[school-discuss] Cloud Cars?

[Joel Kahn <jj2kk4@xxxxxxxxx>]

Below the dotted line is yet another example of the
wild and crazy convergence taking place around us.

I can't wait until Microsoft comes out with an OS
that only runs on limos or sub-compacts--and the
cheap version will make the car break down every two
kilometers or so. Meanwhile, Richard Stallman and
his crew will form GNU Motors, Inc., offering vehicles
that run purely Free Software from bumper to bumper. :-)

Which Linux distro do you want in *your* ride?

Joel

..........................................................

Technologue: Cloud Cars

Redefining What it Means to "Ride on Air"

From the February, 2010 issue of Motor Trend / By Frank Markus

Your technical director confesses to having felt completely ignorant at a recent technical presentation. Two engineering degrees and continuous study of car-tech topics left me unprepared for the barrage of unfamiliar buzz-words, acronyms, and initials peppering the enthusiastic presentations of QNX Software CEO Dan Dodge and Alcatel-Lucent V.P. Derek Kuhn, as they presented the "LTE Connected Car." After several sheepish queries, I deduced that:

This hyperconnected futuremobile leverages "cloud computing" to bring unprecedented entertainment, info, and convenience into the car without significantly increasing vehicle cost or complexity.
What's in this miraculous cloud? The virtually unlimited computing power of both the open Internet and a vast network of secure computers. The cloud exists now, and 2010 Ford/Lincoln/Mercury cars with Sync (but not navigation) are already using it. Sync's TDI application allows drivers to make a voice request for Traffic info, turn-by-turn navigation Directions, or Information. Speech requests are translated in the cloud by the Tellme voice portal, the route is mapped (taking INRIX traffic/weather conditions into account) by deCarta and Telenav, and the info is transmitted back via the customer's Bluetooth-connected phone. The data is translated by Airbiquity for transmission over a voice channel, ensuring near ubiquitous coverage and convenient billing, but restricting the amount of data that can be sent. Within two or three years, the next generation of mobile-telephonics (4G, or more generally Long Term Evolution) will quadruple the iPhone's 3G/HSPA
 data speed. It also harmonizes the communication format globally--no more Verizon/AT&T rift or America/Europe/Japan divide (though the spectrum used may vary).

As a citizen of the cloud, the car-cum-smart phone, pawns off tough computing tasks like conversational speech recognition and off-loads the storage of changing data, like road networks, points of interest, and parking availability. Automakers will open part of their cars' electronic architecture to iPhone-like third-party apps (as Ford is). Cars will integrate with social media networks. Passengers will be able to stream Pandora, YouTube, and other audio/video content live, pausing programs and resuming them on home systems. Gaming with in-car or online opponents, e-commerce, remote control of home lighting/climate systems, and more will be possible onboard. Cars will become sensors, informing the cloud about traffic and weather conditions-even pothole locations.

Ford remains committed to communicating over the customer's phone (and will soon be able to tap into the device's data or available WiFi connectivity for best results). QNX advocates built-in telephones, because separating multiple antennas farther than is possible on a cell-phone improves performance dramatically. It also remains to be seen how customers will pay for their car's cloud usage, but it will probably be bundled with home, business, and smart-phone air-time service plans (Ford anticipates charging $60/year for its TDI cloud usage after the three-year free period).

Want to join the cloud in your current car? Telenav's Shotgun personal nav device connects via GPRS data link for live traffic routing, map updates, etc. ($299, plus $11.99/month). I just hope these new systems are open and flexible enough to ensure that a car doesn't become obsolete before it wears out-and that my mind remains flexible enough to comprehend and enjoy the newfangled capabilities.