holografique

So I just read up on the new Apple Carplay announcement. Bout damn time we see some "real" integration with a mobile device.

This could completely transform the entire technology experience within a vehicle, especially considering the processing power of mobile devices today, like the iPhone, etc. It could help address the whole issue of rapid obsolescence by most if not all OEM systems in cars today, which rarely see anywhere near the feature upgrades and release cadence as you do with mobile devices.

Of course, as with anything, there will be issues, and there are caveats, but it does present a very interesting approach to providing a consistent development platform for car manufactures much the same way software/app developers have a platform. Just now happens to be the same platform for both. All car manf have to do is simply provide a "shell" with the right API's to allow the mobile device to receive information from the vehicle, providing real integration and a consistent interface for the user no matter which car they drive. While the platform is consistent, it allows the car manf to develop custom apps that fit their specific car, look, feel, and features.

All I can think about is how this could completely transform the lower touchscreens on the RLX/MDX setup.

Exciting stuff!

lumpulus

Great...something else to keep people from doing what they should be doing while using a multi thousand pound weapon...PAYING ATTENTION.

holografique

I would disagree. Based on how it appears to work, it actually keeps people from doing what they should NOT be doing: using their smartphone. This integration provides them a far less distracting way to integrate with the information they want/need to consume from their device, and do it in a way that is seamless to the rest of the way they interface with the car itself.

As far as I can see, it appears to also help address the whole "texting while driving" issue, by providing a seamless audio based interactive method for creating text messages.

No one can stop people from texting while driving, period. So the best thing a company can do is make a way for it to be easier and less distracting, thus encouraging a more safer way in which to do it.

Colin

I wish I shared your optimism. Somehow I doubt it will find it's way into the older cars. Then again.... I did find it strange that only ILX and RDX received Siri EyesFree, excluding MDX and RLX. Maybe this was because CarPlay wasn't ready yet?

lumpulus

ANY distraction that takes the driver's attention away from driving the vehicle is still an issue, and I don't care who you are, if your full attention is not on the road ahead of you, you are a danger to others.

Personally I couldn't care less if people want to interact with each other constantly...just not while they are driving.

Less distracting is STILL distracting. Maybe someday when you have a loved one that was nearly killed by a distracted driver(of any kind) you'll understand. Apple ain't doing this to make it safer, they're doing it to get your money.

holografique

My sympathies if you've lost someone at fault by a "distracted drivers", but I also don't need to be lectured on whether or not I lack perspective based on your life experiences.

Obviously my life experiences are different and my intent here is not to start a debate on the morals of responsible/irresponsible driving. It was nothing more than to share what I found to be some exciting tech news.

holografique

That's sorta what I'm hoping for Colin. It would at least make sense in that it would be one of those features that helps provide better value and tiering for the higher end vehicles in the lineup.

Guess we'll see what happens. If not, then I'll have to wait and see for an MMC update.

George Knighton

I live in Virginia, where for some reason the General Assembly has still not made it illegal to use your cell phone in your hand while you are driving.

You want to see distraction? Come to Virginia!

It's not at all unusual to see somebody driving 20 mph under the limit and weaving around while he (or usually she) is trying to get directions or having some kind of animated and emotional conversation with somebody on a hand held cell phone, with a line of traffic behind.

I think that what Acura and Apple are doing is resolving that if people are going to be doing this anyway, then they should enable it to be done the least distracting way possible.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

There are aspects of Carplay that I like, such as the ability to use your phone for navigation duties instead of getting a built-in navi, but I also would like for there to be assurance from the automakers who adopt this system that people will not be able to add apps to Carplay to do stupid things, like watch a movie from their phone on the dash display, that could jeopardize the safety of other drivers around them.

I also dislike the fact that the system is tied to a single manufacturer at the moment. That means that at least half, if not more, of the smartphone owning population is automatically excluded. I would like to see automakers implement these types of systems on an across the board basis for all smartphones. The last thing I want is to have my phone purchase limit my car purchases or the other way around.

Mike_TX

*Sigh* This discussion again.

People have different innate abilities when it comes to multi-tasking. I've had navigation systems and Bluetooth in my cars for the last ten years or more, and it's never caused me a moment's danger to myself or to others. But I think some people find it really divides their attention and they react by thinking all such devices are dangerous and should be banned.

What's actually dangerous is people who can't deal with more than one thing at a time. And it's up to those people to exercise personal responsibility and not engage in activities that endanger others. But to deprive tens of millions of people of a useful tool just because a few can't handle it is absurd and unfair. We're not victims of technology - we're beneficiaries of it.

That said, responsible people will refrain from using technology in dangerous ways, and we will benefit from it.

