That's entertainment
Needless to say, smart cars aren't just about safety. They're also going to be fun. Beginning next year, Toyota's Avalon sedan will feature a third band on its radio called digital audio radio service (DARS). It's digital radio distributed by satellite (subscriptions are US$10 per month) and requires a small disk antenna and a decoder.
Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio have begun broadcasting 100 channels each of CD-quality sound from satellites. Cars from General Motors, Acura, and Honda should offer satellite radios that pick up XM broadcasts by year's end. DaimlerChrysler, BMW, and Ford will eventually offer radios that pick up Sirius broadcasts.
Even standard broadcast radios and CD players are getting better. The latest generation of digital signal processors compensate for the acoustics of a specific car's interior and ambient road noise. Already this technology can be found in offerings from BMW, Ford, Land Rover, Lexus, Saab, and Volvo. DVD players have finally begun to arrive in cars--spurred largely by GPS technology (a single DVD disc can hold maps of the entire country, so you don't have to keep swapping CDs). And DVDs are beginning to supplant VCRs in backseat entertainment systems too.
But DVDs are just the start of backseat entertainment. Oldsmobile offered an entertainment center for backseat passengers in its Silhouette Premiere minivan last year. The flip-down 6.8-inch color screen plays VHS movies and comes with four sets of headphones, dedicated rear speakers, and a remote control. Visteon makes an option for minivans that includes a Nintendo 64 game player and wireless headphones. It will appear on a variety of SUVs and minivans this year. Johnson Controls' AutoVision is a similar product.
Delphi recently took the wraps off its Communiport Mobile Productivity Center, which synchronises Ericsson wireless phones and Palm devices, allowing drivers to make hands-free calls through voice commands and text-to-speech software. In February, the company introduced its rear-seat entertainment system, which plays DVD movies, CDs, or plug-in games.
The BIG QUESTION about computers-in-cars is reliability in adverse conditions!
We had a bad flood recently in our part of Brisbane, and quess why late model
cars were most at risk? How water-proof is the engine-management-computer
installed in today's cars? Why isn't it always installed high-up under the dash
and throughly water-proofed?
With MORE computers coming to future cars - won't this problem get worse?
Seeing how world weather patterns are changing, and flooding is on the increase,
in my opinion amphibious cars are a major need!