Harman today unveiled its latest lineup of automotive products that will equip OEMs with the ability to quickly and efficiently introduce the new in-cabin features and content that consumers desire, and ultimately empower drivers and passengers with enhanced safety and entertainment experiences that will be in-market as soon as this year.
New entries in the line-up of award-winning Harman Ready products deliver the right information at the right time in the right place and enable fast, seamless hardware and software upgrades that prepare vehicles for today and tomorrow. In addition, Harman is also introducing SeatSonic, a new approach to in-car audio systems designed from the seat out that delivers exceptional audio performance while reducing system complexity and energy consumption. Each new product can work independently to deliver specific benefits or can be integrated for an even more enhanced experience. And, because they are from Harman, each product is designed to meet the rigorous demands and standards of the automotive environment — a value proposition that Harman calls ‘Consumer Experiences. Automotive Grade.’
“Harman Automotive products live at the intersection of consumer demand, technological advancements, and our uncompromising drive to transform the in-cabin experience in the most meaningful ways,” notes Armin Prommersberger, Senior Vice President of Automotive Product Management, Harman International. “Our focus on partnerships to access a broad spectrum of content and capabilities combined with delivering the right products at tech company speed enables OEMs to stay current with what their customers want — the newest experiences that make every drive safer and easier. As part of Samsung, one of the world’s most respected consumer electronics companies, we aspire to make the vehicle a seamless extension of consumers’ connected lifestyles, for as long as they choose to keep it on the road.”
At CES 2024 Harman is introducing more than a dozen new products that deliver rich, relevant consumer experiences across the entire vehicle ecosystem, including:
Ready Vision QVUE & AR HUD: Transforming the windshield with pillar-to-pillar projection to bridge the physical and digital worlds
Ready Vision seamlessly integrates the most important visual needs for consumers, creating a safer and more informed driving experience that helps keep the driver’s eyes and mind on the road. The new Ready Vision QVUE delivers an unprecedented experience with outstanding visual performance and unrivaled packaging. It provides the right information in the right place for minimized distraction and maximized engagement, bright illumination in all light conditions along with size and feature-set flexibility. Ready Vision QVUE concisely delivers the information most important to the driver — like mileage, speed, driving stats and alerts — on the lower portion of the windshield, allowing for easy readability without obstructing their view of the road, while also offering a large field of view for all vehicle occupants. This cost-effective HDR-capable reflective display powered by Samsung Neo QLED offers exceptional high-resolution display quality with vivid colors and brilliant optics. Through partnerships with leading third-party applications via the Harman Ignite Store, consumers can receive key information including low charge status alerts from ChargePoint and severe weather alerts via The Weather Channel in the QVUE display. For OEMs, QVUE offers modularity and scalability with different display sizes, from a single cluster replacement unit to full pillar-to-pillar coverage. The Ready Vision AR HUD is highly flexible, and provides superior performance combined with a unique and space-saving wedgeless design. The Ready Vision AR software is hardware and navigation agnostic, and adds 3-dimensional object detection with multi-sensor fusion for accurate positioning with low-latency. The Ready Vision augmented reality software incorporates artificial intelligence, combining depth perception with real-time visuals such as traffic, 3D navigation, and hazard alerts to increase the driver’s situational awareness. Additionally, through partnerships with ChargePoint and Mavi.io OnMyWayTM Commerce, the AR HUD provides turn-by-turn navigation to EV charging stations and order purchasing and pick-up from restaurants.
Ready Upgrade Base and Advanced: Product-grade domain controllers, software, accessories and tools to reduce time to market and cost by upgradability
Ready Upgrade can take OEMs to market in as quickly as 6 months with a product built for re-usability across vehicle lines and model years. To enable hardware and software upgrades throughout the lifecycle of the vehicle, keeping the in-cabin experience as modern as possible and elevating vehicle sustainability, Harman is now offering two new Ready Upgrade domain controllers with unmatched cost and time to market, future proof technology and consumer-electronics-like cycles with seamless upgradability. The new Pre-Certified IP69 Base Domain Controllers are aimed at utility and adventure vehicles, targeting a whole new set of customers. Built for rugged environments, Ready Upgrade Base offers a dynamic combined in-vehicle infotainment and cluster experience on a single display. This enables users to choose their viewing preference on the attached 8″ display. Multi-user communications, such as sharing songs and intercom conversations, are unlocked with dual Bluetooth connections between driver and passenger helmets. The new Advanced Domain Controllers are optimized for premium line vehicles and OEMs that want to power more displays and add safety features and connected services in the car. The Advanced Domain Controller leverages the new Samsung Exynos processors to deliver premium in-cabin experiences and introduces the ability to access new features and services on demand through the Harman Ignite Store and third-party apps. Additionally, for the Advanced Domain Controller, Harman is collaborating with TE Connectivity to enable easier upgradability between hardware generations, utilizing their NET-AX+ modular hybrid connector.