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George Knighton

I think that makes sense.

If purchasers had the *option* to integrate their smartphone OS into the NAV system, then we could potentially eliminate the learning curve associated with new complicated automobiles, and make cars at least a little cheaper at the same time.

We always complain about the processor power of NAV systems, even when somebody like Acura basically gets it right. Although the major reviewers compliment Acura for having a system that never crashes, we still see posters here complain that they've been able to crash their systems or that they are basically inoperable for this or that reason.

Sounds like a great idea to me.

I think that Apple has an advantage for a little while because of how the iPhone integrates 100% over hard wire USB systems that are by default configured for effective iPod integration.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

Responsible people...that's funny. There seem to be fewer and fewer of those people around these days...

holografique

That's EXACTLY the point I was trying to make.

lumpulus

No one likes a new kind of tech tool more than me, but there has to be limits on how some tools are applied in the name of safety when one driver's actions can affect others around them with possible deadly consequences.

TampaRLX-SH

IMHO this is the root cause as what is missing from the skill set of vehicle operators on the road. The lack of awareness (by ignorance or apathy) of how your driving affects those around you, makes most drivers dangerous, with or without technology distractions. Car technology cannot fix this.

lumpulus

True, and I also think that driver "aids" such as Cruise Control just add to some drivers laziness....an example would be someone in the leftmost lane of traffic passing slower traffic, but barely because they have the cruise set to 1 mph faster than the middle lanes.

Mike_TX

I know it seems that way at times, but if that were really the case we'd all be wadded up in a huge countrywide wreck right now.

The truth is that most people drive pretty doggone well - we just overreact and call everybody idiots when one person behaves irresponsibly.

Technology is our friend, and if we're to continue to move forward into the 21st Century and improve our lives we need to embrace it, not find ways to resist it.

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CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

I agree that we shouldn't resist it, but there is nothing that says we should just accept it blindly when it has the potential to be unsafe.

People are so excited by the announcement of Carplay, I suspect most people have not given any thought to the fact that it is still a graphical interface that requires the driver to take their eyes off the road to use. I just hope drivers seriously consider the implications before they dive right in and start using this.

holografique

And just how long have cars had functions that require us to take our eyes (momentarily) off the road? lol. You talk like this is all some suddenly new phenomena that is going to require a radically new way of drivers keeping attention to driving. As if Carplay suddenly requires the driver to install Windows 3.1 and juggle a bunch bowling pins all while driving down the road.

It's a touchscreen for crying out loud, with big dumb duplo block style buttons and a user interface that in most cases is easier to manage than all the physical buttons and gadgets that already exist in a car. This is Apple we're talking about. They are the king of creating the most straight-forward, dumbed-down and simplistic UI's in the history of computing. They literally are hands down responsible for bringing "computing" into an era where the majority of people that otherwise were completely incapable of understanding how to "compute" can now actually do so. Yet you're worried that we shouldn't just "accept" this type of technology without seriously considering the implications behind it?? lol

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

Well, if that's the case, why are we bothering to ban people from using smartphones in cars. They're just touchscreens too, right? Nothing dangerous about taking your eyes off the road for 10 secs to read a message or search for a song, right?

My point is not about the technology itself. My point is about the fact that people are often total morons and will do things that they shouldn't. And because of that, automakers should take that into consideration when adding new technologies to cars. A two-ton object hurtling down the freeway at 65mph can do an awful lot of damage if someone is too busy looking at the screen in their center console and not looking at the road.

lumpulus

OK now I understand....not everyone drinks the Apple Kool Aid.

One of the things I love about Acura\Honda, is how easy they make their controls to use without having to remove your hands from the wheel or take your eyes off the road. I use the voice commands quite often.

holografique

I'm actually far from being an Apple "kool aid drinker", and while I use their products, for years I've been an advocate against their militaristic "our way or the highway" approach to integration with their products.

However, regardless of what I think about a company, I recognize good design when I see it.

holografique

Seriously dude, if you're whole problem with this comes down to being concerned with someone taking their eyes off the road for 10 sec (10 sec? really?) then let's just go ahead and ban glove boxes, AC control units, the plethora's of in-dash radio and navigation systems that have existed for decades now. oh wait, let's also ban seat belts, since there's a danger of someone taking their eyes of the road for a few seconds to fidget with a seatbelt that's too tight or tangled up.

Oh wait, you know what, how could I be so absent minded, just go ahead and ban anything external from the car that could catch someones attention while driving and take their eyes of the road, like a wreck, or billboard sign, or a hot chick walking past the street.

why am I wasting time with this....*facepalm*

Colin

This is being discussed in TLX and I wrote this on the topic about why not Android:

TampaRLX-SH

Indeed. I admire that Acura / Honda have redundancy in feature operations. Steering wheel controls, VR (still one of the best in the biz IMHO)and dash controls...so does that make TRIPLE redundancy?

