The 10 qualities of highly effective hands-free systems

The first time I saw — and heard — a hands-free kit in action was in 1988. (Or was it 1989? Meh, same difference.) At the time, I was pretty impressed with the sound quality. Heck, I was impressed that hands-free conversations were even possible. You have to remember that mobile phones were still an expensive novelty — about $4000 in today’s US dollars. And good grief, they looked like this:



It’s almost a shock to see how far we’ve come since 1988. We’ve become conditioned to devices that cost far less, do far more, and fit into much smaller pockets. (Though, admittedly, the size trend for smartphones has shifted into reverse.) Likewise, we’ve become conditioned to hands-free systems whose sound quality would put that 1998 kit to shame. The sound might have been okay at the time, but because of the contrast effect, it wouldn’t pass muster today. Our ears have become too discerning.

Which brings me to a new white paper from Phil Hetherington and Andrew Mohan of the acoustics team at QNX Software Systems. Evaluating hands-free solutions from various suppliers can be a complex endeavor, for the simple fact that hands-free systems have become so sophisticated and complex. To help simplify the decision process, Phil and Andrew have boiled the problem down to 10 key factors:

• Acoustic echo cancellation
  
• Noise reduction and speech reconstruction
  
• Multi-channel support
  
• Automatic gain control
  
• Equalization
  
• Wind buffet suppression
  
• Intelligibility enhancement
  
• Noise dependent receive gain
  
• Bandwidth extension
  
• Wideband support

Ultimately, you must judge a hands-free solution by the quality of the useful sound it delivers. By focusing on these 10 essentials, you can make a much sounder judgment (pun fully intended).

Recently, Electronic Design published a version of this paper on their website. For a longer version, which includes a decision checklist, visit the QNX download center.

MirrorLink misunderstood: 8 myths that need busting

If you're new to MirrorLink, it's a technology that bridges the mobile phone and the car. It allows specially written apps running on the phone to be displayed on the car's head unit, where the user can interact with them.

MirrorLink is intended to extend the life of in-vehicle systems by allowing them to interact with mobile content and to support new features that didn’t exist when the car rolled off the assembly line.

Here's an illustration of how it works:


MirrorLink in-car communication. The protocol between the head unit and the phone can run over several transports, including USB, Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi. This example assumes Bluetooth for the audio back-channel.

When I talk to people in the automotive and mobile industries, I find they share a number of common misconceptions about MirrorLink, which I’d like to clear up. So let's get started, shall we?

1. MirrorLink is an Android technology. In fact, MirrorLink works with multiple mobile platforms. Phones using Android can support it, but so can phones from any other phone maker that supports the standard. Even Apple phones could support it, though Apple has currently chosen to go their own route with Apple-specific solutions.
   
   
2. MirrorLink allows any mobile app to run in the car. This is incorrect. A MirrorLink app can run in the car only if the car maker grants “trust” to that app. Each car maker has a different concept of what brands to promote, what features are safe, or what works well with each car. So, in reality, each app will be enabled depending on the individual make — or even model — of car.
   
   
3. MirrorLink promotes “driver distracting” apps. Also incorrect. MirrorLink is an enabling technology that doesn’t promote any type of app in particular. In fact, because the car maker must grant trust to an app, the app developer can't control what apps run in the car. That responsibility remains the domain of car makers, who tend to avoid anything that will cause distraction when displayed on a front-seat screen.
   
   
4. MirrorLink is the only way to connect an app to the car. There are in fact two others: iPod Out and HTML5. Apple supports iPod Out for Apple devices, which allows selected applications to output analog video to the head unit. (Note that the new iPhone 5 doesn’t support iPod Out.) HTML5 also allows mobile apps to run in the head unit, though its use in car-to-phone bridging is still in the early stages. QNX Software Systems has demonstrated concept vehicles that use BlackBerry Bridge (an HTML5-based technology) to connect an HTML5 app on a BlackBerry phone to the car’s head unit.
   
   
5. Mobile app makers will benefit most from MirrorLink. In fact, car makers may end up taking best advantage of the technology. That’s because they can use MirrorLink to customize and create apps, and to refresh those apps as a way of delivering fresh, new functions to their customers. MirrorLink gives them the ability to do this using a standardized protocol supported by most mobile platforms. Car makers could use MirrorLink very effectively, even if they never allowed any third party apps into their cars.
   
