Having a car with ‘all the bells and whistles’ used to mean having power steering and AC. Now, auto add-ons have taken on a whole new life, as advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) have taken the auto industry by storm.
Markets like the Global Automotive Voice Recognition Market and Global Automotive Heads-Up Display Market are booming, with respective CAGRs of 10.59 and 44.13 percent from 2013-2018. These systems do everything, from allowing a driver to give their vehicle voice commands to displaying pertinent driving information on the windscreen, and they are seeing more and more adoption.
But as useful and as innovative as these systems are, there are still some major barriers impacting their mass acceptance among auto consumers and manufacturers.
ADAS: Safety Feature or Harbinger of Distracted Driving?
While a lot of ADAS systems are promoted as safety features, there is also concern that they may be culprits of distracted driving. The safety features of automotive voice recognition, for example, are not foolproof. The advanced user interface spurs manufacturers to add functions like texting and composing emails on the move using the speech-to-text feature. Such activities result in the driver spending a significant amount of time and focus on the activity, rather than on the road.
Reluctance to Adapt
Consumers tend to be understandably wary when it comes to trying out new technology in their vehicles. Though the use of voice recognition and heads up displays has grown in many industries and has been incorporated in most smartphones, increasing popularity of this system in cars remains a significant challenge.
Advanced Systems Don’t Come Cheap
The implementation of these systems in limited high-priced automobiles reduces the production volume of vendors and hence the market growth. Thus, OEMs and suppliers need to focus on reducing their product cost. For instance, the cost of heads-up display solutions can be reduced through increasing production efficiency and developing low-cost heads-up display devices.
Devices Limited to Premium and Sports Cars
Heads-up display and voice recognition systems are currently mostly limited to sports and premium cars. Even premium car manufacturers such as Audi, Mercedes, Daimler AG, and Volvo only use these systems in a limited range of vehicles.
Automobile Heads-Up Display Market by Vehicle
But as much as a new Bugatti outfitted with all the latest voice recognitions and heads up display technology is a great pipe dream, convenience and affordability are still the primary factors driving the automotive industry.
According to TechNavio research, the one common factor that will help the automotive industry over these speed bumps is trying to push for adoption of these systems in the mid-range and low-end car segment.
Telematics and infotainment systems are gradually getting more popular in low-end car segments, and demand for low-cost systems is growing. Affordable solutions such as Ford Sync, a hands-free communications and entertainment system, and Fiat Blue&Me, an infotelematic platform, are catering to this demand.
Additionally, innovative approaches to these technologies are aiming to make them more affordable and consumer friendly. For example, companies like Nippon Seiki Co. Ltd. and Johnson Controls Inc. are offering “combiner heads-up display”, which project information onto a fully integrated transparent screen in the driver’s field of vision.
These kind of approaches to heads-up display and automobile voice recognition systems is cost-effective and will help in introducing this technology into other segments in the Global Automobile Market.
