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Your next automobile might have LCDs stretching the width of the dash, a moonroof that's actually a curved OLED panel, mood-shaping audio and cockpit lighting based on how you're doing correct now, and shape-shifting speakers that tin can sound similar different brands. That's the vision of Harman, at present that it's been a part of Samsung for a year.

This is part of a broader tendency toward consolidation. The hundred or then microprocessors or electronics modules in your auto may presently be distilled down to a half-dozen major modules (with lots of processors inside). The assumption is that there'll be less wiring within the car, fewer connectors that can corrode, and improve compatibility. For Harman, best known for its infotainment systems, it's now branching into driver assistance technology and back up for the higher levels of democratic driving.

Harman's recent tech day for analysts and editors, an expansion of what it exhibited at CES 2022, shows Harman is a force to be reckoned with. At the heart of the infotainment experience is a rich-poor split in the choice of dashboard data displays. On higher-cease cars, there would be an assortment of panels left to right across the nuance, plus a curved OLED panel at the based of the center panel, plus a head-up display, plus big knobs with QLED displays inset into the knobs so their office could vary — possibly zooming a map versus choosing from a listing of songs versus setting the motel temperature. Rich? The design automobile to get the full package was a Maserati GranCabrio: base of operations price $338,000.

To brand mainstream cars more affordable, in that location might only exist one or two displays in the cockpit, possibly mounted in the centre stack. Harman used a Mini every bit its demo car; Mini for many years mounted its speedometer, radio, and some of the other instrumentation in the middle of the dash. A Mini starts at $22,000. In existent life, at that place's probable to be a continuum: Few cars would get just one center-mountain brandish (the second brandish is the size of a Nest thermostat) and few would get a dozen.

Harman envisions the cars would embed Alexa, Google Home, Bixby (Samsung'southward take on vocalism automation), as well every bit Android Machine and/or Apple CarPlay, plus the automaker'south own voice input. The commuter and passengers would use whatever they're most comfortable with.

In Over Their Heads: The QLED Mood Panel Moonroof

The Harman UX (user experience) envisions the automobile equally the place to take the border off the solar day, or early on to become you at your best for another mean solar day at the office. To that terminate, the car takes whatever available biometric data exists, plus his or her schedule, and builds a "moodscape" through the proper music and ambience lighting.

The mood is also gear up by a panoramic roof that's actually a QLED display from Samsung. Information technology can show starry skies, an biconvex woods overhead, or sea life. Whether that might freak out piffling kids when the car is on a causeway or crossing a span — "why are we underwater, mommy?" —  remains to be seen. Merely it'due south just a concept. QLED stands for breakthrough dot LED. It provides richer colors than even OLED but at lower toll, Harman says.

Discover also that the concept machine embeds speakers in every headrest. Plus there are several in the roof of the auto.

Ignore the Feds, Go Straight to 5G for Car-t0-Machine Signaling

As with dashboard displays, Harman proposes a scalable array of telematics products. It envisions a loftier-end Smart 5G bundle with 2Gbps speeds for the ultimate in streaming entertainment, especially video.

Just find also the adequacy claims for the high-cease comms module: low latency, peer-to-peer (you can talk car to auto), with the capability of C-V2X, or cellular-vehicle to everything communications. In short, Harman/Samsung proposes to featherbed the plodding work of many others, including the Section of Transportation, on purpose-congenital radios for DSRC, or defended curt-range communications. When you see a DOT DSRC demo, as I did a year in agone in Washington, everything works, simply there's also a feel that this is a low-bucks effort (albeit with defended engineers), and yous're not certain if it will really become frontwards.

Either fashion — DSRC or C-V2X — cars, traffic lights, construction barricades, and railroad crossings would point you and other cars about wet roads, jams, accidents, ice on the road, and wipers and headlamps on (an indication of bad weather), and share that with other cars, who'd then share it with still other cars. DSRC works, but it hasn't been implemented yet. Now Harman/Samsung are one of a growing number of automobile tech companies who believe cellular will equal DSRC.

The trump card may be this: Even if a DSRC transceiver and antenna can be done for $100, it'southward also $100 that could get toward a cellular telematics solution. DSRC is just about i matter (safety), whereas cellular as well provides Disney cartoons to the kids in back and Wi-Fi for anybody's phone or tablet. If cellular tin can handle information technology all, it might be the way to go. This battle is far from decided.

Personalized Cocky-Driving Transporters

Harman/Samsung want to play in the self-driving arena, providing electronics merely not building the vehicles. Every bit does everyone. Samsung envisions a iv-person transporter, a sled design (significant the passenger compartment sits atop a battery pack, wheels, and motors) that looks huge simply really is the size of a compact car. It beard with Harman controllers and Samsung screens and so you tin can get work done on the way to piece of work, or keep up on social media.

The demo vehicle has a human being-shaped, freestanding robot named Pepper that assists the 1 to four passengers. Only Harman says Pepper is unlikely to be in any production vehicle, although her interface might live on.

Some other vehicle is a self-driving, 2-person pod transporter. The windshield is really another apartment panel display, more than like a ride at DisneyWorld than a auto. At the least, in that location'southward a belief that when at that place'due south no steering cycle because no one needs to drive, the vehicle still needs to go along the occupants entertained.

Since the mini-bus or transporter pod would be used past different people with dissimilar audio tastes, Harman has plans to build speakers that would physically change shape — and in doing so reshape their music, from Harman/Kardon, say, to JBL, and back. Another concept has a sound bar stretching beyond the dash. Press a button, it rotates 180 degrees, and the JBL organisation becomes a Harman organisation.