   
6. HTML5 and MirrorLink are incompatible. Not necessarily true. Current versions of MirrorLink use the VNC protocol to exchange graphical data. None of the advantages of HTML5 would be incompatible with a future version of MirrorLink; in fact, some members of the Connected Car Consortium (CCC), including QNX Software Systems, would likely be interested in merging these two standards. That would result in a new version of MirrorLink that uses HTML5 as the underlying communication protocol. (The MirrorLink specification is controlled by the Car Connectivity Consortium, of which QNX is a member.)
   
   Even if MirrorLink does go to HTML5, the industry would still need a VNC-based form of MirrorLink. VNC has much lighter requirements on the head-unit side, so it makes more sense than HTML5 if the car doesn’t have a high-powered CPU or lots of memory. The broadest possible option would be to have phone apps support multiple versions of MirrorLink (today's version with VNC plus a future version with HTML5) and to use whichever one makes sense, depending on what the car supports.
   
   
7. MirrorLink obviates the need for car-downloadable apps. Yes, MirrorLink capability is somewhat similar in purpose to downloading apps into the car; they both extend the functionality of the car after it leaves the factory. Because the customer’s phone will almost certainly be newer than the car’s electronics, it will have a faster CPU, giving the raw speed advantage to a MirrorLink app on the mobile. The MirrorLink app will also have guaranteed data access since the hosting phone will always have a data pipe — something that isn't certain on the car side of the equation.
   
   On the other hand, MirrorLink doesn’t give an app access to car features that would available to a car-downloaded app — features such as vehicle bus access, telematics features, or the navigation system. Also, a car-downloaded app would likely have a faster HMI than any off-board app, even if the mobile had a faster CPU, because of latencies inherent to screen replication. The car-downloaded app would also have better visual integration, as it could take full advantage of the car features, instead of appearing as a bolt-on product. Other factors, based on automaker control, compatibility, or product roadmaps could also favor an in-car solution. Even if you could address some of these issues, there would still be enough reasons for MirrorLink and an auto app store to live side-by-side.
   
   
8. MirrorLink apps can be built today. This is technically true. But, in their enthusiasm, new converts can sometimes forget that cars need to support MirrorLink for anything to actually work. Currently, only aftermarket car stereos support MirrorLink; no production vehicles support it. So if you’re a mobile app developer, the market for MirrorLink apps today is negligible. But expect this situation to improve dramatically over the next two to three years as production vehicles start to ship with this capability built-in.

For safety’s sake, why don’t cars just disable phones?

With all the focus on driver distraction, this is a question that I get asked occasionally. It’s a simple question, with a less than simple answer.

Using technology to control inappropriate phone use has been a topic at some of the driver distraction meetings I've attended. One proposed solution involves a technique called micro location — using ultrasonic waves to identify where in the cabin the phone is located. There are other ways to triangulate the phone's position, but they all require coordination between the phone and car. Knowing where the phone resides in the car is a requirement, as most passengers wouldn’t be happy to have their phone automatically disabled, just because they’re in the car. And the solution can’t be based only on the GPS speed of the phone, or you’d have lots of irate bus, taxi, train, or subway riders.

The fact is, unless all phone makers and car makers agree on the same standard, there's no incentive for either side to build half of a feature. You’d need to deploy potentially expensive technology that wouldn’t work unless you pair exactly the right phone with the right car. This likely won't happen unless companies are legislated to do so.

Given the speed of automotive development, it’s impossible for the car guys to build a technology that the phone guys won't leave in the dust, unless some guarantees are put in place. The adoption of Bluetooth is a good example. It took years before Bluetooth became widespread in phones, but its adoption had more to do with Bluetooth earpieces, not connections to cars. Car makers took a long time to roll out Bluetooth support as a standard feature because too many phones either didn't have it or had an implementation that wasn't fully compatible. Eventually, the two markets synchronized, but it took several years.

One argument against a technology-mandated disable is that not all jurisdictions agree on what is, or isn’t, allowable. In the US, 45 out of 50 states have some form of prohibition against using phones in cars. But what is disallowed varies widely by state — some don't allow any use of the phone (even hands-free), some prohibit teenagers but no other age groups, some disallow texting but not hands-free, some disallow use for commercial vehicles but not private vehicles, and some allow everything.

Another argument against a technological solution is that people can be educated to assume responsibility for their behavior. For example, why don't all cars have a blood alcohol level blow-tester hooked up to the ignition? Technically it's possible, but it's very expensive to do it from the car maker's standpoint. One could argue that it is worth it to have cars protect us from ourselves. But as a society, we've decided that, in the case of drunk driving, we are willing to give people back the responsibility. Rather than control the problem with technology, we socialize and educate people that driving intoxicated is an undesirable behavior.

