Leveraging extensive consumer research and industry-leading innovation, the all-Swedish partnership has focused on developing a solution that supports current and future connected car needs by combining Volvo Cars’ driver behavior expertise and Ericsson’s consulting and systems integration know-how.
The solution is implemented and operated as a managed service of a global cloud-based solution with regional and central nodes. These nodes enable efficient provision and communication of services and information to the cars. All in all the “cloud” offers great flexibility to adjust capacity and local presence of content based end-user demands. Ericsson’s systems integration capabilities have been critical in solution design and integration into Volvo Car’s IS/IT environment and to the head-end unit in the car. The solution covers all Volvo Cars markets around the globe.
“This partnership is another proof-point that Volvo Cars is in the vanguard of innovation with a clear understanding of the importance of the car in an increasingly connected society,” said Lex Kerssemakers, Senior Vice President Product Strategy and Vehicle Line Management at Volvo Cars. “This is a strategic step forwards for us that provides our customers with cloud-enabled applications and services as never before, thanks to Ericsson’s world-class services platform.”
Per Borgklint, Senior Vice President and Head of Business Unit Support Solutions at Ericsson, says: “Our partnership with Volvo Cars clearly demonstrates the industry transformation that is ongoing in the Networked Society. Evolution of new services and experiences is being made possible by the seamless convergence of information and communication technologies, such as broadband, mobility, smartphones and the cloud.”
The Connected Vehicle Cloud is just the first step on a journey towards fully connected and integrated car and infrastructure services, and positions Volvo Cars as a major player in the connected car arena.
With the launch of Sensus Connect, Volvo Car Group (Volvo Cars) reveals an updated on-board infotainment and navigation solutions. Now, Volvo Cars truly offers customers a fully connected experience. The cloud-based services allow drivers to find and pay for parking from their car, discover new restaurants at their destination, stream their favorite music seamlessly and much more. Sensus Connect also offers the first ever solution utilizing built-in connectivity supported by Pandora Internet Radio.
“Technology should make your life easier. That’s why we listened carefully to our customers when creating Sensus Connect. It’s not about offering a thousand apps; it’s about giving you precisely what you need, before you even knew you needed it,” says David Holecek, Connectivity Brand Manager at Volvo Cars.
The brand new in-car experience includes a novel take on all aspects of travelling. Tens of thousands of radio stations can now be enjoyed in a car that is pre-heated or pre-cooled every time the customer wants to go for a drive, made possible by the remote start function on their mobile phone. A navigation system where the driver can not only set destinations through their mobile device and get exciting information about their surroundings through Wikipedia, but which also lets them find and pay for parking at their destination. Park&Pay is the world-first integrated solution for finding and paying for parking from within your car. The application is based on car2infrastructure communication and points the way of new possibilities when the car starts to “communicate” with its surroundings.
Volvo Cars is one of few car manufacturers that strategically invests and partners in cloud-based solutions. The Volvo solution offers a branded look and feel and the possibility to remotely update content over air and time.
“It’s all about giving everyone an enjoyable, easy to use and intuitive experience. There is no point in filling a car with technology if it comes off as overwhelming, so our main focus is always to give our customers the best experience available and make it easy to digest. Our cloud-based apps update seamlessly. Sensus offers the optimal combination of input/output methods and allows the driver to turn the entire car into a Wi-Fi hotspot for all of their connected devices,” David Holecek says.
By choosing partners who are the very best in their individual fields such as Ericsson, Pandora, HERE, Yelp, Glympse and parking service providers, Volvo were able to focus on what they do best, providing a safe, comfortable and highly enjoyable ride.
“We are particularly proud to announce at CES the inclusion of Pandora Internet Radio in our launch of Sensus Connect. Sensus Connect offers the first ever embedded solution supported by Pandora, the internet radio service with more than 76 million active monthly listeners,” says David Holecek.
Sensus Connect will allow Volvo drivers to stream Pandora via a data connection provided by the built-in modem or their smartphone. Control of Pandora features like station creation and thumbs feedback are now available via the head unit, making access to personalized radio in the car is as easy as FM radio.
“The driver can now seamlessly switch between their favorite music on high-end speakers and having their text messages read out loud without taking their hands off the wheel. And as from now, your car will not only tell you when it’s time to visit the garage but also will suggest an appointment for you at your Volvo dealership. Our brand new app Connected Service Booking is only the first step in making the dealer workshop fully integrated into the digital eco-system, enabling even more services in the future. Say goodbye to expensive or outdated maps, our Sensus Navigation includes lifetime map upgrades. There’s really no reason it should be more difficult than that,” David Holecek adds.
The updated Sensus Connect includes a great selection of cloud-based applications designed to simplify the entire car experience.
“Two of my favorite parts of the new Sensus Connect are Glympse, an app where you can share your position with others to see on their phones, perfect when carpooling or visiting a friend’s house for the first time and the fact that the entire car works as a Wi-Fi hotspot for all your connected devices, using an integrated roof-top antenna to ensure the best possible signal reception,” David Holecek concludes.
All in all, Sensus Connect is there to deliver what the driver needs, when they need it – to make Volvo Cars customers’ lives easier and more enjoyable without compromising safety or comfort
