FCA announces fourth-generation Uconnect systems at 2016 Consumer Electronics Show

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. and its subsidiary FCA US LLC are heading to the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas with a display featuring the latest technology advancements in FCA vehicles and will provide a glimpse of the new fourth-generation Uconnect system featuring Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. 

“The Uconnect team is evolving Uconnect and making it even better,” said Joni Christensen, head of Uconnect Marketing, FCA US LLC. “With the launch of the fourth generation of Uconnect systems, we are continuing to minimize the everyday stresses of busy lifestyles by providing drivers with a variety of ways to stay conveniently connected to their vehicles, while making every drive exceptionally informative, entertaining and unique.”

FCA also will offer CES attendees an opportunity to be fully immersed in advanced technology with hands-on demonstrations of the 2016 Dodge Charger Pursuit with an all-new Uconnect 12.1 system and an FCA technology concept display that explores the future of intelligent transportation.

Fourth-generation Uconnect systems

In 2016, FCA will introduce a portfolio of Uconnect systems that include capacitive touchscreens, performance improvements of faster startup time, enhanced processing power, heightened touchscreen responsiveness, vivid touchscreens with improved resolution and brightness, the Uconnect 8.4 NAV system, and select others within the global portfolio will include Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

• Apple CarPlay: Apple CarPlay provides drivers with a smarter, safer way to use an iPhone inside a car. Apple CarPlay seamlessly integrates an iPhone with the car’s built-in display and controls in addition to featuring Siri voice control. Now drivers can make phone calls, access music, send and receive messages, get directions optimized for traffic conditions and more while staying focused on the road.
• Android Auto: Android Auto automatically provides drivers with a safer way to use Android while driving. The system will share useful information while you drive and makes it easy to access the best of Google. It features Google Maps with free voice-guided navigation, live traffic information, lane guidance; on-demand access to 30 million songs with Google Play Music; the ability to place phone calls or send and receive messages while keeping your hands on the wheel; and ask Google search any question. Android Auto also makes it easy to access popular apps and content from the Uconnect system’s touchscreen.

FCA creates the ultimate in-vehicle digital experience at CES

This year’s exhibit will feature a futuristic technology display property, immersing CES attendees in the company’s vision for intelligent transportation. 

The digital technology concept explores how personalized driving experiences can seamlessly integrate a vehicle, technology, the environment and people to help drivers achieve car-life balance.

The concept explores:

• Predictive technology – Monitor driver’s daily habits, including traffic patterns, personal calendar events and personal preferences so the vehicle’s Uconnect system can deliver personalized information to the driver at the exact moment needed.
• Vehicle-to-X communication – Concept enables vehicles to communicate with each other and the roadside. FCA believes integrating wireless technology into the vehicle can help provide drivers with warnings and reduce the risk of such common crash types as rear-end, lane change and intersection crashes.
• Workload manager – Helps to limit distraction by recognizing when the driver may be in a critical driving situation and prioritizing which information is presented to the driver in those instances.
• Privacy mode – Detects when a passenger is present in the vehicle and can transfer the driver’s personal information from the Uconnect system to the driver’s instrument cluster.
• Intelligent concierge – A concept programmed to learn driver preferences and provide personalized suggestions in anticipation of driver needs.

The technology concept also explores how a vehicle can share location information with other vehicles on the road in the driver’s community, including:

• Community tagging – Enables the vehicle to identify hazardous road conditions and automatically share that information with community members who may be approaching the same location.
• Follow-me mode – Enables community members to request to follow other vehicles.
• Augmented reality heads-up display – Transforms the windshield into a display that provides information to assist the driver, such as blind spot detection, parking assistance and ice and snow road lane assists.

2016 Dodge Charger Pursuit featuring police-exclusive Uconnect 12.1 

Designed exclusively to give law enforcement officers the upper hand, the all-new Uconnect 12.1 touchscreen system provides a fully integrated and exclusive approach to Dodge Charger Pursuit’s mobile command capabilities. The all-new Uconnect 12.1 features a 12.1-inch high-resolution touchscreen display that is more than five times larger in the center of the instrument panel. Uconnect 12.1 is ergonomically located and provides a large 1024-by-768 pixel display of Uconnect radio and vehicle controls, as well as the ability to toggle to a law enforcement officer’s computer via a menu bar at the top of the screen.

In addition, Charger Pursuit’s new Uconnect 12.1 system can split the touchscreen to display the familiar and award-winning 8.4-inch (640 by 480 pixels) Uconnect interface. Designed to be intuitive, Dodge Charger Pursuit’s cockpit includes redundant vehicle controls, such as radio and climate, located below the Uconnect system, while the driver can also use the switches on the back of the steering wheel, voice commands, the touchscreen display or the redundant knobs and buttons to control a bevy of vehicle options.

To visit the FCA booth, #3534, at the 2016 Consumer Electronics show, navigate to the North Hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Visit www.DriveUconnect.com for more information about Uconnect.