous driving app to do the driving so you can focus on your online interests.
Your car identity also travels with you on your smartphone when you leave the car. You can start the heater or air-conditioning. Lock/Unlock, request/check your charge, blink the lights/horn to find your car in the parking lot, open/close windows. Request that your car drive autonomously from the parking spot to pick you up in front of the store or restaurant…
…There’s an app for that. Maybe not developed by Nissan, Tesla, Ford or GM, but a legion of professional software developers. You can download the apps over the data connection, whenever the next great (and truly) mobile App becomes a reality.
Doug