Harman Bows V2X Platform, Audio Upgrade Feature for Automotive OEMs

Harman executives previewed new car audio technologies and an edge compute software platform for the automotive market at Thursday's hybrid Explore event from its Novi, Michigan, facility. The company’s Savari Mecwave platform, acquired with the purchase of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications company Savari last month, is the industry’s first multi-access edge computer (MEC) platform that enables carmakers and mobile network operators to deliver ultra-low latency applications and services on an edge computing infrastructure, it said.

Mecwave accelerates deployment of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, including safety-critical applications like hazard alerts, plus high-throughput connectivity experiences such as interactive infotainment and video streaming, Harman said. Mecwave also extends V2X capabilities to non-V2X capable vehicles and devices such as bikes and scooters, and mobile and wearable devices, it said.

Harman Automotive President Christian Sobottka cited the potential role of V2X in improving passenger car safety in the European New Car Assessment Programme, saying, “We believe that we are at the tipping point where this is now taking off.” He highlighted Euro NCAP’s road map for “Vision Zero,” which says V2X communication offers “great potential, but agreement is first needed on the technology employed.” The Savari product uses a combination of peer-to-peer and cellular communications, Sobottka said.

Harman is adding to its position in the car audio space with AR technologies that require “a completely different pace of working” from the traditional automotive development cycle, Sobottka said. Consumers in the connected world expect their experience in the car to be similar to their digital lives outside the vehicle, he said, saying the in-cabin experience will be a differentiator for carmakers. Today’s car should be a “smarter smartphone,” he said.

Consumers expect “hyper-personalization” in entertainment and incremental improvements made possible by software upgrades, Sobottka said. Harman is addressing that with Software Enabled Branded Audio, an on-demand software platform that allows carmakers and dealers to offer upgrades to sound quality and feature sets in existing unbranded car audio systems.

Harman’s Software Enabled Branded Audio feature enables a car customer who may have to choose at purchase between getting a backup battery for an EV and a high-quality audio system to upgrade to a better audio system later via a button press on the car’s entertainment display. In a demonstration, a customer upgraded to a Harman Infinity-brand sound system from the base audio unit that came with the vehicle. Just 15% of cars have premium audio installed on purchase, but 65% of all users “would like to have one,” Sobottka said.

The upgrade feature can be monetized in different ways, Sobottka said. It can be enabled post-purchase or activated in the vehicle production process. Carmakers will choose how they want to monetize the feature, via a one-time, upfront payment or a monthly subscription service, he said. He compared the model to streaming services consumers pay for today. The feature launches in Q4.

Harman also announced Ready Together, which allows families on the road to listen to shared or individual entertainment. Sound zone technology makes it possible for each occupant to listen to their own media; each driver and passenger can have dedicated profiles and presets for independent entertainment. A communications feature allows the driver to override the listening zones to speak to passengers or give important information by pressing a button, causing the audio volume to go down. The feature is ready for launch this year, Sobottka said.

The Samsung subsidiary will also introduce an updated Personal Audio Headrest as part of Ready Together. The modular design allows OEMs in-cabin integration with their preferred seating system, said the company. Passengers can choose two-channel stereo or full surround sound to suit their preferences, Harman said.

Responding to a question on the direction of advanced driver-assistance systems, Sobottka noted safety and automation outside and inside the vehicle. He cited drowsiness detection and detection of the driver’s mental state, for safety. The same camera logic and machine learning technologies can also be used for new use cases such as health and wellness detection, he said.

On the relationship between car technology suppliers and automotive OEMs, Sobottka said it's changing during the industry’s “challenging transformation.” He sees longer term relationships that require a deeper level of trust and cooperation, he said.

On the biggest challenges over the past two years -- COVID-19 and semiconductor shortages -- Sobottka said both were “trigger points for change.” The company has “hundreds” of people managing the chip situation daily to mitigate the impact and keep customers running, he said. Despite ongoing challenges, the executive said the pandemic was an impetus for evolving the company’s organization and collaboration models in a more productive way.