LG Electronics and Volkswagen AG have agreed to cooperate on the research and development of a next-generation connected car platform.
The two companies will work together to develop Volkswagen’s Cross-Over-Platform to enhance vehicle connectivity, and providing tighter integration with smart home and location-based services.
This is the latest partnership announced over the past few months, as automotive and technology giants join forces to help deliver the next generation of connected cars. Toyota and Microsoft announced their collaboration intentions, and more recently, BMW has teamed up with Intel and Mobileye to develop autonomous car technology over the next five years.
The aims of the LG and Volkswagen partnership are to give drivers the ability to control and monitor smart home devices from their vehicles, provide a context-aware notification system that allows drivers to respond to real-time situations on the road, and create a rich information and entertainment experience for car occupants.
This latest agreement is an extension of a long-standing relationship between LG and Volkswagen. LG has been working with Volkswagen since 2007, supplying audio-visual products for its vehicles.
Volkswagen’s subsidiary Italdesign Guigiaro unveiled its GEA concept car at last year’s Geneva Motor Show, which was equipped with advanced LG technology, such as a holographic display, connected smart watch, rear lamp and camera.
The two companies also demonstrated an advanced smart home service at the US Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this year that could be controlled from a vehicle.
Richard Choi, the head of LG’s Cloud Center division, said: “LG Electronics and Volkswagen are teaming up to develop the next generation of connected car platform that allows wide integration with smart home services and adoption of open IoT connectivity technologies.”
“We think LG’s expertise in smart technology together with Volkswagen’s leadership in the automotive space will revolutionise the way drivers interact with their vehicles.”