It is smart to offer options on how the user / driver engages the cars features. But instead you get review 'journalists' spending 20 minutes in the car carping on 'too many buttons'. So Acura redesigns to touch screen menus. Now they carp 'would be simpler to have a button'. Meanwhile VR is there as are steering wheel controls.

If you want sophisticated technology, there is a learning curve. It is not like you just rented an RLX and have to figure it out to get to your destination and update Twitter. (Have you ever seen a Honda or Acura in a rental fleet?).

All this 'stuff' in the car requires responsible use. I personally, find responsible people driving cars a rarity. Yet I see both sides of the argument. I want most of the new technology (even though I tend to refrain from even using HFL longer than to say 'I will call ya back'). I also do not want most of the drivers I experience everyday to have any more options to defer attention from responsible driving.

TampaRLX-SH

For laughs and giggles....

Ford is pulling the plug on the Microsoft 'Synch' interface based on poor performance and critical user feedback. Instead they are turning to Blackberry to design an auto infotainment interface.

The JD Power ratings for many manufacturers have been dropping. I see two trends: 1) Four cylinder engines cannot quite deliver (another topic) and 2) Perceived defects in technology components.

Not to say there are not bugs in the technology, but too often it is either user error or user ignorance.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

Dude...you need to chill out...this is hardly an issue worth getting so worked up about. Do you own some Apple stock and need this to succeed for a payday or something?

The nature of a radio knob or seatbelt or other mechanical device does not necessitate the driver taking his eyes off the road to interact with them. It is possible to feel them out and accomplish the necessary task without removing your eyes from the road. A touchscreen, however, does not provide the tactile feedback. On top of that, the very nature of reading and responding to a text message or some of the other more involved tasks that can be done on a cellphone command a fair bit more attention and mental focus than merely changing the radio station and happen far more frequently than people rummaging through their gloveboxes.

Also, recall that many navigation systems these days lock out the more distracting functions (the RLX is one such vehicle), such as manual entry of destinations, while the vehicle is in motion specifically to prevent this kind of distraction. So far, there is no indication that this feature will exhibit the same kind of behavior.

George Knighton

Where Carplay needs to end up, sooner or later, is an effective integration of Siri network interface that will combine the usual Siri commands with car-only commands.

If you think about it for a moment, you realize that there are things for which you push that button on the steering wheel that are not in the current Siri command set.

There should also be a way to store commands in the car's memory in case you don't have network connection. That's a weakness of Siri...you need to be connected to Apple for it to work. Siri doesn't care *how* you are connected but you *must* be connected for it to work.

So it seems to me the ideal system would be for that button push to bring up automatically the Siri prompt.

This would also serve to eliminate the criticism that some posters seem to have about there being a remaining danger in having to look at the touch screen to do something. I have to say that I sympathize with this point of view because I have noticed that if I look at the touch screen it might take me two or three seconds to zero in on what it is what I want.

Has Blackberry permanently terminated its relationship with the Canadians? If they have not, then you would have to get used to the idea that the Crown in Right of Canada would know absolutely everything you did in your Ford.

But they're right to pull the plug on whatever it is that they are using now, because it is awful. At least it was awful in the Lincolns I cross shopped. Anything that causes reviewers to say that CUE is better should give serious cause for pause, because CUE is awful! :-)

George Knighton

They were perhaps overly cautious with the RLX. If you call someone while the car is moving and you're connected to one of those awful systems that require an input to shorten the wait, you can't even dial the tone that would cut it short.

I was able to do this with the TL, and it surprised me I could not dial a digit while the car was moving.

I'll adapt.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

Does the "Send" command still work? In the older version of the Honda/Acura BT connections, you could give it a sequence of numbers or the star and pound commands to send over the phone and it would treat it like a dial.

George Knighton

If you've had the foresight to program using a pause command, that will work because it is your iPhone that is doing the work, automatically.

It will not work if you've programmed a wait command.

Mike_TX

I think the point being missed here is that Carplay will actually REDUCE the amount of time the driver's attention is taken away from driving. It allows you to speak commands and enter destinations, etc., instead of having to look away from the road, even to punch the Talk button.

If you haven't used a smartphone like an iPhone or G4, you might not know that you can plot a course to a destination by just saying the whole address in one string - "123 Main Street, Sheboygan, Wisconsin" - instead of a dozen button presses and a tedious series of commands that can themselves be distracting.

That nav entry is the one feature I'm excited about.