We could, of course, decide to do the same with mobile technology, by educating personally instead of solving technically. This approach may make more sense than a technology-based prohibition: technology always moves at light speed compared to legislative mechanisms of control.
 

New webinar: Understanding mobile apps for the car

You're an app developer. You're looking for new opportunities. You were hoping, perhaps, that Web-connected refrigerators would be the next big thing. Being first to market with a fridge app — that would have been cool, right? I mean, literally.

Problem is, the market for fridge apps hasn't warmed up yet. I'm sure it will, though. But until then, why not the car? Cars are already connected. Car makers want to make them even more connected. And those cars will need apps, whether those apps are hosted on a phone, in the cloud, or in the car itself.

Interested? Intrigued? Then set your calendar to the webinar happening this Thursday, June 28, at 1:00 pm ET. Here's the official synopsis:

Wouldn't your app look good here?

Understanding Mobile Apps for Automotive

Today's merger of mobile handsets and automotive platforms is creating a brand-new market for app developers. However there are many differences between a phone and car.

This session provides an introduction to the automotive market for the app developer looking to get into this space. Learn how a car infotainment system is structured, UI considerations that help prevent driver distraction, why HTML5 promises to be the next killer development environment for the car, and more.

On the downside, you won't learn about apps for white goods. But, because the webinar is hosted by my inimitable colleague Andy Gryc, who has actually written software for cars, you will get the straight goods. Which is, well, cool.
 

Making the smartphone connection: The state of automotive navigation in Japan

A guest post from Yoshiki Chubachi, the automotive business development manager for QNX Software Systems in Japan

The market for navigation systems in Japan grew rapidly until 2006, but since 2007 the yearly volume has reached the saturation point, at about 2.9M units. For instance, in 2008, consumers purchased 900k after-market systems, 1.1M dealer-installed systems, and 909k factory-installed systems. In 2010, those numbers had changed slightly: 1.01M after-market systems, 1.03M dealer-installed systems, and 858k factory-installed systems (source: Yano Research Institute).

That said, the market is starting to experience a shift from after-market to factory-installed devices. Automakers and their tier one suppliers are struggling to differentiate their products by implementing value-added features.

To get a feel for current navigation trends in Japan, let’s look at some notable after-market products that shipped in 2011. As you'll see, smartphones are exerting a major influence on this market, both in terms of system design and user features:

Pioneer AVIC-VH09CS — This high-end system combines augmented reality technology with a front-view camera, overlaying your route on a live video of the road. It also implements a collision warning system by measuring the distance of the car ahead. Other features include terrestrial digital TV (full HD and 1seg), DVD video, AM-FM, CD and SD music, iPod connectivity, and music ripping and encoding.

Clarion NX501 — The smartphone world seems to drive navigation trends, and the Clarion NX501 is no exception. It offers a touchscreen UI that supports swipes, flicks, and other finger gestures similar to those found in smartphones and tablets. Suzuki factory-installed systems also use the type of user interface.

Fujitsu-Ten AVN-F01i — This system comes with three bundled iPhone applications: Twitter Drive (combines tweets with location data), Where is My Car (uses augmented reality to show your parking location on the phone screen; great for finding your car in large parking lots); and News Reader (allows the system’s text-to-speech engine to read out news articles). The system connects to the phone through Bluetooth.

Panasonic CN-H500WD — The system also lets you use finger swipes to operate navigation and audio functions, including a scrolling map. It comes with a smartphone application that provides POI search, which is downloaded to the navigation system through Bluetooth.

Mitsubishi NR-MZ50 — This system provides an “OpenInfo” service based on Pioneer’s Smartloop system, which provides traffic data from a Pioneer server. VICS (Vehicle Information and Communication System) is a popular traffic data service in Japan that is similar to the RDS-TMC standard, but its coverage is limited to main highways. The smartphone receives traffic data, derived from anonymous traffic probe information, wherever the VICS service isn't supported. Information from the phone is transmitted to the navigation system through Bluetooth.

Connectivity between navigation systems and smartphones remains an issue in Japan. Conventional cell phones are equipped with the Bluetooth DUN profile, which enables data communication between the nav system and the phone, but unfortunately, some carriers still don’t support this profile. Until they do, lack of connectivity will remain a roadblock.

