Thursday, October 2, 2014

Honda Leverages NVIDIA Tegra Processors For In-Car Infotainment Center

NVIDIA's Tegra processor is a pretty great slice of silicon to find in a tablet. But finding it in a car? Yeah, that's a reality as well. The company announced today an expansion of its automotive ecosystem in partnership with Honda. Together, the two are launching Honda Connect, which is NVIDIA's first Asia-based partner to use its chips for in-car audio and information systems. To boot, Honda Connect is being hailed as the "world’s first infotainment system using embedded Android as the operating system running on Tegra."


NVIDIA knows a thing or two about putting Android in new places, and the car does indeed feel like a logical next-step. Honda Connect will boast a touch-based interaction system with "clear, crisp graphics" that will be easy to use while on the road. Driver and passenger alike are promised "fast response" times when using gestures, which ought to be a major improvement from the sluggish performance we've grown used to with in-car infotainment systems.

A 7-inch display will showcase a customizable home screen, and drivers will also be able to tap into the Honda App Center, where they'll be able to download and install their favorite apps for music, podcasts and information. Android 4.0.4 will be installed from the factory on all new 2015 Civic, Civic Tourer, and CR-V models. Something tells us this is just the tip of the iceberg, and that 2015 will be a pivotal year for automakers as they look to CarPlay and Android to truly spruce up what's on the center console display.

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