And with all due respect, CGTSX2004, if someone isn't capable of safely taking a split-second glance away from the road to touch an icon on a screen, they shouldn't be driving a car in the first place. After all, they also have to glance away momentarily to check the speedometer, or the gas gauge, or to check their rearview mirrors, or to check cross traffic at side streets, or to watch fro pedestrians, or to watch that traffic light coming up.

Driving requires that people continually move their eyes to check a thousand things that can affect their driving. It's not going to cause a ten-car pileup if one of those millisecond glances is at an info screen. Millions of cars now have navigation and audio systems, and the streets aren't running in blood as a result.

I think you're giving too little credit to the human brain and its ability to multitask.

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Mike_TX

One further comment.

This general subject of in-car technology has been beaten to death in a hundred different forums, and I find the world is divided into two camps - those who think car tech is the devil's work and those who think it enriches and simplifies the driving experience.

I believe those who think it is awful and causes accidents and human carnage have found that they themselves cannot utilize it safely, and they mistakenly believe everyone else is similarly handicapped.

To those people I say thank you for recognizing your limitations. You are right that should not have this kind of technology in your vehicle. But don't ruin it for those of us who can use it safely.

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George Knighton

AcuraLink works like that, so it's a leg up on what people think the NAV generally does. But it *only* works with AcuraLink, and you must subscribe to that.

The onboard NAV doesn't work anything near as well.

But...just for the record....

My iPhone 5S works a hell of a lot better than AcuraLink.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

I am more concerned about the potential for text and social media messaging integration than I am about destination entry. And I would be less concerned about multi-tasking if people demonstrated better judgment behind the wheel. Unfortunately, the number of run-ins I have had with people who have nearly caused an accident because they were too busy paying attention to their phone instead of the road has simply further reduced my faith that when it comes to new technology, people will exercise good judgment.

It is also unclear at this point whether every iteration of Carplay will be identical or will each manufacturer have a slightly different take on the level of integration based on their native controller type. For instance, will those vehicles with no touchscreen that rely on some kind of controller have a slightly higher level of voice command integration or will a high standard of voice integration be required across the board. There are too many details that are still missing to be able to cast aside all skepticism.

I am by no means a luddite, but when it comes to technology that has the ability to introduce more distractions behind the wheel and allow drivers to further escape the task of driving, I prefer to start from a stance of skepticism and allow the facts to change my mind down the road.

George Knighton

I'm with you there.

It has all conspired to make us believe that a Facebook instant message that might be "urgent but not important" takes precedence over a *focus* on life that is "not urgent...but very important."

It's a mess.

One thing that is a constant struggle for me is that people use email like it's an iMessage or a phone call.

Sometimes I will have a signature that hints, "There is no such thing as an urgent email."

And there's sure as hell no such thing as an instant message that's going to take my eyes off the road.

We need to be less connected with urgent instant things and more connected with longer live'd important things.

Just because you think something is urgent does not mean that it is important.

I'm not sure I've said ANY of that right.

lumpulus

Nice try....are you familiar with the line "Guns don't kill people, people kill people"? I work in the tech field, and it's not the tools that are the issue, it's the people that utilize them when they shouldn't be.

If a tool makes it easier for my driving neighbor to pay more attention to the road in front of them, I'm all for it....problem is it's usually the other way around.

One other thing....if it goes forward, Carplay should be an option one can choose or not. Not owning any Apple products, I hope I can choose to opt out when and if it arrives.

George Knighton

There is a concept at our common law that is called an attractive nuisance.

If you leave a two story ladder on the side of your house where a 10 year old child can see it, and he climbs it, falls and breaks his arm, then it is very possible (depending on the state and jurisdiction, of course) that you as the homeowner would be liable for the injury.

My point is that to some extent we have to consider when it is appropriate to protect people from themselves.

Sometimes it's appropriate, and sometimes it's not, but it is a relevant conversation worth some due regard.

George Knighton

Still, I think that the biggest advantage to Carplay and similar technologies is that we can consider

(1)whether we can build cars more cheaply by eliminating the parts of the infotainment system that Carplay (or whatever) replaces, and

(2)whether we can make cars more convenient and safer for people because they will buy a new car already knowing how to maximize the use of such an important part of the technology.

I've gone as far as almost losing my temper because I could not get AcuraLink to understand me, probably because I was driving too fast and thereby causing so much noise that AcuraLink couldn't understand me.

I was really rather angry for about 15 s before I remembered, "Oh, wait. There's a concierge...."

Mike_TX

I think you just made my point, Lumpy. To paraphrase, technology doesn't kill people, people kill people - so don't blame the technology. It's people who can't walk and chew gum at the same time who are to blame, and they shouldn't even be driving IMO.

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