Nonetheless, using smartphones to deliver applications and the user experience has become a major trend in Japan’s navigation systems. Some automotive tier one suppliers, such as Pioneer, already provide navigation applications on the phone. The QNX CAR 2 application platform, with its mobile connectivity features and auto-centric HTML5 framework, offers an ideal foundation for enabling this approach.

Phonedog connects with QNX concept car at BlackBerry World 2012

If you aren't at BlackBerry World this week, you're missing out. For starters, you won't get to see what, in my biased opinion, is the world's coolest car: the QNX-powered and very connected Porsche 911.

But not all is lost. You can still watch this video from Sydney Myers of PhoneDog.com, who caught with up with Mike Shane of QNX for a tour of the car's features — from instant smartphone pairing and off-board navigation to handsfree calling with HD stereo. Check it out:



My favorite part? When the text overlay on the video shouts out "The audio quality was REALLY good." Got that right.

And did I mention? Mike is one of the super-talented people who built the concept car. He's a keeper.
 

Rockin' the phone at BlackBerry World

I'm at BlackBerry World 2012 (as you already know if you're following my tweets), and it really is amazing.

In his keynote, RIM's CEO Thorsten Heins provided stats on how the average BlackBerry user isn't just connected, but hyper-connected. BlackBerry users engage in more social media, use more organizational tools, and download more apps per day than other smartphone users. (I wasn't quick enough to type up all the stats, but I'm sure you can find them elsewhere.)

Introducing the BlackBerry
10 dev alpha device

Is the BlackBerry platform an entertainment tool? Productivity tool? Social media hub? All of these, but more than anything else, BlackBerry creates success. The 77 million BlackBerry users worldwide are more agile, productive, competitive, and nimble than their counterparts.

Here are some great factoids I was able to capture:

• Mippin is a worldwide mobile development shop responsible for 50,000 apps on iOS, Android, and BlackBerry. But BlackBerry accounts for 70% of their downloads.
   
• Occipital offers a very cool panorama camera app, which they demo'd this morning. It took them only 7 days to port to BlackBerry 10, and it already performs better than the Android version.
   
• Fishlabs creates mobile games. It took them one day to port Galaxy on Fire to the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. (And it is one awesome app — I gotta go download it tonight :-)
   
• App World for the PlayBook underwent 240% growth in Q4 2011.
   
• 90% of Fortune 500 companies standardize on BlackBerry.
   

Stay tuned for more pix and reports from what promises to be an awesome show!

What the connected car is really all about (and what we need to do about it)

Recently, I was invited to participate in a webinar that highlighted hits and misses at Mobile World Congress. It occurred to me that some of you might be interested in what I had to say — at the very least, I’d earn points with Paul Leroux, our editor, for spontaneously offering up a blog post. :)  So here's what I said... almost verbatim.

First, a quick intro on QNX: Many will know us as the wholly owned subsidiary of RIM whose software platform powers the BlackBerry PlayBook. But we also provide the de facto standard platform for all types of in-vehicle infotainment and navigation systems. And it’s from this perspective that I offer these comments.

My primary observation is regarding the evolving dialogue surrounding the connected car and what I think it represents. Three years ago we were here with Alcatel-Lucent, showcasing the first LTE connected concept car, based on a Toyota Prius. This car proved so popular that we had to hire a security guard to help manage the traffic. Now, three years later, there are a number of connected production vehicles to be seen, including a QNX-based BMW 7 series in the GSMA’s connected home exhibit. And the announcements this year focused not so much on broadband connectivity per se (it's here, people expect it), but on the integration of the smart phone with the vehicle.

At QNX, we talk about the personalization of the in-vehicle experience, as people want to bring in their own devices, their own music, their own contacts and other content — and experience these in the vehicle setting. For instance, Ford not only announced the B-Max vehicle, but used MWC as a platform to launch Ford Sync for Europe. Toyota and Samsung, meanwhile, announced support for Samsung Mobile Car Application for integration of phones to the car's head unit. So if step one was getting a broadband connection to enable a consumer experience in the car, and step two is about personalizing that experience, what’s next? 

I think that, ultimately, the connected car is all about the consumer, and this is how revenue will be generated in a way that connected telematics on its own could never do. You could be an automaker interested in improving how to service a car and its owner after the car has driven off the dealer's lot. Or you could be a carrier interested in extending your offer beyond connectivity to deliver value-added services. Or perhaps you’re a small business trying to get more people in the door. In each case, the car represents a new frontier. And it offers the added value of context – not only do you know if someone is available and where they are, but you also know that they are driving a vehicle. 

