European première at Geneva Motor Show 2013: innovative in-vehicle infotainment and audio solutions for demanding drivers
The International Motor Show 2013, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – HARMAN, the premium global audio and infotainment group, is making its mark at the Geneva Motor Show this spring with the European premiere of the latest infotainment technologies for today’s connected drivers. Alongside premium infotainment technologies that combine augmented navigation with gesture control, high speed networking and brilliant graphics, HARMAN is also showcasing several different platform solutions that, for example, enable automakers to add smartphone connectivity into every vehicle and deliver car-centric apps and services through the Android platform. Also on show: QuantumLogic 3D by HARMAN, the automotive industry’s first three-dimensional surround sound experience based on QuantumLogic technology.
Car-centric apps and services through Android
With today’s smartphone-oriented generation keen to have phone apps on call in their vehicles, Harman is leveraging the Android for Automotive operating system to bring car-centric apps and services into the car safely. And to ensure best performance and stability, HARMAN combines this flexible eco-system with the proven QNX operating system. This guarantees the best of two worlds – flexibility and extensibility on one hand, and automotive-grade reliability on the other.
The HARMAN app-centric infotainment platform heralds a new era for in-car systems that more effectively connect drivers to their digital worlds – the home, the office, friends and the cloud – in ways that are easy, fun, personalized and intuitive. HARMAN makes it easy for drivers to access content on their iPods, smartphones and iPads by providing wired and wireless interfaces that are optimized for the driving environment. This includes media and applications that are running on consumer mobile devices, as well as those connecting via cloud-based services like Siri and Google Voice Search. To protect the vehicle bus and other critical features, HARMAN has created a virtualized platform where the core and car-centric apps and services run on the proven QNX OS, and the User Interface and downloaded applications run in the Android for Automotive environment.
Connected Radio
Another innovative platform solution on show in Geneva will be HARMAN Connected Radio, which redefines the standard radio. In addition to supporting a range of external user devices, including USB, SD, MP3 players including iPod, and a wide range of smartphones, consumers can easily connect their smartphones with the head unit in-vehicle. The head unit then uses the driver’s preferred navigation app straight from the phone. It also offers clear benefits to automakers: with the same cost of basic radio, OEMs can add smartphone connectivity into their systems. In addition, OEMs can integrate access to HARMAN’s AHA Radio, the first interactive platform that organizes web-based content into personalized, live and on-demand radio stations that consumers can access anywhere. Connected Radio also offers turn-by-turn navigation via smartphone app, with spoken and visual instructions, and hands-free phoning via Bluetooth.
Premium infotainment
HARMAN is also unveiling its solution for tomorrow’s premium infotainment challenges. As the automotive sector pushes the boundaries of multimedia connectivity in the vehicle, HARMAN is presenting technology that leverages advanced safety and entertainment innovations – including interactive head-up display with augmented navigation, touch-free gesture controls, and the latest connectivity options. The concept is based around a “multi-display” Infotainment System, where the in-dash center console, instrumentation cluster, and head-up display are fully integrated.
“We’re delighted to be presenting this exciting new system at Geneva this spring,” says Dinesh Paliwal, Chairman, President and CEO of HARMAN. “The new premium infotainment platform from HARMAN offers the driver richer safety functions, assistance and connectivity features. It’s the logical next step for us to take. The automotive sector is moving to ever greater in-car connectivity and multimedia, and HARMAN, with its groundbreaking in-vehicle infotainment solutions, is ideally positioned to make this technology part of the smart, responsive control systems in an advanced head-up display.”
Uconnect Infotainment System and Premium Audio for Chrysler/Fiat
Another European première unveiled in Geneva is the new Uconnect Infotainment System developed for Chrysler and Fiat. In 2010, HARMAN had been awarded a contract from Chrysler Group to design and develop an in-vehicle, hands-free communication system. In cooperation with Chrysler teams, HARMAN engineers designed the latest Uconnect 8.4A and 8.4AN systems, premiering on several 2013 Chrysler and FIAT vehicles, started with the SRT Viper. In Europe the Jeep Cherokee is the first vehicle to be equipped with the system.
In addition to the new infotainment capabilities, Uconnect offers Internet radio access via AhaTM by HARMAN, as part of its introduction of Uconnect Access Via Mobile. Aha makes it easy to instantly access your favorite web content on the go. Choose from stations spanning Internet radio, personalized music, traffic, hotels, weather, audiobooks, Facebook, Twitter and more.
Onboard the Jeep Cherokee, passengers can experience HARMAN infotainment and Aha audio entertainment via the premium harman/kardon surround sound system, featuring the innovative Logic7 technology. The system consists of 18 high-performance speakers in a 5.4 playback architecture (5 surround channels and 4 subwoofers).
Industry’s first 3D surround experience based on QuantumLogic
Another highlight at the Geneva show is QuantumLogic 3D, a powerful new technology by HARMAN that brings an unmatched three-dimensional surround sound experience to in-car audio. Building on HARMAN’s patented QuantumLogic Surround (QLS) digital signal processing technology, QuantumLogic 3D accurately identifies and redistributes audio streams, and incorporates additional streams that are reproduced via overhead speakers. QuantumLogic 3D technology is available today for all automotive OEMs, and provides an important differentiator for automakers looking to stand out with their premium audio offerings.
HARMAN at the Geneva Motor Show 2013
Visit HARMAN at this year’s Geneva Motor Show for more details and to receive a demo of the new HARMAN premium infotainment system for BMW as well view the company’s full portfolio of infotainment and lifestyle audio systems. HARMAN is located in Hall 6, Booth 6240.
About HARMAN
HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets — supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG®, Harman Kardon, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 13,900 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported sales of $4.4 billion for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012. The company’s shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NYSE:HAR.
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© 2013 HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Harman Kardon, Infinity, JBL, Lexicon and Mark Levinson are trademarks of HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated, registered in the United States and/or other countries. AKG is a trademark of AKG Acoustics GmbH, registered in the United States and/or other countries. Features, specifications and appearance are subject to change without notice.
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