Not more than two seconds

In 2013, the United States’ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) set a new voluntary guideline for the automotive industry: Any single interaction of a driver with a car’s connectivity system should not take more than two seconds.  In that time, the NHTSA pointed out, a car can travel 176 feet at 100 kilometers an hour.

This guideline shows increasing safety concerns over the proliferation of new technologies in a modern motor vehicle’s dashboard that control functions like the radio, air-conditioner, safety and driver assistance systems and above all, connectivity and Internet services.

A bewildering array of infotainment touchscreens, buttons and knobs may distract the driver too often or for too long, distraction that can end in a fender bender or fatal road crash.

As a result, automakers are scrambling to find ways to integrate smartphones and online services into cars without increasing driver distraction and frustration. The much-anticipated new XC90 SUV of Volvo, for example, will feature a connectivity system that has a 9-inch touchscreen and only eight control buttons to minimize misinterpretation.

Chrysler’s positively reviewed Uconnect has an 8.4-inch touchscreen but the controls are simple and unembellished.

Meanwhile, Ford Motor Co. opened a research center last January in Palo Alto, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley. Work at Ford’s Silicon Valley lab will include developing a “smart mobility” plan over the long term, plus Sync 3, the next generation of the company’s in-dash connectivity system using software from QNX, a Canadian software systems company.

Other car manufacturers have opened research and development centers in Silicon Valley recently, including Honda, which opened a research lab in 2014 and a developer studio to encourage the writing of apps that can work in cars.

Mercedes-Benz in 1995 was the first to open a research center in Silicon Valley.  In 2013, Mercedes-Benz opened a larger R&D center in Sunnyvale.  BMW, General Motors and Renault-Nissan also have research labs in the area.

But automakers are not the only ones fast-tracking the development of advanced, user-friendly connectivity technologies.  Tech giants Apple and Google are bringing to market new dashboard systems that will let a smartphone power and operate a car’s center screen, everything from navigation to communication to music apps, all constantly talking to the cloud—and to the driver.

Google’s operating system, Android Auto, is about to debut in American cars while Apple’s CarPlay, developed for iPhone users, has about 200 engineers working on it and on electric vehicle technology.  Aside from Android Auto, Google has been working on driverless cars, which it foresees will be used by the public within five years.

In a few months, dealerships around North America will begin selling vehicles capable of running Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, or both.  Both systems have been designed with apps on the screen that can be done in two seconds or less—in a quick glance, touch and eyes back to the road.

To minimize driver distraction, streaming video and most social media will be blocked.  Texts can be sent only with voice commands.  Google and Apple have taken steps to make voice recognition succeed so that a user’s voice is easily understandable while inside the car, and consumers can speak as they normally do to issue voice commands.

About two dozen carmakers have signed up to offer Android Auto, and Apple has teamed up with roughly the same number of brands, many of which will offer both systems.

But not all automakers are willing to surrender their dashboards to the tech giants.  Toyota has no plans to adopt Android Auto or Apple CarPlay in the United States, preferring to use its own in-house proprietary platforms. (With reports from the International New York Times)

(Reprinted with permission from AQ Magazine, volume 5, issue 1)