According to the automotive market research firm iSuppli Corp., the adoption of fourth-generation design architectures starting this year is shifting the supply and consumption paradigm in the automotive infotainment business, with consumers having a greater influence than ever before on car electronics.

Fourth-generation design represents the first industry wide platform with no limit to the features and functions that can be added by the consumer after the purchase of a vehicle. It is also the first automotive architecture implemented in vehicles that does not have a pre-defined set of features on the production line. Consequently, the role and responsibility of the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and the consumer has changed dramatically.

“For the first time, automotive manufacturers have admitted that they cannot keep up with the demands of consumer devices,” said Egil Juliussen PhD, Principal Analyst & Fellow (Automotive Research) at iSuppli. “As a result, automotive infotainment has shifted from in-vehicle features to off-board services. Such a move, occurring mostly at the software and operating system level, will open up a number of new frontiers on what can be included in a vehicle with regard to content and wireless-and-receiver choices. This means that not only will consumers have the ability to add functions to vehicles through a variety of measures, but also a vast array of new opportunities will also open up for new and current players across the automotive electronics value chain.”

Leading car electronics suppliers in peril
In the first three generations of automotive infotainment architectures, top-tier car electronics suppliers found it difficult to differentiate themselves given the limited range of features that was available. However, in the fourth-generation architecture, designers in the automotive value chain may be substantially or entirely replaced if they do not meet a number of basic challenges.

Tier 1 suppliers need to meet three key criteria when developing systems for vehicles. First, they must support visual display and feedback to ensure that drivers and passengers have clear access to displayed data. Second, there should be audio input/output flexibility to give drivers and passengers good audible feedback and voice control of their music, phone and navigation systems. Finally, the interface design must ensure that drivers and passengers are provided with intuitive interfaces for the control of all visual and audio input/output systems.

One feature becoming increasingly important in automotive infotainment is voice control. With drivers looking for better command and control of the vast libraries of available music, phone contacts, maps, directions and more, voice is now the most efficient method for reducing driver distraction, and has become a top priority in fourth-generation design.

It’s cheaper
The good news for infotainment manufacturers is that fourth-generation architecture is software based, stimulating a reduction in the cost base for infotainment and savings in design, development, deployment and after-sales support. However with the same measure, it also makes it difficult for vehicle manufacturers to attain differentiation from the competition. With consumers more in control of what they want and how they get it, a battle on the horizon to achieve profitability in infotainment is quite feasible.

Enter the MyFord system
Ford, once again, is pioneering the way in automotive infotainment. The company is set to release its MyFord touch system, which will be built on a reference design — the preferred design philosophy used for manufacturing handsets, Portable Navigation Devices (PNDs) and notebooks.

The MyFord architecture puts Ford in a very strong position, considering that the company has a clear vision on what external, consumer device control signifies. Ford’s philosophy is not to bring the iPod, iPhone or BlackBerry into the vehicle’s system. Instead, it seeks to create a client/server environment in which the client is the car and the server is the external/portable device — an element that could take the form of a mobile handset, media player or tablet PC. This is this same design philosophy that began in the handset space with the launch of Apple’s Apps Store in 2008, and more recently, of Nokia Corp.’s Ovi and Google Corp.’s Android environment.

MyFord also allows the driver or passenger to send commands to any consumer device using voice, steering-wheel controls or the touch screen. These commands include next track, play, pause, search or phone contacts.

With MyFord, Ford once more has become the clear leader in the infotainment space, much like when it first introduced the Sync. iSuppli’s market intelligence believes other automotive manufacturers will scramble to catch up to Ford in order to secure their spot in the infotainment value chain.

To know more about the developments in the fourth generation architecture, read iSuppli’s new topical automotive market research report, entitled – ‘Next Generation Infotainment Design—The Birth of the Open Architecture.