The next few years are going to be very exciting as the automotive and mobile industries converge to address this opportunity. Think about the brands involved: Companies like Audi, BMW, and GM on one hand and the likes of AT&T, Verizon, and Vodafone on the other. They’re mutually dependent — neither group will be successful without the other. Automotive needs to leverage the investments being made for smart phones, be it device technology, network infrastructure, or developer communities. Meanwhile, the mobile industry has to consider the nature of automotive in terms of safety, security, and liability, not to mention product life cycles. 

It's safe to say that automotive is just the first example of this type of industry convergence and transformation. All of the carriers are looking at M2M as a huge untapped market opportunity. And within the classic embedded market, there are an almost infinite number of market segments, truly an example of the Long Tail. 

It will be exciting to watch how mobile transforms those markets and vice versa — what will mobile look like in 5 years from now? I don’t think we can easily predict it; after all, it's not going to be like anything we’ve seen before. But I can’t wait to find out.

So there you have it. If you'd like to hear the entire webinar, you can register here to access the archived version.

ITU-T: Developing standards to fight driver distraction

The telecommunication standardization sector of the International Telecommunications Union is poised to play a crucial role in tomorrow’s connected cars. And yet, many people in the auto industry have never heard of the ITU, or of its standardization sector, the ITU-T. So let’s start with a quick introduction.

The ITU is the United Nations agency that deals with telecommunications. More specifically, it is where governments come together to agree on international standards for Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs).

Currently, the ITU-T is developing recommendations for ICTs that interact with drivers — examples include networked-based navigation systems, web browsers, and mobile phones. These recommendations will apply to networks; to applications accessed by drivers; and to connected, nomadic, and factory-installed devices. Strictly speaking, these recommendations are voluntary, which is precisely why they are referred to as “recommendations.” However, they can become binding if mandated by regional government agencies or customers.

ITU-T recommendations for the car are needed for several reasons:

• ICTs are moving into the automotive cockpit — Increasingly, ICT systems under the scope of the ITU-T are finding their way into the cockpit and interacting with drivers. Technology-related driver distraction has been recognized as a global problem that needs to be addressed. Internationally agreed guidance on the design and performance of these systems can help increase safety.
   
• Easy-to-find guidance for ICT community — ICT designers, developers, and application authors need easy access to guidance on design and performance requirements for ICT systems that interact with drivers. The ICT community consults ITU-T recommendations for guidance and requirements on ICT systems. Therefore, there is real value in having ITU-T recommendations that can serve as a reference to existing driver distraction-related standards and to fill any standardization gaps.
   
• Internationally agreed standards — The ITU-T is where governments come together to agree on international telecommunications standards. This is what makes these standards unique. It also gives them more weight with regional Standards Development Organizations (SDOs) and regulatory authorities. There is even value in an ITU-T recommendation that simply references existing standards since it will have gone through the ITU-T approval process.

Focus group on driver distraction
Last year, I became the founding chair for the ITU’s Focus Group on Driver Distraction (FG Distraction), which was created to pull expertise from the automotive industry and human factors experts into the ITU-T standardization process. The group currently has 3 planned ITU-T recommendations related to driver distraction:

G.SAM — recommendation on mechanisms for managing the situational awareness of drivers:

 

G.V2A — recommendation on an automotive interface (for instance, APIs) for applications external to the vehicle gateway:



P.UIA — recommendation on automotive user interface requirements:



FG Distraction will finalize pulling together input from industry and human factors experts by December 2012. Approved ITU-T recommendations are not expected until late 2013.

Want to contribute?
If you’d like to participate in FG Distraction, the group is open to any individual from a country that is a member of ITU and who is willing to contribute to the work (which is just about everyone). This includes anyone who is also a member or representative of an interested SDO. There is no cost to participate.

For more information about FG Distraction and upcoming meetings, click here. The next meeting will take place on April 4-5 at the SAE Headquarters in Troy, Michigan, USA.
 

New CNET video takes you on guided tour of QNX concept car

Paul Leroux

This just in: Antuan Goodwin of CNET has posted a video walkthrough of the new QNX concept car, which showcases the many capabilities of the QNX CAR 2 application platform.

