One of the leaders in in-car services and transportation analytics, Inrix, has released an open, white-label infotainment system that offers automakers the best solution to scale in-car content, which is seen as being critical for the widespread adoption of connected cars.
At an important time for automakers to control their digital dashboards, in-car experience and data, Inrix has announced partnerships with an additional 20 popular worldwide content providers to integrate their applications into the OpenCar platform. Newly formed agreements with Amazon Alexa, Audiobooks.com, Bookatable, Dash Radio, Dar.fm, Glympse, Napster, Nest, NPR, ParkMe, Parkmobile, PayByPhone, Philips Hue, Rivet Radio, Slacker Radio, Stitcher, Wcities, and Yelp, will allow Inrix to deliver auto-grade versions of these applications on the OpenCar platform. The company recently announced that Alexa will be the voice interface to a host of OpenCar services, including Amazon Music, Audible audiobooks, and Inrix’s own Driver Services, such as traffic, parking, incidents, and road weather conditions.
Inrix is at the forefront of a new approach that makes use of big data and the cloud to help manage urban mobility. By aggregating a variety of sources and applying intelligence, the company delivers comprehensive data and systems to help move people, cities and businesses forward. The company’s partners are automakers, governments, highways agencies, mobile operators, developers, advertisers, as well as enterprises large and small. With this latest wave of content integration, Inrix OpenCar is positioned to revolutionize the digital dashboard by empowering automakers to control the connected car experience.
Created to improve ease-of-use and safety of in-car apps, OpenCar is an open, white-label digital dashboard platform that is optimized for the driving experience. Automakers now have a scalable and customizable solution with brand-, model- and region-specific interfaces. The platform’s ability to scale application development is key to achieving the brand-consistent in-car experience the automotive industry needs, while delivering the content and services drivers want. The Inrix OpenCar ecosystem currently includes more than 2,250 registered developers representing hundreds of companies, offering a wide range of services, including streaming entertainment, real-time information, city guides, dynamic parking and mapping services, reservations, in-vehicle payment, and live road and traffic condition data.
“We are transforming the connected car by bringing in more content and enabling drivers to do more with it, while creating a user interface optimized for driving. Automakers finally have a platform that is scalable, customizable and most importantly, exceeds consumers’ expectations for in-car infotainment,” said Joe Berry, vice president of OpenCar at Inrix. “The rapid expansion of the OpenCar application ecosystem to include a variety of popular, easy-to-use apps is a huge win for automakers, our content partners, and drivers everywhere.”
Chad Richard, senior vice president of business and corporate development at Yelp, commented, “These days, drivers expect more from their cars. OpenCar mashes up our local smarts with driver services, such as real-time traffic and parking, to help drivers get to great local businesses in the best way possible.”
