TURIN, Italy — May 20, 2013 — When the Fiat Nuova 500 rolled off the line in 1957, Fiat’s
goal was to introduce the automobile to Italians who much preferred
motoring around on their Vespa or Lambretta scooters. The Nuova 500
became one of Fiat’s most iconic models and helped parent company Fiat S.p.A.
get to where it is today — one of the leading manufacturers of mass
market, luxury and performance automobiles, with 4.2 million vehicles
rolling out of Fiat S.p.A factories in 2012. Yet the basic idea behind
the Nuova 500 is still inspiring technology innovation and business
growth today.
Fast forward to 2006 and the rollout of the Fiat 500.
This reincarnation of the original city car drew many design cues from
its predecessor, but it was larger, faster — and smarter. The Fiat 500
included Blue&Me, a state-of-the-art infotainment system jointly designed with Microsoft and powered by Windows Embedded Automotive.
Fiat 500L with Uconnect 5.0
May 20, 2013
Powered
by Windows Embedded Automotive, Uconnect 5.0 features a 5-inch
touchscreen and enables hands-free calling through Bluetooth-equipped
smartphones. The system can also “read” texts received on paired phones
equipped with both Bluetooth and Message Access Profile. Drivers can
also reply to text messages by selecting from a list of 18 predefined
responses — all by using voice recognition.
Affordable, flexible infotainment
A lot has changed since Blue&Me was first released: smartphones
have become an almost-natural extension of their owners, and the Fiat
Group has expanded its global presence, perhaps most notably through its
majority ownership of the Chrysler Motor Company.
Fiat wanted a new version of Blue&Me that reflected both of these
changes. It wanted an infotainment system that was affordable, flexible
and would work equally well across more than 15 car models under the
Fiat, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Dodge and Chrysler brands, as well as on the
company’s line of commercial vehicles. And the company wanted it ready
for the 2012 rollout of the Fiat 500L, which left a mere 18 months to complete the project.
To keep it affordable, Fiat needed a platform that was powered by a
smaller processor and required reduced storage space. For flexibility,
it wanted a solution that supported multiple device types, that enabled
the use of applications such as eco:Drive,
that supported the use of touch and hands-free capabilities through the
use of voice recognition, and that could be updated to support new
devices and applications.
Candido Peterlini, director of Product Planning Infotainment for Fiat,
says the company’s plans were based on an intimate understanding of
customer needs.
“The loyalty of Fiat’s customer base has given us strong insight into
the needs of the driver, and that’s where everything starts,” Peterlini
says. “From there, we make decisions about things like picking the right
user interface and offering it at an appealing price point. It all
comes down to delivering the technology that makes the most sense to the
drivers and helps them get the most use out of their car.”
A fine-tuned experience in no time flat
Fiat chose Continental Automotive Group
because of its expertise developing in-car technology solutions and
experience working with Microsoft and Windows Embedded, both of which
were critical in completing the new system on time. Using the Windows
Embedded Automotive development tools helped Continental to streamline
development time, and its close relationship with Microsoft allowed
Continental to expedite any requests for technical assistance.
Collectively, this helped Continental deliver a system that struck the
balance between affordability and capability.
The system meets all of Fiat’s requirements and bears the name Uconnect,
the same given to the infotainment system in Chrysler and Dodge.
Uconnect 5.0, the infotainment system in the Fiat 500L, features a
5-inch, high-resolution LCD touchscreen, radio with analog/digital
tuners, support for multiple devices and media players, integration with
Fiat’s eco:Drive app, and the ability to install new applications and
services. And it will soon be available with support for Tomtom
navigation.
Fiat has made Uconnect 5.0 part of the standard equipment package on
the 500L, and the company’s own research suggests that it could see as
much as a 40 percent increase in market penetration by making it
standard across the entire model line. Such a move wouldn’t be possible
without a lower-cost solution such as Windows Embedded Automotive.
And with Windows Embedded, car owners benefit from a solution that
transforms their vehicle into an intelligent system: not only does it
integrate their digital lives, but it also improves the safety and
energy efficiency of how they drive by giving them access to apps,
information and services.
Peterlini calls Uconnect a good balance between technology and
implementation: “We needed a high-quality, upgradable solution, but
didn’t want a huge processor that would drive up costs. With Windows
Embedded, we found the sweet spot.”
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