At CES 2015 on last January, Hyundai stole the show when demonstrating
the Android Wear Smartwatch to access various functions in the car. One month
later, a developer team showed off Apple Watch application concept to control
the electric car, Tesla Model S.
From the two examples above, it seems that the integration
between smartwatch with a car will be more widespread in the future. One of
Swedish automotive manufacturers, Volvo, apparently also responds to this trend
seriously.
They are planning to release an update for the Volvo On Call
application. For information, previously this application has allowed the
owners of compatible Volvo cars to access a number of car's functions via
smartphone.
In the newest update, Volvo On Call will also land in the
smartwatch segment, especially at Apple Watch and Android Wear. Thus, Volvo car
owners who use Apple Watch or Android Wear smartwatch later can open/lock the
car door, turn on and off the air conditioner from the outside, check the
remaining fuel, and the ability to track the location of a car that's parked in
the basement of a shopping center.
In addition to Volvo On Call compatibility with those two
smartwatch platforms, Volvo will also enhance the application that has been available
on iOS and Android with a new look. Interestingly, the Volvo On Call for
Windows Phone will support voice command functionality with the help of
Cortana.
Not only that, the Volvo On Call will also get some sort of
integration with the car's infotainment system. One example is the
'send-to-car' that allows users to send navigation guidance from a mobile
device or smartwatch towards the dashboard directly.
In addition to Volvo and Hyundai, other manufacturers
actually have also implemented similar integration between smartwatch and car.
Based on Motor Trend report, the trio car vendors from Germany - Porsche,
Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz - previously have adopted this integration
technology.
Finally, the consumers will get a lot of advantages from the
'marriage' between the technology industry and the automotive industry. If
previously a smartwatch can only forward notifications and monitor users activities,
but now the smartwatch can also become interaction tool with our car.