Motorola Envisions Wireless 'Dashboard of the Future'
By Mike Mayor, Wireless.NewsFactor.com
A new wireless dashboard system from Motorola (NYSE: MOT - news) promises to make life behind the wheel easier and more productive for automobile drivers.
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Claiming it is the "dashboard of the future," Motorola said its iRadio telematics system aims to deliver picture entertainment, information, navigation and communication in a single wireless package.
The company is licensing the technologies that enable the system to car manufacturers, telecommunications carriers, service providers and traditional car-audio electronics providers. The system should be available in new car models in 18 to 24 months, Motorola said.
For All Family Members
Designed to deliver a variety of services, the dashboard system lets users specify preferences on their own Web page, which the system can access wirelessly and apply to car settings.
For example, each member of a family can have an individual user profile -- and users can access their preferences in more than one car, as long as each vehicle is iRadio-enabled, Motorola said.
The Java-based system functions with multiple types of wireless networks, such as analog, digital cellular and two-way paging, according to Motorola. The system interface uses advanced voice recognition and text-to-speech technologies that let drivers activate features by voice commands as well as by turning knobs and buttons.
In Sync
The new system also lets users synchronize their wireless devices -- such as mobile phones, pagers and PDAs (personal digital assistants) -- by incorporating wireless Bluetooth technology and infrared wireless connections.
Sample uses of iRadio include server-based navigation for real-time route planning and instruction; off-route notification; public-interest destination identification; navigation-centered traffic advisories and local information updates; user-specific news and stock portfolio updates; and hands-free telephony services, including emergency notification communications, along with voice mail and e-mail access.
Music 'On Demand'
The system also features a genre music-on-demand function, which accesses a user's personal Web page to find out his or her musical preference, then finds local radio stations that play that particular music.
Jeff Lee, head of the iRadio telematics system team at Motorola, noted the system will let customers tailor their in-vehicle experience so they can move seamlessly from home to work to play.
"We really tried to focus iRadio toward the things that you would want to do in your car, and to the experience you would want to have in your car," said Lee.
