The smartphone revolution has changed the way we do just about everything. Apple and Android have even impacted the automotive industry, allowing drivers to control a number of different vehicle functions from their mobile device.
Acura is taking this principle a step further. While it’s cool enough to be able to control your infotainment system, there are plenty of other opportunities for using the kinds of technology that connect you with your vehicle.
Acura’s new Precision Cockpit, which was unveiled in November 2015 at the LA Auto Show, is the next evolution in the in-car infotainment system. The Precision Cockpit, built on Android and AI technologies, shows you just how future vehicles from Acura Motors will look on the inside, as well as how we’ll learn to interact with them.
A choreographed in-car experience
Those are the words Acura is using to describe the Precision Cockpit. That in-car experience relies on technology to do some truly amazing things while moving down the road.
The Precision Cockpit system starts with two massive 12.3-inch displays. The first sits directly in the driver’s line of sight, where dials are traditionally placed. The other goes right about the central stack. That display in the driver’s line of sigh has all of the traditional dials you’d expect (in virtual form, of course) but it has much more to see, as well.
A 3D view of the road around you
The system’s built-in 3D engine renders images of nearby cars, pedestrians, cyclists and other obstacles. It even checks those obscured spots (such as your blind spot) and puts those objects in your line of sight in real time.
There is a distinct advantage to this system over trying to look out a side or rear window. The system’s artificial intelligence and onboard sensors work together to give you the projected patch of other objects in the road. Rather than just showing you a cyclist up ahead, they can show you that the cyclist seems to be moving in a direction such that they will possibly intersect with your vehicle’s path.
The central stack
The Precision Cockpit’s central display houses your traditional collection of infotainment options that you’ll find today in other high-end vehicles. However, more than just being an infotainment hub, Acura is changing the way you interact with it.
In current infotainment displays, you can expect a remote control or a manual dial, or perhaps a menu-based touchpad. Instead, Acura presents a curved touchpad. This design gives your fingers a center position without having to look. Acura calls this “absolute positioning,” and it makes interfacing with your infotainment options much more intuitive.
More exciting things to come
Of course, innovative use of technology isn’t uncommon for Acura. Consider the fact that Acura currently has its suite of safety systems, AcuraWatch, installed in more than 70,000 cars on the road. It’s no stretch of the imagination to see the Precision Cockpit using its artificial intelligence to interact with AcuraWatch, adding an entirely new layer of possibility.
There are even hints that a variety of features will become autonomous or even semi-autonomous. For now, we’re left to wonder and speculate. Acura isn’t releasing the Precision Cockpit in the 2018 model year, and has stated that the delivery date will begin “within the next few years.” Until then, we’ll just have to wonder, and dream about the amazing things to come. Use car buying sites to sell your car so you can get a new Acura instead.
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