Cars and computers are intertwined: Volkswagen at CES

"The two inventions of the century, the car and the computer, are gradually converging. We need to design future mobility to be even more intelligent and networked," noted Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, CEO of Volkswagen AG while speaking at the International Consumer Electronics Show being held in Las Vegas, Nevada (US).

 Winterkorn pointed out that the automotive industry found itself in the midst of a historical turning point at the beginning of the 21st century. “The car and the computer were merging. Volkswagen, Europe's most successful car brand, has been instrumental in driving this development. That is because the car – which operates intuitively, is networked systematically, reacts intelligently and offers significantly greater convenience – gives new innovative impetus to mobile life, making it more communicative, safer and fascinating,” he said.

Volkswagen is demonstrating – with an entire fleet of vehicles at the 2015 CES – just how much the car and computer are already becoming intertwined today and will continue to grow together in the future. The main focus is on four aspects--First, computer-driven drive systems, Second, app and smartphone integration, Third, intuitive vehicle operation and Fourth, autonomous and semi-autonomous driving.

First – computer-controlled drive systems

Electric mobility is coming into its own. Pure electric cars and plug-in hybrid vehicles are continually increasing their presence. The high production volume models have now arrived, and Volkswagen is setting the pace with best-sellers like the Golf. Driven exclusively by electric motors (as in the e-Golf), or by an alliance of a high-tech gasoline engine and electric motor (as in the Golf GTE plug-in hybrid). The e-Golf and Golf GTE are the protagonists of a new mobility. These cars would be inconceivable without on-board electronics with computers that control such functions as battery charging and, in the case of the hybrid models, switching between the different drive sources. At CES, Volkswagen is showing, among other things, how electric cars will be able to automatically dock to inductive charging stations and output signals that indicate the battery charge state using the vehicle's exterior lights. Everything computer-driven, of course.

Second – app and smartphone integration

 It has now been eight years, to the month, since Apple introduced its first generation iPhone in San Francisco. Competitors followed, and the rest is history. The fact is that smartphones have irreversibly changed the way people communicate and their everyday lives. It has long been normal practice to have phones automatically connected to a car's hands-free telephone system via Bluetooth and to have the smartphones stream their media libraries into car infotainment and sound systems. But now Volkswagen is taking a significant step forward. Last year, the second generation "modular infotainment platform" (MIB II) was introduced. Along with the new radio and radio-navigation systems, MirrorLink was also made available for the first time; it is used to integrate the apps and operating layout of numerous Android smartphones into cars (including Samsung, HTC, LG and Sony). Later this year, the MIB II will be making its debut in the USA. At the same time as MirrorLink is introduced, two other interfaces will also be launched under the App Connect label: CarPlay (Apple) and Auto Android (Google). This will result in app integration for the key operating systems. App Connect will significantly expand the range of today's Volkswagen online services. Just as it launches in the USA, CarPlay and Auto Android will also be launched by Volkswagen on the European market.