Antuan touches on all of the car's salient features, including one-touch smartphone integration, backseat entertainment, video streaming, rich app support, ultra HD voice technology, and the reconfigurable digital instrument cluster. Check it out:


 

CrackBerry posts first peek at OnStar RemoteLink for BlackBerry PlayBook

Paul Leroux

This morning at CES, CrackBerry.com met up with QNX's Andrew Poliak for a walkthrough of the new OnStar RemoteLink app for the BlackBerry PlayBook.

If you aren't familiar with RemoteLink, it provides a very cool and powerful connection to OnStar-equipped vehicles. From the convenience of your tablet or phone, you can access gas mileage, tire pressure, and other information in real time; you can even remotely start your vehicle and unlock its doors.

Cooler yet, the new version running on the PlayBook boasts a user interface built entirely in HTML5. But enough blather from me. Roll the tape...



Did you know? QNX is the core OS for the PlayBook, but it's also the OS for OnStar and OnStar FMW.
 

Gearing up for CES

I arrived in Las Vegas last night, gearing up for the CES show. I know I must be in Vegas: When I woke up at 4:30 am (my body is stuck in eastern time), there was still a buzz around the hotel — people just do not stop here.

I’m looking forward the show. Our automotive development team has been hard at work on some exciting new technology, and I can hardly wait to show it off.

First, we are demonstrating our new concept car, based on a Porsche Carrera. This thing is loaded with goodies to demonstrate how you can use your smartphone and tablet to improve the driving experience. For instance, the car supports Near Field Communications (NFC) pairing: You simply touch your phone to the car and the two become instantly paired — no more fumbling with unintuitive menus and security codes.


The new concept car features one-touch smartphone pairing, tablet-based rear-seat
entertainment, ultra HD voice technology, and a reconfigurable instrument cluster.

We’re also showing a level of integration beyond a simple voice-dialing list. For instance, you can use your phone’s contact list to direct your navigation system or to automatically contact meeting invitees when your car knows you’ll be late for an appointment. We will also demonstrate our ultra HD voice technology, which provides full stereo sound for handsfree calls — you’d have to hear this to get the real impact. It’s like you're sitting right next to the person on the other end of the call. (I hope this works well in the noisy show floor environment!)

We're also launching the QNX CAR 2 application platform, which will allow automakers to leverage the power of the mobile development community and to keep in-car infotainment software fresh for consumers. We are doing some pretty unique things with HTML5, including the ability to write and package applications for deployment to the car. Another cool feature is the ability to dynamically detect and play media that is added to the system – try doing that with a standard browser!

Just writing this has me looking forward to getting started. See you at 2012 CES!
 

HTML5 is a great option for the risk-adverse

The conservative nature of automakers makes them ideal candidates for the brand-spanking new HTML5. Say what?

While this seems paradoxical, it is an interesting take-away from the discussion between TCS' director of engineering Michael Camp and our very own Andy Gryc. If you've got three minutes to spare, watch the latest video in our HTML5 series for the whole story. (As usual, don't miss the ending. ;-)

This interview of Michael Camp is the fourth in a series from QNX on HTML5.

HTML5 and the software engineer

HTML5 appears to have a number of benefits for consumers and car manufacturers. But what is often good for the goose is not necessarily good for the developer. Talking to the guys in the trenches is critical to understanding the true viability of HTML5.

Andy Gryc and Sheridan Ethier, manager of the automotive development team at QNX, pair up for a technical discussion on HTML5. They explore whether this new technology can support rich user interfaces, how HTML5 apps can be blended with apps written in OpenGL, and if interprocess communication can be implemented between native and web-based applications.

So without further ado, here’s the latest in the educational series of HTML5 videos from QNX.



This interview of Sheridan Ethier is the third in a series from QNX on HTML5.

Is HTML5 a good gamble?

As the consumer and automotive worlds continue to collide, HTML5 looks like a good bet. And not a long shot either. In fact, the odds are all automakers will eventually use it. But since the standard won’t be mature for some time yet, should you take a chance on it now? 

To answer this, Andy Gryc talks to Matthew Staikos of RIM. Matthew is the manager of the browser and web platform group at RIM, and has over 10 years of software development experience with a strong focus on WebKit for mobile and embedded systems. Matthew co-founded Torch Mobile, which was acquired by RIM for their browser technology.

Andy’s conversation with Matthew is the subject of the following video, the second in an educational series designed to get an industry-wide perspective on HTML5. 

This interview of Matthew Staikos is the second in a series from QNX on HTML5.

What’s HTML5 got to do with automotive?

