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German car manufacturer Volkswagen (VW) has announced a new partnership with Inrix, a move that offers a glimpse at the type of data drivers will have at their fingertips over the coming years.

Inrix, a big data company that specialises in traffic information, analytics and driver services for connected cars and smart cities worldwide, will be offering VW access to its Inrix Park and Inrix Fuel services.

VW intends to use the Inrix products in its new European Passat models...

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Manufacturer of microcontrollers and touch solutions, Atmel, has unveiled a raft of technology concepts that it hopes will disrupt the connected car ecosystem.

Atmel has been working on a product it is calling AvantCar, an automotive centre console with curved touch screens. The concept makes use of the company’s sensor and processing solutions, Sense, maXTouch and QTouch along with its 8-bit AVR MCU technologies.

Focusing on car access, Atmel has shone some light on passive entry...

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As car manufacturers invest large sums of cash in technology that will connect drivers of new models to the internet, Canadian company Mojio has set out to fill the used car void.

Boasting an open platform, Mojio says its hardware will connect any car to the internet of things through premium mobile phone networks. The company has signed agreements with AT&T in the US and TELUS in Canada.

The open platform that Mojio offers already has a number of apps in its store, with support from...

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Global automotive supplier Visteon has lifted the lid on its own interpretation of where the connected car industry is headed over the next few years.

With eyes as far ahead as 2018, Visteon has announced details of its Fusion connected platform that it says will launch in four years time. The infotainment platform bundles together driver information, infotainment and Cloud connectivity into a human machine interaction (HMI) experience.

Visteon’s Tim Yerdon, global leader,...

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Mobile coverage in the UK is far from seamless, especially when users travel across the country, but Westminster has announced plans to combat these so-called ‘not-spots’.

The UK government revealed that poor mobile coverage causes regular frustration to approximately one fifth of the UK. You can forget data connectivity, this inadequate reception leaves users without the ability to perform basic tasks such as sending texts and making calls.

One of the suggested remedies is...

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Co-inventor of near field communications (NFC) NXP has announced plans for the automotive industry with a whole batch of new products for the space.

NFC has barely reached critical mass in the consumer mobile market, yet NXP has decided that now is the perfect time to unleash new NFC tags, transceivers and a high-end NFC controller on the car industry.

However, Kurt Sievers, executive vice president and general manager of automotive business at NXP Semiconductors argues that there is...