Fleet - In-car technology - Top Gear.

(From Financial Director)

Byline: Anthony Harrington.

Few would argue that staying alert behind the wheel is the most important aspect of driving a car, which is why the concept of turning vehicles into 'infotainment' portals is somewhat disturbing. However, the motor industry is working flat-out to find ways of solving the seemingly impossible dilemma of combining full internet connectivity and rich in-car entertainment with enhanced driver safety.

Despite the fact that you will find agreement everywhere that the main business of the driver is to drive, there is no stopping the industry's rush to embed broadband connectivity and rich media services into every car dashboard. The industry has realised that once wireless broadband is available inside the car, there is no limit to the range and quality of services that could be delivered to the car via the internet.

Location-based services will feed off global positioning satellite (GPS) systems that indicate the car's whereabouts to within a metre or so. They can keep drivers informed of anything from football scores to the location of pubs, restaurants and motorway stops coming up on their route. Traffic news can be personalised with precision and updates delivered in real-time, giving continuous information on the state of the road ahead. Entertainment services can deliver songs on request and in-car TV can display movies or sporting events on demand.

Whether all this is compatible with the driver keeping the car on the road remains to be seen. However, there are also a raft of specialised control systems being lab tested by manufacturers at the moment that will enhance driver safety. Based on proximity-sensing and the kind of 'fly by wire' systems used in modern aircraft and jet fighters, these systems can help deter collisions and take over control from drivers who are distracted by, say, Arsenal's latest goal flashing up on the in-car TV set.

While this last series of innovations might take some time to reach us in their entirety, infotainment systems that go beyond the car stereo and CD changer are already available. According to a report by market analyst Frost & Sullivan, the market for in-car infotainment systems is currently worth some EUR2.6bn and is being driven by a spectacular rate of innovation. By 2010, Frost & Sullivan estimate this market will be worth some EUR9.2bn. In the initial instance, ...