News & Updates

Top Ten Topics at LA Auto Show & Connected Car Expo

By Lissa Franklin / November 28, 2015

November 20 - 29 was a hot week or so in the automotive sector, with the Auto Show and Connected Car Expo taking place in sunny Los Angeles. The AppCarousel team was there, so here are our Top Ten Topics and Takeaways.

1. Brian Droessler VP Stratgy and Portfolio of Software & Connected Cars,Continental discussed the advancements in the HMI Human Machine Interface that now focuses on multi-modality (the use of textual, aural, linguistic, spatial, visual messages) to communicate dangers quicker and more efficiently to drivers.
2. Gary O’Brien Global Director of Advanced Engineering, Delphi outlined the road to automated driving through the synergy between sensors integrated in our roadways and the ADAS automated driving sensors in our vehicles allowing for dynamic changes to vehicle behavior in any condition and situation.
3. Evan Malahy of Android Auto talked about the defined environment of the automobile, which is unlike mobile in many ways. Instead of replicating the mobile experience in the car, Malahy suggested the way forward is an integrated experience between the user’s smartphone and the vehicle.
4. Kristen Kolodge Executive Director Driver Interaction and HMI at JD Power / McGraw Hill Financial spoke about the shift of consumer demand towards collision protection technologies for future vehicle purchases over any other technology feature.
5. Roger C. Lanctot, Associate Director, Global Automotive Practice atStrategy Analytics spoke on the rise of Tesla and the success of the first true software defined car, highlighting Tesla’s values on being subject matter experts and thought leaders in infotainment and connected safety.
6. Claudiu Demote Associate Professor of Marketing at San Diego State University broke down the dynamic between marketers and consumers in the connected car market noting that today’s automakers need to acknowledge that consumers are clueless about in-car infotainment and need to offer a system that not only sets their expectations on buying a connected car but also meets their level of technical capabilities and understanding.
7. Hyundai Tech Center discussed the mentality of today's dealers who focus on the connected safety features of the cars they sell but do not help customers learn and understand the benefits of connecting their phones to their vehicles or utilizing the apps their infotainment systems provide. This leads to confusion and frustration with infotainment systems and lack of use.
8. Eric Spiegelman President LA Taxi Commission spoke on the future of the taxi industry and the potential to drop fares by 85%, by utilizing driverless cars.
9. Matt Jones Head of Future Infotainment at Jaguar Land Rover detailed the challenges of the connected car market and the 42 proprietary software platforms out there or being developed. By establishing one standard platform and open source, automakers can decrease the time to market from 39 months to 9 months for third party developers with innovative apps and features.
10. On the topic of cyber security, Andre WeimerskirchUniversity of Michigan Transportation Research Institute(UMTRI),Karl Heimer (Advisor Cyber Security State of Michigan), and David Strickland (Venable) outlined the invaluable benefits that OTA (Over-the-Air) offers for connected vehicle security. With current methods of updating infotainment systems with flash USBs only reaching 30% of automakers' affected users, OTA updates can easily and cost effectively reach everyone - as long as there is a healthy dose of security built in to OTA solutions.