The Evolution of Automotive Infotainment Systems

Ashwani Muppasani’s extensive 20-year career includes working in the automotive industry. Ashwani Muppasani serves as vice president of Americas Operations and Quality, where one of his tasks involves overseeing infotainment technology.

One of the features central to infotainment technology is integrating mobile phone technology into the automotive industry. Currently, most cars have incorporated close to 10 percent of software into the automobile, and in the next years, the industry expects this number to increase to 30 percent with the adaption of smartphone technology. These new in-vehicle infotainment systems (IVI) have already been adopted into brands such as Honda, BMW, Daimler, and Honda.

With the advent of these newer IVI systems, consumers can expect a range of technologies to make the driving experience more convenient and comfortable. Manufacturers are moving toward integrating cars into the IoT movement by creating on-board computer systems that can be controlled over-the-air (OTA). This OTA feature can provide drivers with the ability to access updates to their vehicle.

Consumers seem to be driving this demand, desiring technologies that enhance the car’s functions. Some of the current requests include smart parking that will tell driver parking availability, reserve a space, and pay for it. They also want real-time traffic updates streamed into the IVI system. Predictive maintenance is also popular among consumers.

However, all of these new IVI technologies are converging to create cars that resemble small cockpits. This digital cockpit will potentially allow drivers to control most applications through touch-screen software. Described as all touch, multi-screened, these IVI systems will include Intelligent Driver and Passenger Monitoring systems, conversational AI platforms (driver-computer interaction), and data-rich navigation, in addition to other amazing features.