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Qualcomm, Red Bend Software and Quickplay have all signed on to work with the connected car industry at the AT&T Drive Studio in Atlanta, AT&T announced at the Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona, Spain, on Feb. 24.
AT&T introduced Drive Studio at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in January, calling it a “next-generation garage” where all parties involved in the connected car market can experiment and innovate. The 5,000-square-foot space includes garage bays, where developers can try out their software on vehicles, a speech lab for working on speech-based solutions, as well as conference facilities, a show room, collaborative areas and more.
Qualcomm plans to show off new Snapdragon Automotive Solutions for infotainment and telematics, and to integrate these solutions into AT&T’s Drive portfolio, which includes AT&T’s global SIM, bifurcated billing, voice recognition and its Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, AT&T said in a statement.
The carrier will also host in its cloud the Red Bend Software Management Center, a platform that enables car manufacturers to manage in-vehicle software and applications over the air. The platform, said AT&T, “significantly reduces the time and cost for automotive OEMs to manage the lifecycle of all in-vehicle software, from head units to map content and [engine control units].”
Finally, QuickPlay Media, said AT&T, will develop an in-vehicle video service that will deliver “Live Linear TV and streaming Video on Demand services to automotive manufacturers collaborating in the AT&T Drive Studio.”
The QuickPlay solution will include a configurable and customizable client application, support for adaptive streaming, content protection with DRM solutions, including Microsoft PlayReady user entitlements, dynamic advertising and more.
“This is an exciting ecosystem, and we are committed to leading the way to take the connected car to the next level for auto manufacturers and their drivers,” Glenn Lurie, president of AT&T Mobility’s Emerging Enterprises and Partnerships division, said in a statement.
Speeding Along Development
Other connected car news out of MWC included the Car Connectivity Consortium’s (CCC) Developer Fast Track, a program to help developers more quickly achieve MirrorLink certification for their car-centric apps.
MirrorLink is an OS- and OEM-agnostic industry-standard for car-to-smartphone connectivity.
The Fast Track program gives CCC developer partners fast and improved access to technical support; includes them in CCC marketing and communications programs; promotes their apps among CCC members; and potentially reduces the costs of in-lab testing.
At the show, the CCC displayed factory-fit MirrorLink solutions from Volkswagen, Honda and Toyota.
At the CES show in January, AT&T also introduced a connected car mobile platform, and announced a unique deal with Audi, allowing wireless subscribers for the first time to add their cars to their Mobile Share plans.
Offering drivers a 4G LTE connection, said Scott Keogh, president of Audi America, will “significantly enhance the infotainment experience.”