There’s been a lot of noise lately about HTML5. A September 2011 report by binvisions shows that search engines and social media web sites are leading the way toward adoption: Google, Facebook, YouTube, Wikipedia, Twitter, and plenty more have already transitioned to HTML5. Some are taking it even further: Facebook has an HTML5 Resource Center for developers and the Financial Times has a mobile HTML5 version of their website.

It won’t be long before HTML5 is ubiquitous. We think automakers should (and will) use it. 

To elucidate the technology and its relevance, we’ve created a series of educational videos on the topic. Here is the first in that series. Interviews with partners, customers, and industry gurus will soon follow. 

This simple overview is the first in a series from QNX on HTML5. (Personally I like the ending the best.)

Some people drive me to distraction

Paul Leroux

Hey, have you ever panned your camera? It's really easy: You just track a moving subject with your camera and then squeeze the shutter while both you and the subject are in motion. It's a great technique for creating images that evoke a sense of speed, which makes it popular among photographers for Motor Trend, Car and Driver, and other automotive magazines.

When you pan, you never really know what kind of image you're going to get. Often, the results are interesting. And sometimes, they're downright interesting. Take this shot, for example:


Lattés and overdrive don't mix. Just sayin'.

Now, holding a cellphone while rocketing down the highway is just plain wrong. To anyone who does it, I have one thing to say: "You're endangering other people's lives for the sake of a f***ing phone call. Where the hell do you get off doing that?"

But look at this guy. He's isn't holding a phone, but a coffee — even worse. Just imagine if he gets into a situation that demands quick, evasive action. He will, in all likelihood, hold on to the cup for fear of burning himself. Whereas if he had a phone, he would simply drop it and put his hand back on the wheel.

Mind you, I have no data to prove that coffee cups poses a greater evil than cellphones. But the core issue remains: Cellphone use is just one of many factors that contribute to driver distraction. In fact, research suggests that cellphones account for only 5% of distraction-related accidents that end in injury.

So, even if every cellphone on the planet disappeared tomorrow, we would still have a massive problem on our hands. To that end, my colleagues Scott Pennock and Andy Gryc suggest a new approach to designing vehicle cockpit systems in their paper, "Situational Awareness: a Holistic Approach to the Driver Distraction Problem."

The paper explores how system designers can use the concept of situational awareness to develop a vehicle cockpit that helps the driver become more aware of objects and events on the road, and that adapts in-vehicle user interfaces to manage the driver’s cognitive load.

It's worth a read. And who knows, perhaps someone, someday, will develop a cockpit system that detects if you are sipping something and tells you what you need to hear: "Dammit Jack, put that cup down. It's not worth endangering other people's lives for the sake of a f***ing latté."

Building a hands-free future

The end of my street is governed by a three-way stop. The other morning I was backing out of my driveway when someone rolled past the stop sign and came within inches of hitting me. I stopped, glared at him, and resumed driving. Two stop signs later, the same guy squeezed past my car (in the same lane), completely oblivious to what he was doing.

Why was he driving like this? Probably because he was deeply engrossed in a conversation on his cell phone.

Where I live, using a handset while driving has been illegal for over a year. You cannot talk, you cannot text, you cannot “Facebook”, you cannot Tweet — even if you're stopped at a red light. This makes perfect sense to me. As a driver, your primary responsibility is to control the vehicle. And yet I see people texting on the freeway, talking on their cell phones, and doing who knows what else on an alarmingly regular basis.

The QNX-powered BMW
ConnectedDrive system

Society has become obsessed with mobile devices, and it will take more than legislation to change its behavior. The answer, I think, is to embrace the behavior in a way that makes it possible to interact socially while maintaining control of the car. We’ve seen great progress in hands-free/phone integration, and BMW ConnectedDrive offers an example of how drivers can access email and other smartphone services more safely.

This is the tip of the iceberg. Integrating the handset with the infotainment unit is going to change the way you interact with your car. Intelligently designed apps, combined with multi-modal human machine interfaces, will let you Tweet or update Facebook using speech recognition, keeping your eyes on the road.

Without taking your hands of the wheel, you’ll be able to call a friend and decide that you want to go to dinner, do a local search to find out what’s available, check a restaurant review on Yelp, make a reservation, text your friend back with the time and place, and aim your navigation system at the restaurant. And you’ll be able to do it using natural language. None of this “please say a name” stuff.

Seems futuristic? It’s not. People are working on it today. In fact, QNX-based systems, such as Toyota Entune, already offer a taste of this hands-free and highly personalized future.
 

