Volvo Cars is set to release
an updated version of its ground-breaking Volvo On Call smart app, delivering
seamless connectivity with wearables such as the Apple Watch and Android Wear.
This will effectively allow Volvo drivers with the Volvo On Call app to control
settings, lock/unlock, locate and utilise many other Volvo services from their
wrist, stated a press release issued by the company
“Volvo On Call is an app that
allows you to literally take control over everyday elements in your Volvo. You
can set heater timings for those cold and frosty mornings or cool down your car
in hot weather, check your fuel level and mileage, or time to next service. It
even helps you to locate your car in a crowded parking garage,” explains David
Holecek, Director Connected Products and Services at Volvo Cars.
Volvo On Call’s new
functionality includes wearable connectivity for devices such as the Apple
Watch, a full iPad user interface, Android Wear and a unified Windows Phone app
with voice control through Cortana, an intelligent assistant system, amongst
others. The update, which will also see the addition of enhanced ‘send-to-car’
capabilities for navigation purposes, is due to be released end of June.
Apart from adding new
functionality, the Volvo On Call app has received a brand new design based on
Volvo Cars’ celebrated Sensus driver interface in the new Volvo XC90.
Launched in 2001, Volvo On
Call became one of the first car-based telematics systems in the world,
providing both safety, security and tracking services in the car in case of
accident, breakdown or theft using a car-installed SIM card. The system still
provides the original safety functions – activated when the car’s airbags are
deployed, or when the driver needs assistance, putting them in direct contact
with a Volvo On Call operator, who, using GPS technology, can direct emergency
services to the scene of the incident.
In recent years the application’s
importance and geographic spread has increased exponentially, to include
convenience features such as remote locking, fuel level indicators, find my car
and remote locking on top of the leading safety and security services that it
was originally launched to deliver.
“In only a few years we have moved from a
safety and security related in-car feature to a solution that allows the driver
to stay connected with their car and provides many new benefits to support
their everyday requirements,” concluded Sofia Wessman, Manager Volvo On Call at
Volvo Cars.
Source: Volvo
Cars