FLIR, the maker of BMW's night-vision system, will be at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week showing off its PathFindIR thermal imaging camera. The company says its system isn't confused by oncoming headlights, works well in cold weather and can even see through fog, dust and smoke. FLIR also says its camera is based on the same technology used by the military to provide a 36° field-of-view of the road ahead. We plan to check out the company's claims in the 6 Series they're bringing to CES. Maybe they'll even let us take it out and recreate that urban rumor of 200-mph desert highway sprints with no headlights. No, probably not.
BMW Assist -- essentially the Bavarian's version of GM's OnStar -- has made BMW Search using Google Maps available on the 1 and 3 Series. Previously, it was only available on BMW models from the 5 series up. If you subscribe to the BMW Assist Convenience Plan, you can use BMW Search to find businesses, then input the information directly into the navigation system, or call with your Bluetooth phone over the service's AT&T Mobility Network (you don't need to have AT&T, though). BMW Search joins BMW's MyInfo service, which allowed customers and businesses to send listings and street addresses directly to the car. BMW Assist is standard on 5, 6, and 7 Series, and included in the Premium Package or as a stand-alone option on all other models.
A man who purchased Chrysler's uConnect in-car wi-fi recently gave his impressions... and he wasn't exactly impressed. His three main issues were: it's slow, there are no instructions for encryption, and you're limited to 1 GB for downloads. The Autonet site lists speeds as 600Kbps-800Kbps, and the reader didn't give any idea of the speeds, but he said the router had a hard time keeping an EVDO connection and would go to 1x. Autonet says the "connection is secured with WEP encryption, MAC address restriction or WAN port restricton," but according to the reader, it isn't shipped with any encryption in place and the manual doesn't tell you how to do it or even that you need to do it. As for the 1 GB cap, that's for the $29 plan. There's a $50 plan that gets you 5 GB, which would be the way to go if you really are going to have the kids on YouTube in the back seat. Of all he writes about, it seems the biggest gripe is the speed -- nothing like trying to watch a 30-second clip that takes eight minutes to download. That's not a minor drawback, but for the convenience of using any wi-fi equipped device, and not having to listen to that American Girl DVD again, it could be worth it.
Looks like the biggest gadget convention on Earth is becoming the place for big automotive announcements. You'll remember that two years ago at the Consumer Electronics Show, Ford and Microsoft announced their partnership on Ford's SYNC system, and last January General Motor's CEO Rick Wagoner chose Las Vegas to unveil the all-electric Cadillac Provoq concept. It was the first time in the convention's 40-year history an automaker had revealed a concept car to the world there. This year it's Ford's turn again at CES, with CEO Alan Mulally taking the keynote spot. CES runs January 8-11 next year, but there's no word yet on what day Mulally will make his appearance. There's also no word on what he'll be saying or revealing to the thousands of people gathered in that Vegas ballroom. New SYNC features are a given, but will Ford also choose CES to roll out its plug-in hybrid project? Stay tuned for full coverage from the Autoblog team.
FasTrak is an "electronic toll collection system" used in California. Once you set up an account, you get a transponder that simply debits your account balance whenever you pass through a toll booth. The system uses RFID technology to broadcast your account information to the toll booth receivers. According to Hack A Day, the system is anything but secure.
Among other problems, an attendee at the Black Hat 2008 conference in Las Vegas found that because the in-car transponders don't require any authentication, anyone with an RFID reader can get the unique ID from any car and then use that in their own transponder. Not only that, but you could also force any other transponder to take on a new ID because of the system's open over-the-air upgrading system.
To change the system would require legislative action since it's all defined by California laws, so Californians shouldn't expect a quick fix. Until -- and if -- a fix comes, we suppose the best that can be done is to make sure you scrutinize your FasTrak bill. And keep an eye out for guys kitted out like Star Trek yeomen wandering the park-and-ride commuter lots...