Ready Care Driver Activity Detection & Life Presence Detection: Safety and well-being through cognitive load detection and closed-loop interventions, using artificial intelligence and neuroscience
Ready Care is an industry-first in-cabin monitoring product that measures a driver’s visual and cognitive load in real-time to identify when distractions or potential drowsiness arise, and then offers tailored intervention strategies to enhance safety. The visual and mental cognitive-load-measurement uses neuroscience, artificial intelligence and machine learning to classify a driver’s behavior into a focused versus distracted state. Harman-designed sensors in Ready Care provide crucial information about the vehicle’s occupants and initiate personalized interventions for maintaining eyes, mind and safety on the road. Ready Care now offers Driver Activity Detection, identifying if a driver’s hands are on the steering wheel and detecting other activities, such as eating and smoking, in real-time to ensure the driver has control of the vehicle. An interior-mounted radar sensor provides Life and Child Presence Detection which distinguishes between adult and child occupants in the vehicle as well as occupant position — critical for proper deployment of safety features like seatbelts and airbags. Harman is working closely with Samsung to further develop vital- and stress-sensing technology, while also collaborating with Gentherm, the global leader in thermal management and pneumatic comfort technologies for the automotive industry, and Adient, a global leader in automotive seating, to sense driver drowsiness and vitals in driving scenarios and deliver personalized closed-loop in-cabin interventions to return drivers back to a more optimal state behind the wheel.
Ready Display: The only Automotive display solution powered by Samsung Neo QLED
With Ready Display, Harman continues to close the consumer experience gap between in-home and in-cabin. Ready Display provides OLED visual quality at an affordable cost, stunning visual performance powered by Samsung Neo QLED and elegant, slim packaging. Building on the successful introduction of the industry’s first automotive-grade cadmium-free Quantum Dot film and Mini LED backlight technology at CES 2023, this year we introduce new Ready Display product lines NQ3, NQ5, and NQ7 to deliver an aspirational viewing experience at accessible price points and performance levels. These range from HD to UHD displays, including the availability of curved displays, that meet consumer demands for larger in-cabin screens and OEM designers’ demand for seamless dashboard integration. The various sizes can be mixed and matched to provide a wide range of viewing areas that can span pillar-to-pillar. New software-enabled Active Privacy minimizes driver distraction by keeping the contents of the available passenger display screen for the passenger’s eyes only when needed. A new under-display driver monitoring camera system is discreetly integrated for an uninterrupted design. With new technology updates in 2024 like QSCAPE, which provides the capability to cohesively integrate Harman’s unique UX across multiple screens and sizes, using a single, expansive glass cover for an elegant pillar-to-pillar aesthetic, Ready Display meets the display expectations consumers are accustomed to in their homes and delivers them right into their vehicles.
Ready Connect: A portfolio of telematics control units designed to maximize upgradability, scalability and usability
Harman delivers a new era of 5G telematics control units (TCUs) with Ready Connect, the latest addition to its expanding portfolio of products. Ready Connect enables product upgradability, increases product scalability and transforms usability, improving in-vehicle connected mobility experiences focused on entertainment, productivity and enhanced situational awareness. It provides OEMs with a futureproof solution, via modular hardware upgradability from 4G to 5G with a highly scalable software architecture to maximize software reuse across product variants. Ready Connect comes with configurable features and built-in antennas developed in collaboration with Samsung to provide maximum connectivity performance and minimize cable and signal loss, saving additional cost and weight. In collaboration with Traffic Technology Services (TTS), the leading commercially available content aggregation prediction platform for connected safety and mobility solutions at intersections in United States and Europe, Ready Connect enables the display of real-time traffic information pertinent to a driver’s route, such as traffic light awareness, without having to rely on roadside or in-vehicle sensors.
SeatSonic: Scalable seat-based and passenger-centric audio system designed from the seat out
SeatSonic offers a new approach to traditional in-cabin audio system architecture, moving speakers from conventional locations like doors, trunks and trim panels into the seats and putting users at the center of a high-quality, personalized listening experience. SeatSonic’s user-centric approach delivers a personal sound subsystem for every passenger that is flexible, lightweight and energy-saving while freeing up space in critical spots for trim designers. The product is a combination of specifically designed near-field transducers integrated for both acoustic performance and safety in the headrest. Added to this is a proprietary bass unit in the lumbar section of the seat to provide a multi-modal experience that you both hear and feel. SeatSonic is available as a standalone product or can be combined with partner features and/or other Harman products to create a holistic offering, such as in SeatSonic Plus which includes WellSenseTM by Gentherm, and in SeatSonic Max which includes WellSenseTM by Gentherm, Harman Ready Care and a branded audio package. To bring SeatSonic to life, Harman is working with Adient, a global leader in automotive seating, to bring a vast array of these personalized experiences to the car.
Harman is showcasing its portfolio of new and expanded products together with its industry partners who share the commitment to bring the experienced consumers demand to the car, today.
Each of these products will be on display as Harman returns to the Las Vegas Convention Center (Central Hall, Booth #19629) during CES 2024. For more information, visit car.harman.com.
SOURCE: Harman
