Today's ultimate in-vehicle experiences at CES 2019

“It wasn’t too long ago that a vehicle’s value was measured by its mechanical performance and driving dynamics. With the emerging popularity of shared mobility and in-vehicle technology however, value is now being measured by experience-per-mile,” said Dinesh Paliwal, HARMAN President and CEO.

“With our CES 2019 technologies, HARMAN is helping automakers provide more connected experiences in a variety of segments that can be used today instead of years down the road.”

Each newly enhanced offering is designed to work together, often managed by a single HARMAN control unit, to help automakers pick and choose technologies to provide greater connectivity within vehicles, and across devices, allowing OEMs the ability to streamline their supply chain, while improving product flexibility. This also helps expedite the implementation of more Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) across model lineups.

Scalable connected car
Some of the most important in-vehicle technologies today are the instrument cluster and infotainment display, but far too often these are designed to function in a silo. For the consumer, this can make the driving experience seem disjointed and lead to a feeling of information overload. All of which, fosters a sense of discomfort and mistrust around connected car technology.

To foster consumer trust, and help drivers embrace the highly connected and autonomous vehicle experience, HARMAN has reimagined its Digital Cockpit offerings while ensuring they are scalable for a range of entry-level and premium luxury vehicles. In an economical application, HARMAN’s Digital Cockpit simplifies vehicle display layouts to present both critical and ancillary information in an intuitive and cohesive layout.

Capable of showing ADAS feature information, turn-by-turn navigation, multi-media player information, feature menus and more, the entry-level Digital Cockpit can also seamlessly integrate with a user’s smartphone to bridge multiple personal assistants (such as Google, Alexa and Samsung’s Bixby) while adding HARMAN-specific driver related skills into all the clouds in an agnostic way.

For drivers seeking the ultimate in-vehicle experience for them and their passengers right from the factory, HARMAN’s Premium Digital Cockpit and Compute Platform with integrated modular hardware is an end-to-end package that seamlessly integrates a vehicle’s cluster, infotainment and safety features.

Blending clear, vibrant QLED and OLED display technologies for optimal colour gamut regardless of the time of day, the solution also features facial recognition for driver monitoring using HARMAN’s Cabin Monitoring System - a suite of sensors to capture first- and second-order biometric signals from a driver to create a deeper human-machine relationship.

Augmented reality for E-Mirror surround view and contextual navigation, as well as cloud-stored profile settings for personalised experiences are also featured in this fully integrated IoT capable offering.

Both variants of HARMAN’s Digital Cockpit can work seamlessly with the company’s suite of sensor technology - from Forward Facing Cameras to LiDAR - designed to not only bring more ADAS-equipped vehicles to market, but help drivers feel more comfortable with future-mobility technology.

Personalised, smart audio for an elevated communications experience
With voice commands emerging as the norm for managing in-car experiences, clear in-vehicle communication is more important than ever before. HARMAN’s new Premium Communication solutions leverage the latest advancements in smart audio and acoustic signal processing to personalise the sonic environment and provide clear, frustration-free communication for all vehicle occupants - whether it’s with a voice assistant, someone on the other end of a phone call, or with each other.   

Built on AudioworX, HARMAN’s proprietary, open-network development platform, Premium Communications is modular and scalable across vehicle segments. Together, its technologies address the challenges of the evolving vehicle interior and help OEMs better capitalise on integrations with voice assistants, while fulfilling consumer demand for better in-vehicle communication.   

 Premium communications comprises:  

• In-Car Communication (ICC), providing clear, safe 2-way communication amongst vehicle occupants - seamlessly, for every drive.   
• ClearChat with Far-End Noise Cancellation, bringing new levels of clarity for phone voice calls and voice commands.  
• Personal Communication Zones, giving each occupant an enjoyable, personalised in-car experience free from sonic clutter.  
• Multi Voice Personal Assistant Capability allowing occupants the freedom to use the voice assistant of their choice.   

Premium Communications is a new way to go to market, changing the standard for the in-vehicle experience across all market and vehicle segments.

A securely connected future
Ensuring all this connectivity functions securely is a primary consideration. HARMAN’s Ignite Automotive Cloud platform works with both entry-level and premium offerings to manage multiple in-vehicle solutions, from vehicle diagnostics to cloud-based driver profiles, all under one control unit that can be updated over-the-air by using HARMAN Remote Vehicle Updating Service (OTA).

This also enables connected ADAS applications and features, as well as IoT functionality to provide capabilities such as route alerts and guidance via calendar integration and integration with home control systems such as SmartThings. HARMAN SHIELD - a comprehensive intrusion detection and prevention solution (IDPS) - functions as the car’s security system, capable of detecting, managing, mitigating and responding to cyber attacks on connected and autonomous vehicles.

Keeping all of this technology updated and connected requires a robust data transfer network, which is why HARMAN is working to equip more vehicles with its 5G Telematics for vehicle to everything (V2X) communications. Powered by HARMAN’s powerful conformal antenna technology and capable of working in cars and motorcycles (via a Bluetooth helmet), V2X allows for faster message exchanges for increased roadway safety, and audible infrastructure and safety alerts.