Audi displayed its dashboard computer at the Consumer Electronics Show last month. (Isaac Brekken / New York Times News Service)
Automakers and high-tech companies have found a new place to put sophisticated Internet-connected computers: the front seat.
Safety concerns
- Auto-safety advocates say these technologies raise the risks associated with distracted driving.
- Charlie Klauer, a researcher at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, says motorists face a much greater crash risk when looking at a screen, even if it is just a simple GPS map. She says the overall danger for drivers will rise as screens deliver additional streams of data.
- The longer a motorist looks away from the road, "the risk of crash or near crash goes up exponentially -- not a linear increase, but exponentially," Klauer says.
- Regulators worry about the developments, too. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says the companies involved are on the wrong track. "The idea they're going to load automobiles up with all kinds of ways to be distracted -- that's not the direction we're going, and I will speak out against it," he says.
Last month at the Consumer Electronics Show, technology giants like Intel and Google demonstrated innovations such as 10-inch screens above the gearshift displaying high-definition videos, 3-D maps and Web pages.
The first wave of these "infotainment systems," as the tech and car industries call them, will hit the market this year.
While built-in navigation features were once costly options, the new systems are likely to be standard equipment in a wide range of cars before long. They prevent drivers from watching video and using some other functions while the car is moving, but they can still pull up content as varied as restaurant reviews and the covers of music albums with the tap of a finger.
One system on the way this fall from Audi lets drivers pull up information as they drive. Heading to Safeco Field for a baseball game? Pop down the touch pad, finger-scribble the word "Mariners" and get a Wikipedia entry on the arena, photos and reviews of nearby restaurants, and animations of the ways to get there.
A notice that pops up when the Audi system is turned on reads: "Please only use the online services when traffic conditions allow you to do so safely."
Technology and car companies say that safety remains a priority. They note that they are building in or working on technology such as voice commands and screens that can simultaneously show a map to the driver and a movie to a front-seat passenger, as in the new Jaguar XJ.
The MyFord system lets a driver make a call while the car is in motion, but its Web browser works only when the car is parked. (Ford)
"We are trying to make that driving experience one that is very engaging," says Jim Buczkowski, the director of global electrical and electronics systems engineering at Ford. "We also want to make sure it is safer and safer."
Ford's new MyFord system lets the driver adjust temperature settings or call a friend while the car is in motion, while its built-in Web browser works only when the car is parked. Audi says it will similarly restrict access to complex and potentially distracting functions. But in general, drivers will bear much of the responsibility for limiting their use of these devices.
The giants of industry contend they are giving consumers what they want and expect.
"Customers are expecting more and more, especially businesspeople who expect to find in the car what they find in their smartphone," says Mathias Halliger, the chief engineer for Audi's multimedia interface systems. "We should give them the same or a better experience."
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