THE dashboard of your car is set to get smarter with a report predicting a 10-fold increase in smart infotainment systems as Apple and Google battle for the car market.
A Juniper Research report predicts revenue for the Apple CarPlay and Android Auto systems will reach more than $600 million within four years, ten times the current sales figure.
The smart systems add the convenience and features of a smartphone to a car’s dashboard, putting the messages, contacts, music and navigation on your phone into your car’s in-built system.
The report predicts that as the “over the top” smartphone car infotainment systems become more common, the features are set to expand to include advanced traffic solutions that guide drivers around clogged bottlenecks and in-vehicle gaming for passengers.
The Juniper Research points to a recent deal with Ford to put the Amazon smart home service Echo into some US vehicles as a sign of how the major tech players are battling it out in the car market.
The next four years will see continued crossover between the tech and automotive worlds, with Google improving its self-driving car prototypes and Apple rumoured to be working on its own smart car.
Several car makers, including Nissan, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo, have announced 2020 as the targeted date to release cars that can navigate without the need for a driver.
While the technology leaps ahead, there are challenges to be faced as the Internet of Things extends to vehicles. Security experts recently highlighted this by exploiting a flaw in the infotainment system in a US model Jeep to hijack the car and force it off the road.
[Souce:- news.com.au]
