Infotainment system

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The articles infotainment system and car PC overlap thematically. Help me to better differentiate or merge the articles (→  instructions ) . To do this, take part in the relevant redundancy discussion . Please remove this module only after the redundancy has been completely processed and do not forget to include the relevant entry on the redundancy discussion page{{ Done | 1 = ~~~~}}to mark. Arado ( discussion ) 1:26, Jan. 15, 2015 (CET)


Infotainment system

In motor vehicles, especially passenger cars , an infotainment system refers to the combination of car radio , navigation system , hands-free system , driver assistance systems and other functions in a central operating unit. The term infotainment is a briefcase word from information and entertainment (entertainment).

The delimitation to the on-board computer is blurred. While the on-board computer is usually integrated in the instrument cluster and primarily displays trip data, the larger screen of the infotainment system is located in the middle of the vehicle. This means that the system can also be operated by the front passenger.

Infotainment systems have been available for luxury and upper mid-range vehicles since around the year 2000 . They are now also finding their way into lower vehicle categories. As the systems are closely linked to the automotive electronics and interior fittings , the manufacturers offer them individually for their models and market them with their own names.

Components

Head unit

As in a PC, SDRAM modules and a CPU can be found on the main boards of the main unit (head unit) . There are also DSPs or an FPGA for audio processing, MP3 decoding and graphics calculation for 2D effects. A GPS receiver is often built in for navigation . The speedometer and other components are connected via the CAN bus , other audio components such as CD changers and amplifiers can be reached via the MOST bus or Ethernet. The operating system is usually one of the established providers in the industrial electronics sector (→ embedded system ) such as QNX or VxWorks . A platform-independent service framework ( OSGi , based on Java ) is also used more and more frequently in order to enable simple management and updating of the software across manufacturers and models.

Screen (display)

A flat screen ("display") in the center console replaces the displays for radio, air conditioning and navigation, among other things. Some head units also have a second screen in the instrument cluster and a head-up display for the driver. Some head units control additional screens in the backrests of the driver and front passenger, which are mostly used to entertain the rear passengers by displaying video sources ("Rear Seat Entertainment").

Controls

The system is operated in different ways. Usually there are multi-function buttons and knobs near the screen. In addition, depending on the system

Many manufacturers follow a uniform remote control concept. This means that the controls are arranged on the center console , separated from the screen . This separation makes it possible to arrange the screen in a convenient viewing area near the windshield and to position the operating elements in an easily accessible area. Since there is a wealth of possible equipment available in many luxury class cars, the driver is confronted with a growing number of buttons and switches. The use of a central display and operating unit means that these are no longer necessary; the functions are controlled via a single menu-based system.

Drives and interfaces

The system has various interfaces for the map data of the navigation system and firmware updates. Music data ( mp3 ) can also be read in via the interfaces . Examples of separate functional units:

Functions

Basic functions of almost all infotainment systems are

In addition, are now offered

literature

  • Karl-Heinz Dietsche, Thomas Jäger, Robert Bosch GmbH: Automotive pocket book . 25th edition, Friedr. Vieweg & Sohn Verlag, Wiesbaden 2003, ISBN 3-528-23876-3 .
  • Hans-Hermann Braess, Ulrich Seiffert: Vieweg manual automotive technology . 2nd edition, Friedrich Vieweg & Sohn Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Braunschweig / Wiesbaden 2001, ISBN 3-528-13114-4 .
  • Manuel Kühner: Haptic distinguishability of mechanical parameters in rotary control elements , dissertation, Technical University of Munich, 2014 ( library link project page , the work uses central rotary pushbutton controls as an application example)