The dashboard has become the hottest property for today's car makers. Automobile companies are vying with each other to make their vehicle dashboards as electronically advanced as possible. They have come a long way from the days of optional AM radios and stand-alone audio systems to allowing consumers to operate music players, Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones, notebooks and a host of digital devices that operate through steering wheel, radio controls and voice commands.
Electronics, which accounted for about 10 per cent of a vehicle's content during the early 1990s, is expected to grow up to 40 per cent by 2010. iSuppli Group estimates that the global automotive infotainment products market will grow from the current US$ 38 billion to US$ 54 billion by 2012.
While consumers benefit from this trend, OEMs are finding it difficult to realise profits from such add-ons. OEMs are operating in an environment where they are required to meet consumer demand for exciting features without affecting their bottom lines. With consumers demanding more in-car entertainment and new digital devices hitting the market regularly, car makers are forced to think at least five years ahead from the date of conceptualising a new dashboard and its components. They have to ensure that their current infotainment products are compatible not only with the current digital devices, but also with those likely to be released in the future. Further, the competing interfaces, standards and technologies, and shorter product lifecycles in the consumer electronics industry pose a serious challenge to Tier 1 suppliers as well.
While the going will be tough, shrewd car makers are trying to take advantage of this growing trend. They are scaling up on in-car infotainment systems to differentiate themselves from competitors, lure customers and build brand loyalty in the face of cut-throat competition. Car makers are partnering with technology companies like Microsoft to roll out advanced in-car communication, entertainment and navigation systems. A few recently launched in-car navigation systems provide consumers with news updates on weather, fuel prices, sports, and movies, and allow vehicles to communicate with other vehicles.
With in-car infotainment becoming a key variable influencing the decision to buy a particular car brand, OEMs should ensure that they use standards that enable quick development and cost-effective integration of in-vehicle infotainment capabilities and guarantee dynamic data integrity. In our cover story, Ton Steenman talks about open platform architecture and considerations for building a new platform while Duncan Bennett describes the advantages of F-RAM over EEPROM and capacitor combination in providing high data availability and data integrity.
Auto Focus Asia strives to make conscious efforts to reach a wider audience. Starting this issue, an e-book of Auto Focus Asia will be available on our website www.autofocusasia.com for a nominal fee. We look forward to your continued support.
