Several major challenges face those involved in realising the connected car, ranging from well-known and oft-debated topics to the less exciting, less headline-worthy issues surrounding implementation. Good for headlines are issues like hardware, cellular coverage and reliability, and the growing requirement to offer countless connected services whilst also ensuring safety (driver distraction) and (cyber) security.
Behind the headlines, however, lie numerous other less visible yet all-too important challenges for stakeholders to tackle. These include the development of software platform compatibility, control of and responsibility for the dashboard, and differing product cycle times.
A key concern for automotive OEMs lies in the control and monetisation of in-vehicle infotainment; essentially, control of the dashboard. This aspect of the connected car is highly attractive to non-traditional automotive tech companies eyeing a lucrative entry into the automotive industry.
The traditional OEMs must therefore act fast to defend their position, say some. No reason to be concerned, suggest others, like Chris Ruff, President and Chief Executive of software supplier UIEvolution. Ruff believes the automotive industry has some unique advantages up its sleeve, not least of which is the capital intensity of the business.
Most of the Silicon Valley companies say they are going to provide safe solutions, but when the rubber meets the road, they’re not going to be the ones that the customers scream at when something goes wrong with the car
“It isn’t like manufacturing smartphones in China and putting them out in the marketplace at US$1,000 or US$500 a unit,” says Ruff. “You are still talking about US$30,000 for a sophisticated car.” The complexity of the vehicle is a major obstacle to new players, he continues. “You can’t just say, ‘Let’s now make a US$45,000 smartphones on wheels.’
“Most of the Silicon Valley companies say they are going to provide safe solutions, but when the rubber meets the road, they’re not going to be the ones that the customers scream at when something goes wrong with the car. The car manufacturers have an obligation to build cars that don’t crash, and they also have a strategic advantage in doing so. I’m not sure that the Silicon Valley guys are interested in that.”
On the subject of differing product lifecycles, Ruff cautions against developing infotainment systems around current cellphone and consumer electronics (CE) devices. The product cycle for most CE products is about a year; for cars, it is generally seven years. What if the owner isn’t carrying the same device five years down the line? “I think it’s short-sighted to build a solution based on another consumer electronics product,” says Ruff. “You should build it based on standards, because that way those devices can always evolve to connect to those cars that have been in the market for ten years. We feel really strongly about this and have thrown significant support behind SmartDeviceLink.”
Open-source and device agnostic
The connected car revolution is attracting a growing number of players to open-source software, but UIEvolution sees a gap emerging in the market. Founded in 2000, and now 200 strong, the Seattle-headquartered software specialist is among the early adopters of Ford’s SmartDeviceLink (SDL) open-source software, which underpins the Ford SYNC AppLink platform and offers car owners a simple solution to accessing smartphone apps with voice commands.
Crucially, SDL works on both Apple and Google software platforms. Its functionality means there is no requirement for OEMs to give up their branding or driver experience to either or both of those technology companies, meaning the OEMs retain control of their data. Those companies benefit, too, since SDL’s open source nature means the OEMs are unable to use proprietary technology as leverage. Popular apps like iHeartRadio, Glympse and Spotify can be accessed by Ford owners on SYNC AppLink, while SDL allows similar access on non-Ford vehicles.
Clearly, SDL is geared at standardising the number and variety of in-vehicle interfaces in the automotive industry. The expandable software framework allows mobile application developers and automotive head unit creators to use brought-in applications that appear integrated onto the head unit.
Toyota has also committed to the SDL software, while a handful of other manufacturers including PSA Peugeot Citroen, Honda, Mazda and Subaru are considering it. This early wave of interested parties supports the notion that a common interface creates an industry standard while also allowing for individual companies to differentiate at brand level. “One of the reasons we’re supporting SDL is because it’s an automotive standard. It is also device agnostic,” says Ruff.
About half of UIEvolution’s business comes from the automotive sector, and the company offers a suite of automotive products to connect drivers and their vehicles to mobile applications and services, as Ruff explains: “UIEngine is our middleware that sits inside the car and displays the application. Effectively the user interface of the application, it does other things, such as allowing us to connect to smartphones.”
