General Motors, Google and Connected Cars

Over 200,000 tech industry professionals flock to Las Vegas every January in order to preview thousands of vendor displays showcasing the latest developments in electronic gadgetry. The week long Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas is an annual event that gives tech industry insiders (the show is not open to the public) their first look at a huge number of new products, projects and concepts that may or may not show up in stores later in the year. Of the thousands of new tech products, gadgets and applications, many will eventually make it to market, some will not make it to full production at all, and a select handful will go on to enjoy success as the hottest new trends in consumer technology.

One technical initiative of particular interest to auto enthusiasts at this year’s CES Show was a collaborative joint project linking the familiar names of General Motors and Google together called the Open Automotive Alliance (OAA). The Open Automotive Alliance combines the Internet search engine giant with General Motors and the chipmaker Nvidia in an effort to create new software that will deliver smarter and easier-to-use technology to cars through the use of Android integration.

The OAA wants to help automakers create custom, built-into-the-car software applications to control tasks that currently require separate devices, like the smartphones are now used for in-car navigation services, or the tablets that backseat passengers utilize to watch movies or play games. The OAA mission is to enable better integration between cars and Android devices in order to create a safer, car optimized experience, and thanks to the wide acceptance of the Android brand and the public’s familiarity with Google, the new OAA apps will allow cars to become “connected devices” on their own. The OAA defines the mission on its website with the following explanation; “There are over 1 billion cars on the road today. We rely on our cars for so many things in our lives, but right now the connection between them and the other mobile technology in our lives isn’t always seamless. The Open Automotive Alliance is a group of leading automakers and technology companies that share a vision for making technology in the car safer, more seamless and more intuitive for everyone.”

In addition to Google, Nvidia and General Motors, Honda and Volkswagen’s Audi division have recently joined the alliance and many other automotive and technology companies have been invited to join the endeavor too. By utilizing new standards of Android-based software innovation, the combined alliance hopes to bring a new breed of “connected cars” to the marketplace. Each participating automaker will determine their own product time tables, but early adopter General Motors is expected to release its first cars with Android integration before the end of this year. Considering that there are already about one billion people around the world currently using Android devices, the number also represents a target base of one billion potential “connected car” customers who are already somewhat familiar with Android technology and will probably be among the first consumers willing to pay for an enhanced automotive technology experience.