Q&A
Vehicle Integration: An Inside Look From Outside
Chuck Allen took a strong interest in GPS technology in its
early stages and combined it with his then-career in the new car business to lay the groundwork for Cimble Corporation, where he serves as founder and CEO. As new car features converge with the aftermarket, he envisions a rapidly approaching future in which adding new vehicle features are only an app install away.
ME: It seems today that the aftermarket’s opportunities in the vehicle lay in two main areas: controlling vehicle features and functions, and using the in-dash head unit as a true media hub with access to and control over portable devices as well as Internet-based content. Your experience as an entrepreneur, dealership principal and telematics expert put you in a unique position to view how the industry can take advantage of the evolving automobile. Allen: The market is evolving. In the past, vehicles were built on analog technology. Before, anyone could wire a device into a car with a wire cutter and a roll of electrical tape. Today every- thing in the vehicle is routed through the vehicle computer and it is very easy to void a warranty, or cause a malfunction in the vehicle network. Vehicles are getting smarter every day, so we need to evolve with them.
ME: As we’ve gone down this road, more companies are ex- ploring a “universal portal” concept in which devices, features and functions can be easily added. Is that the idea with Secure Connex? Allen: Yes. Technically it’s called a Controller Area Network
Gateway (CANG). We have taken our patented GPS Telematics platform and added features that many automobile manufactur- ers are starting to install on new vehicles, such as intrusion notification, immobilizer bypass, remote start and maintenance notifications. We also enhanced the factory remote control to control remote start serves as a distress alert. In addition, it can be controlled by an iPhone, iPad, Android phone or tablet, and various other devices like the Nook and the Kindle.
ME: What other advantages does this approach offer to the
aftermarket? Allen: We think this type of product gives the dealers and installers a year-round selling opportunity. Depending on the
66 Mobile Electronics June | July 2012
features included by individual manufacturers, there is also op- tional information that can be shared that will allow the dealer to better service the consumer.
ME: Now the features we’ve mentioned so far pertain primarily to protection. What are you seeing in terms of in-vehicle enter- tainment? Allen: Infotainment is becoming very popular as well, specifi- cally with integration of portable media. As a result, the overall trend in the industry is to take the streaming services provided by these devices and play and control them in the vehicle. As an industry, we’ve gotten better at controlling media selection and playback. But in terms of delivering streaming content, there are a couple of different ideas on how to accomplish connecting the vehicle.
ME: The one that seems to have been widely accepted, at least at this point, is using a smartphone’s Internet connection to drive connected entertainment in the vehicle. What are the advantages and disadvantages to this? Allen: The advantage is it’s a lot simpler to implement. But us- ing the customers’ phone and data plan can be somewhat clumsy and hard to manage when it comes to data throughput from the Bluetooth connection. We feel the better long-term solution is to install vehicle-side connectivity with a data plan and bandwidth needed to stream and download large files, and content to be stored, buffered and replayed. We are now building new, high- bandwidth devices for infotainment and vehicle management.
ME: So we could soon see a new generation of products and
services that take advantage of an easy-to-integrate portal and built-in connection to the Internet? Allen: Yes. For our part, we’ve set out to develop revolu-
tionary cost-effective new products, services, and solutions for passenger vehicles and sell them to automobile producers and the aftermarket. Today, with SecureConnex, you can retrofit most any vehicle with a smart, high-end experience for a frac- tion of the cost of purchasing a new vehicle. There is a ton of opportunity in the aftermarket. With everything that is being connected to the vehicle today, the vehicle is the hottest mar- ket in the “connected things” space. ■
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68