Live Search for Devices (LS4D) was newly addded yesterday to Microsoft's Windows CE-based software stacks for automotive use,
Microsoft Auto 3.0 and
Windows Automotive 5.0. LS4D first made its debut last month as a key part of
Windows Embedded NavReady operating system, a Windows CE version for personal navigation device (PND) manufacturers. Whether installed in a car or a handheld device, LS4D will allow users to query Microsoft's
Live Search search engine over an Internet connection, then receive search results mapped on screen.
Previously, Microsoft Auto 3.0 and Windows Automotive 5.0 both focused on tasks requiring little or no wide area connectivity, such as playing music, providing hands-free access to a phone via Bluetooth, and integrating a GPS receiver into an overall infotainment system. Now, however, Microsoft apparently envisions stepped-up Internet connectivity, either via a driver's cell phone, or via a cellular connection embedded in the car.
Microsoft did not specify whether any of its existing customers for Microsoft Auto and Windows Automotive technologies have expressed an interest in adding LS4D to their systems, nor did it say how drivers would interact with the system. However, the technology will apparently operate via an in-car screen or via voice commands, depending on an individual automaker's implementation.
The company's Windows CE-based automotive technologies (further detailed below) do already include a version of Internet Explorer, which OEMs can employ and reskin if they wish. Microsoft also offers an
MSN Direct Send to GPS application programming interface (API) for web developers. The API allows any Web site to offer a link that would send addresses, business listings, or other locations directly from the site to a user's GPS unit, according to Microsoft.
Microsoft also announced yesterday that its Automotive Business Unit has a new general manager, Tom Phillips (pictured at right). Phillips will continue as head of Global Services within the company's Specialized Devices and Applications Group, and now replaces Martin Thall, who "guided ABU through the start-up period," says the company. Thall is apparently "taking on a new challenge" at Microsoft, but no further details were provided.
Microsoft's automotive softwareSince Microsoft first released
Windows CE for Automotive in 1998, it has treated its automotive software offering to a variety of different names. For example, in 2003 it was called
Windows Automotive (2003), and by 2006 it was known as
Windows Mobile for Automotive.
Unlike with many Microsoft products, however, naming is secondary, since the core technology is designed to be adapted by customers and offered under their own brands. For example, the Windows CE-based software made its debut in Europe and South America on Fiat vehicles, where it is known as
Blue&Me. More recently, it has been offered in the U.S. by Ford as
Sync, on passenger cars, and as
Ford Work Solutions on pickups and vans. Finally, Hyundai and Kia will offer
Windows CE-based technology on their 2010 vehicles, though their version has yet to be named.
Windows Automotive 5.0 (left) vs. Microsoft Auto 3.0 (right)
Source: Microsoft (Click to enlarge)To alleviate some confusion, Microsoft's web site currently offers a "platform guidance" datasheet, shown above. As this document attempts to explain, Microsoft Automotive 5.0 is based on a Windows CE 5.0 core. Apparently intended to be the more customizable platform, Microsoft Automotive 5.0 targets customers who want to design their own hardware. It includes the Automotive User Interface Toolkit (AUITK), touted as a "sophisticated graphical user interface framework design tool and compact runtime environment."
In contrast, Microsoft Auto 3.0 is based on a Windows CE 6.0 core, and comes with more pre-completed elements, such as integrated middleware and a hardware reference design. The environment includes a Bluetooth stack, support for media players such as Apple's iPod and Microsoft's Zune, and the ability for in-car devices to be updated via USB, according to Microsoft.
The Microsoft Auto 3.0 hardware reference platform is based on Freescale's
i.MX31 SoC (system-on-chip), first shipped in 2006. The i.MX31 integrates an ARM1136 processor core along with a Java accelerator, a vector floating point math coprocessor, and a video processing engine that supports full-motion (30 frames/sec) VGA video. It also contains a host of system functions and peripheral interfaces (see
block diagram).
Freescale says its automotive-grade versions of the i.MX31 have achieved the Automotive Electronics Council (AEC) Q-100 qualification. Among the parameters required to achieve this rating, operating temperature is said to range from -40 degrees to 85 degrees C.
The Microsoft Auto 3.0 reference platform also includes the following, according to Microsoft:
- 64MB DRAM, 256MB flash
- Bluetooth connectivity
- Vehicle bus interface
- Microphone for voice interaction with system
- Support for multiple audio zones
- USB 2.0 host connections
- JTAG, Ethernet, and serial debug interfaces
- DVI output
- Cell phone module compatiblity
- GPS receiver capable
Further informationFor more information on Microsoft's automotive technologies, see the Microsoft Automotive website,
here.
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