If you're buying an A8 this year, prepare to spend a lot of time getting to know your new MMI system. We have consistently thought that Audi's buttons-and-knob interface is the best, and it looks like they've put an entire NASA team on the job of making it better. A seven-inch TFT screen with 800x400 resolution is now controlled by an 8-position joystick. Moving from one screen to another is done via "elegant crossfades," which sounds a bit PowerPoint-ish, but we'll wait until we see it to judge. And among other improvements, navigational maps can be rendered in "birds-eye perspective" 3D, with topographical map coloration. The only thing missing is the Encyclopedia Britanica.
We already know that in-car web browsing is on its way. Both BMW and Chrysler have already revealed that the feature is forthcoming in their vehicles, and more automakers are sure to follow. But telematics provider ATX Group is sticking its nose in to ensure that the web we're one day browsing in our cars is safe to use (read: no fun at all). ATX is working with a group called the Connected Vehicle Trade Association to push a standardized method for getting web content into automobiles. ATX is exploring ways to adapt the traditional web experience to meet the demands of the automotive environment, similar to the way mobile versions of websites target cellphone browsers, nevermind that the mobile web experience pales in comparison to surfing normal websites on a device like the iPhone, which works inside cars last time we checked. One idea is to target automobile surfing through implementation of a standard top-level domain, .car, which would house content specifically designed to work with the to-be-determined vehicular web standard.
With safety in mind, we're guessing that ATX and the CVTA will kick around a text-to-speech function that allows pages to be read-aloud to a driver by the embedded hardware, and possibly a standardization of page size for reliably fast loading. Telematics also opens up another area for targeted services, such as remote diagnostics, parental surveillance via performance monitoring, and dynamic traffic information. Developing a standard also helps automakers avoid duplicating each others' efforts as they all race to deliver E! Online to your dashboard. Ah yes, in-car internet will no doubt be the latest whiz-bang distraction from the task of actually driving one's car.
Prior to his keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas yesterday, GM Chairman Rick Wagoner held a discussion with a group of us flacks to answer all of our questions clearly and completely without equivocation. OK just kidding, he did hedge on a number of questions as would be expected of any major executive, especially one heading up the largest automaker in the world (for now). A range of issues were discussed, including alternative fuels, hybrids and the fate of the Zeta platform beyond the Pontiac G8 and the Camaro. Wagoner reiterated that nothing had changed on the status of the Volt and that it was still on track. He expressed appreciation that the EPA had denied the California waiver request for its greenhouse gas rules so that carmakers could focus on meeting one national set of CAFE standards. Also related to fuel economy, he declined to comment on the status of some vehicles planned off of the Zeta platform, aside from the fact that they were still considering options including models with smaller engines.
Some of the loudest action at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas today was actually out in the parking lot. For fans of Formula One, the BMW Pit Lane park in the Gold Lot outside the Convention Center is as close as many will get to an F1 car in the US now that the Grand Prix at Indianapolis is history. BMW has one of their 2007 cars with driver Graham Rahal at the wheel. The course that's set up is a straightaway with a circle at each where Graham gets to demonstrate that traditional driving skill known as the donut. Aside from the ear piercing shriek of an F1 engine, perhaps the most impressive feat here was the way Rahal was able to keep the car off the guard-rails in this confined space. Very cool! Follow the jump for a video of the demonstration.
In addition to announcing that General Motors plans to have invest heavily on research of driverless vehicle technology in the coming decade, GM CEO Rick Wagoner will also debut a concept vehicle tomorrow at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas called the Cadillac Provoq. While very few details were released, GM says that the Provoq will be "free from petroleum fuel and emissions." That means the Provoq could be either an all-electric vehicle or possibly another variant of the automaker's E-flex platform that has spawned the Chevy Volt and Opel Flextreme. Those two concepts are both series hybrids with a gas engine and diesel range extender, respectively. While GM did show off the E-flex platform with a hydrogen fuel-cell range extender at last year's Shanghai Motor Show, we've yet to see it paired with a body. Perhaps then the Provoq will be the hydrogen fuel-cell series hybrid concept that we've been waiting to see. There's one more day to go before Wagoner takes the podium in Vegas and reveals all. Source: GM