UIEngine now supports SDL globally. UIEvolution also offers handset software to connect the smartphone to the head unit. “That is currently primarily used as a modem to bring data from the Cloud into the car without requiring an embedded radio in the car.”
Launching in 2017, UIEvolution’s Cloud platform is its solution for managing all of the interactions with the head unit on the smartphone. “It’s all OEM grade and we provide it as a managed service for our OEM customers.”
Setting standards
Supporters of SDL, like Ruff, argue that being device agnostic provides benefits for everyone involved and is desperately needed in today’s disjointed set-up.
“Today there’s confusion when you have to install a Google product and an Apple product in the same car,” he observed. “If one owner uses Apple and their spouse uses Google, whoever’s phone is connected results in a different driving experience. There’s never been a product like that in the world. Can you imagine going into your television, and depending on who’s using it, you get a different user experience?”
SDL will open up all of that and allow one technology to service all devices, including tablets and smartphones and even devices we don’t know about today
For the Tier 1 hardware suppliers and the manufacturers, the lack of a single standard makes for a heavier work load, requiring testing and certification of substantially more software, which arguably becomes a burden for the entire industry. “SDL will open up all of that and allow one technology to service all devices, including tablets and smartphones and even devices we don’t know about today,” suggested Ruff.
In tune with major OEMs
UIEvolution has been working with Ford’s wholly-owned subsidiary Livio Group, a software company which it acquired in September 2013; Livio is overseeing the open-source project and working with SDL adopters to build the appropriate interfaces.
The company also works with Toyota, a relationship that began in 2011 when UIEvolution was part of the OEM’s Entune App Suite launch in the US market. “We’ve been part of all Toyota product launches since 2011. We’re currently on Lexus vehicles in the US. We’re working with Toyota in Australia and we’ve worked with Toyota in the Japanese market as well, which has now culminated in a much broader global partnership that allows us to bring new technologies to Toyota’s total car base all over the world.”
UIEvolution’s links with Toyota run deep. In July 2015, Toyota Motor Corporation and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation announced the Mirai Creation Investment Limited Partnership, an investment fund which would “help accelerate innovation by investing in enterprises that possess technologies capable of leading growth for future generations”. In January 2016, the fund announced a US$5m investment in UIEvolution.
Not that Toyota customers would know it, however; UIEvolution exemplifies the lot of many suppliers of connected car technology. “Because we play that role of B2B2C provider, we let our customers’ brand shine. This is something that Silicon Valley companies don’t really want. They want their logos to be visible. We want to make sure that Toyota’s brand, or that of any other OEM we work with, is central to the driving experience. It’s their product, and our job is to be a world class technical supplier and give them all the tools they need so that they can innovate as fast as Silicon Valley, without the need for partnering. That’s our vision as a company.”
My sense is that we are in the first year of the connected car from a platform standpoint
With Ford and Toyota on board, Ruff is hopeful of attracting more OEMs. However, he isn’t blind to the drawbacks of an open-source approach.
“Open-source is not a perfect panacea. It comes with costs,” he concedes. “Everybody who takes open-source software has to become a software developer. They have to test it, certify it, and so on.” In this sense, UIEvolution sees a future opportunity for itself.
“In the past, companies like Red Hat Linux enabled enterprises to buy a version of Linux. What we want to do is come in and take the open standard and then make sure it’s automotive grade. We would then allow it to go to any OEM that wants it and we’ll provide it as open-source software,” explains Ruff. “We think this is one of the pieces missing in the marketplace.”
Because UIEvolution is operating system agnostic, Ruff notes, it will “just keep working with the best platforms on the planet and making sure that the product is ready.”
UIEvolution now serves two of the world’s largest OEMs, with others showing interest. How does Ruff envisage the next few years playing out for the industry, and particularly for a company like his in this consolidation-hungry arena?
“My sense is that we are in the first year of the connected car from a platform standpoint. Whether we [UIEvolution] could be a part of any consolidation, or vice versa, I don’t know. We haven’t made a decision on any of that yet, or been approached, but I think there will be industry consolidation.”
This article is part of an exclusive Automotive World report on connected cars. Follow this link to download a copy of ‘Special report: Connected cars‘
