Google Announces Open Automotive Alliance

Google recently announced the Open Automotive Alliance. The Open Automotive Alliance is a partnership between technology and automotive companies. Such companies include: General Motors (GM), Honda Motor (HMC), Audi, Hyundai, and chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA). The alliance’s objectives are to customize Google’s popular mobile operating system for vehicles. Collaboration among automotive companies have been a trend with auto makers.

Google

Carmakers have had widespread adoption with custom in-car software systems.  Cars integrated to mobile devices have been popular as well as integration of voice commands. Google Glass for Android is poised for growth within the automotive market due to its dominance in the mobile device industry. Asia, Europe, and the U.S. have still yet to completely adopt Android. Mobile strategy has become adopted with portable devices.

Kia leverages technologies working with Denuo. The company is redesigning all of Kia's web properties, including its website, in-store kiosks and, eventually, mobile apps. Kia’s strategic plans involve improving the user experience on its various web portals and customer experience improvements. For the long-term, Denuo has been tasked with thinking about the role internet-enabled cars will play in the lives of consumers.

Ford is also aggressive in big data. Ford used text-mining algorithms on its auto platforms. The three-blink indicator was introduced on the new Fiesta in 2010 and is now available on most of Ford's products. The use of text-mining algorithms was critical in predictive analytics and data mining market research versus traditional market research.

“What's remarkable is seeing how well the automotive industry fits into CES,” said Elliot Garbus, general manager of the Automotive Solutions Division at Intel. “It's a busy time and the presence of automakers continues to grow.” Intel will be showcasing two vehicles at its CES booth this year. According to Garbus, who’s responsible for delivering Intel’s vision for connected cars, spanning from in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems to intelligent transportation systems. IVI systems offer real-time info, voice recognition, and in-car connectivity to mobile devices and the Web, letting consumers seamlessly carry their daily digital habits into their cars. In-Stat forecasts that more than 35 million IVI systems will ship in 2015. “There’s a lot of focus on IVI because it brings differentiation,” Garbus stated. “We're seeing desire by consumers to maintain a connection with their digital lifestyle and that’s influencing their purchasing decisions.” Innovation are allowing auto makers to connect with consumers and providing service.

Automotive companies have the opportunity to leverage new sources of Big Data to accelerate product design, improve vehicle performance and enhance the driver experience. Advanced analytics and new data preparation and enrichment capabilities, can yield new insights on some of the automotive industry’s traditional business areas.