Speech interfaces: UI revolution or intelligent evolution?

Speech interfaces have received a lot of attention recently, especially with the marketing blitz for Siri, the new speech interface for the iPhone.

After watching some of the TV commercials you might conclude that you can simply talk to your phone as if it were your friend, and it will figure out what you want. For example, in one scenario the actor asks the phone, “Do I need a raincoat?”, and the phone responds with weather information.

A colleague commented that if he wanted weather information he would just ask for it. As in “What is the weather going to be like in Seattle?” or “Is it going to rain in Seattle?”.

Without more conversational context, if a friend were to ask me, “Do I need a raincoat?”, I would probably respond, “I don’t know, do you?” — jokingly, of course.

Evo or revo?

Are we ready to converse
with our phones and cars?

Kidding aside, systems like Siri raise an important question: Are we about to see a paradigm shift in user interfaces?

Possibly. But I think it will be more of a UI evolution than a UI revolution. In other words, speech interfaces will play a bigger role in UI designs, but that doesn't mean you're about to start talking to your phone — or any other device — as if it’s your best friend.

Currently, speech interfaces are underutilized. The reasons for this aren't yet clear, though they seem to encompass both technical and user issues. Traditionally, speech recognition accuracy rates have been less than perfect. Poor user interface design (for instance, reprompting strategies) has contributed to the overall problem and to increased user frustration.

Also, people simply aren't used to speech interfaces. For example, many phones support voice-dialing, yet most people don't use this feature. And user interface designers seem reluctant to leverage speech interfaces, possibly because of the additional cost and complexity, lack of awareness, or some other reason.


"Relying heavily on speech can lead
to a suboptimal user experience..."
As a further complication, relying heavily on speech as an interface can lead to a suboptimal user experience. Speech interfaces pose some real challenges, including recognition accuracy rates, natural language understanding, error recovery dialogs, UI design, and testing. They aren't the flawless wonders that some marketers would lead you to believe.

Still, I believe there is a happy medium for leveraging speech interfaces as part of a multi-modal interface — one that uses speech as an interface where it makes sense. Some tasks are better suited for a speech interface, while others are not. For example, speech provides an ideal way to provide input to an application when you can capitalize on information stored in the user’s head. But it’s much less successful when dealing with large lists of unfamiliar items.

Talkin' to your ride
Other factors, besides Apple, are driving the growing role of speech interfaces — particularly in automotive. Speech interfaces can, for example, help address the issue of driver distraction. They allow drivers to keep their “eyes on the road and hands on the wheel,” to quote an oft-used phrase.

So, will we see a paradigm shift towards speech interfaces? It's unlikely. I'm hoping, though, that we'll see a UI evolution that makes better use of them.

Think of it more as a paradigm nudge than a paradigm shift.

---

Recommended reading

Situation Awareness: a Holistic Approach to the Driver Distraction Problem
Wideband Speech Communications for Automotive: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

 

BBDevCon — Apps on BlackBerry couldn't be better

Unfortunately I joined the BBDevCon live broadcast a little too late to capture some of the absolutely amazing TAT Cascades video. RIM announced that TAT will be fully supported as a new HMI framework on BBX (yes, the new name of QNX OS for PlayBook and phones has been officially announced now). The video was mesmerizing — a picture album with slightly folded pictures falling down in an array, shaded and lit, with tags flying in from the side. It looked absolutely amazing, and it was created with simple code that configured the TAT framework "list" class with some standard properties. And there was another very cool TAT demo that showed an email filter with an active touch mesh, letting you filter your email in a very visual way. Super cool looking.

HTML5 support is huge, too — RIM has had WebWorks and Torch for a while, but their importance continues to grow. HTML5 apps provide the way to unify older BB devices and any of the new BBX-based PlayBooks and phones. That's a beautiful tie-in to automotive, where we're building our next generation QNX CAR software using HTML5. The same apps running on desktops, phones, tablets, and cars? And on every mobile device, not just one flavor like iOS or Android? Sounds like the winning technology to me.

Finally, they talked about the success of App World. There were some really nice facts to constrast with the negative press RIM has received on "apps". First some interesting comparisons: 1% of Apple developers made more than $1000, but 13% of BlackBerry developers made more than $100,000. Whoa. And that App World generates the 2nd most amount of money — more than Android. Also very interesting!

I can't do better than the presenters, so I'll finish up with some pics for the rest of the stats...