Arm is increasing its concentration on the automotive market and hopes to be a major player in this space within the next two years. “Automotive is an area that is evolving,” said Richard York, director of product marketing for Arm’s processor division, at the recent Embedded World exhibition in Nuremberg. “We are getting huge success in this market. In the next year or two, we will look like a sizeable automotive player.” More >>

To deal with driver distraction, the automotive industry is turning to a multi-modal human machine interface (HMI) approach, wherein all the interfaces play an equal role. The main aim is to prioritise information and reduce driver workload. According to analysis from Frost & Sullivan, 16 million cars will be equipped with basic voice interface, 6.9 million with advanced voice interface and 1.2 million with multi-functional knobs in Europe by 2017. More >>

Future World Symposium has announced the line up of its first panel debate, the connected car: who owns the data?, which will identify the challenges and technology drivers for the car industry as it seeks to create safer, more efficient, truly connected vehicles. The debate, to be held at Wembley Stadium in London on 25th April, will examine the roadmap to the next generation of vehicles, which will be connected, more efficient and safer, highlighting emerging trends, identifying the vital underlying technologies and asking who owns the data. More >>

Not one car manufacturer in Europe lost any production due to missing components from Renesas following its problems caused by last year’s earthquakes in Japan. That is the claim from Rob Green, chief executive officer for the company’s European operations. More >>

This year’s Advanced Automotive Electronics conference has issued its first call for papers. The fifth event in the series is due to be held at the Barceló Hotel in Daventry on the 4th October 2012. More than 175 delegates attended the last conference including representatives from vehicle manufacturers, tiers one and two component suppliers, academia and consultancy groups. More >>

Europe is a long way from having the sort of infrastructure needed to support the widespread uptake of electric vehicles (EVs), according to a report by IMS Research. It says European countries face “a myriad of hurdles” but the research forecasts that there will be an installed base of 12.5 million public and private charging stations across Europe by 2019, with 23% in Germany and 17% in the UK. More >>

Automotive Ethernet via Most is making its way into the car and onto the roads, according to the standardisation organisation. "With the current Most 150 rollout, the Most Cooperation is adding the transmission of Ethernet protocol data to the established Most infotainment transport of audio and video within the car," said Christian Thiel, Most Cooperation administrator. More >>

Intel has announced a US$100m investment fund to help accelerate innovation and the adoption of new technology and services in the automotive industry. Intel Capital claims to be the first global technology investment organisation headquartered in Silicon Valley to announce a dedicated focus on automotive technology innovation. More >>

At the Geneva Motor Show, Delphi Automotive and Franco Sbarro demonstrated next-generation infotainment systems, including robust internet connectivity direct to a passenger’s IPad while on the move. The F1for3 show car showcases a range of products including smart user interface, world-standard mobile TV tuner and a slim line roof module with integrated reception system. More >>