Car companies were out in force at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Ford, Audi and Hyundai all unveiled new in-dash telematics technologies that will integrate with smartphone applications and content services.
AppLink is an update to Ford Sync that will give drivers voice control over apps, on top of the features already built in to the system. The MyFord smartphone app will work with the Focus Electric to give drivers access to heating and cooling the battery and car interior, the battery's charge status, nearest charging station and the ability to charge only in hours with the lowest rate.
Hyundai's Blue Link telematics platform will do things like navigation, remote lock/unlock, diagnostics, remote starting and even detect pedestrians and other vehicles in the dark in case you get too close. The feature set also includes slowing down the vehicle remotely if it has been stolen. Geo-fencing is also built-in, so you can designate a prescribed area for the car to drive in, and be alerted via text message once that's been breached. This will be included in the 2012 Sonata, and another "youth-oriented" vehicle this summer, while all other makes and models will get it in 2013.
Perhaps the most intriguing of all the gadgets was the Anti-Sleep Pilot from a Danish company. Designed to help tired drivers avoid collisions, this small module calculates fatigue after the driver performs a short test. Once the wheels start moving, the module's accelerometer measures driving speed and alertness through beeps the driver must turn off by tapping the unit. Visual and audio signals then go off when the driver is considered to be too tired.
Sticking to the issue of safety, smartphone applications like PhoneGuard and Txtblocker were showcased as anti-text messaging solutions. They are subscription-based services that can disable a phone's messaging capabilities whenever a car is actually in motion.
Eton Corp. will be releasing a new line of emergency preparedness products that are powered by hand turbine generators instead of batteries. These include the Road Torq, a spotlight and flashing beacon that can also be used as a flashlight, as well as the Axis, an AM/FM radio that also has 3.5-mm headphone jack and a USB port to power portable devices. These were unveiled as part of a partnership with the American Red Cross, but a similar partnership with the Canadian Red Cross was also established in the days leading up to the show.
Cobra Electronics had a revamped iRadar unit that will now work in tandem with an iPhone and Android app for crowd-sourcing, meaning that users can add red-light cameras and speed trap locations to the maps that power the unit.
Griffin's CarTrip module plugs into the car's OBD-II port and provides real-time diagnostics to an iPhone or Android app called CleanDrive, adding in a "carbon score" based on the data collected.
These were just some of what turned out to be a long list of new products and services aimed at vehicles at CES. Others like iPad headrest mounts, navigation units, speakerphones, headsets and smartphone apps helped round out an especially interesting show for car gadget enthusiasts.