AMSTERDAM, Netherlands—The success of Bluetooth wireless communication in the 21st century will depend on a 20th century invention of Henry Ford and a 19th-century invention of Alexander Graham Bell, according to one of Ford's descendants.
Jack Withrow, director of telematics business for Chrysler, said that cars and phones will make or break Bluetooth as a "ubiquitous" wireless platform, assuming consumers use hands-free phones. Chrysler's parent, DaimlerChrysler, is on the verge of introducing a Bluetooth-based in-vehicle phone system called UConnect to many of its models to address this market need.
"In-vehicle hands-free communications systems, such as UConnect, will be the dominant application that determine the long-term success or failure of Bluetooth," said Withrow in a keynote presentation Wednesday (June 12) at the Bluetooth Congress here. "If this doesn't work, I think Bluetooth is going to have a much longer road and much harder challenges."
The issue is urgent enough for the standards-setting Bluetooth Special Interest Group to make it "a top priority," Withrow said.
Withrow based his assertions about in-vehicle phone systems on studies by Chrysler showing that 70 percent of the air-time consumed by mobile phone users in North America occurs inside cars.
Despite this trend, Withrow said that people recognize it is unsafe to hold a phone while driving. They keep talking, he said, but "with a sense of guilt." Such drivers also face a growing legislative trend to ban or restrict handheld telephones in cars.
Willing to pay
Underscoring this explanation, Withrow cited a DaimlerChrysler customer survey that identified "hands-free communication" as the top priority of telematics, or the use of in-vehicle communication for a host of applications ranging from vehicle diagnostics and roadside service to shopping from the driver's seat. Many of these offerings, Withrow noted, were shunned by most surveyed consumers because they cost too much. Hands-free communication, however, stood out as a must-have feature that consumers are willing to pay for, he said.
Bluetooth makes this option feasible despite the vast differences between the 15-year product life cycle of the typical American car and the 18-month life cycle of the average American's mobile phone, Withrow said. If Bluetooth becomes ubiquitous as a wireless platform, it will outlive the phone and the cars in which it is installed, and will show up again in next-generation telematic devices, he said.
Chrysler chose Bluetooth for UConnect because it requires neither wires nor a fixed, cumbersome docking station, Withrow said. Bluetooth fills Chrysler's need for a platform that can link many devices and consume little power at a fairly low cost. It supports data and voice communication, and is gathering support from a host of device, IC and software makers, he said. The support is crucial, Withrow said, because "automakers cannot successfully drive this market. It requires leadership from electronics equipment producers."
When it goes into production, UConnect will be available in Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles. Dealer-installed versions will start rolling out in the fourth quarter of this year, and factory-installed versions will be introduced in the first quarter of 2003. Chrysler has arranged for Peiker acustic GmbH to provide dealer-installed version of the hands-free system, and signed Johnson Controls Inc. as the lead provider of factory-installed versions of UConnect.
Both versions will include Bluetooth and voice-recognition capabilities in a control module to support passenger phone calls and access of information services. Controls and a microphone will be located in a vehicle's rearview mirror for factory-installed system.
Johnson Controls will use an Intel Corp. Xscale microprocessor, IBM Corp.'s voice-recognition system from IBM and Broadcom Corp.'s Bluetooth chip sets in its system. UConnect uses a real-time operation system from QNX Software Systems Ltd.
Elusive ubiquity
The watchword for Bluetooth at this year's Bluetooth Congress is "ubiquitous." Bluetooth's advocates insist the technology has established itself with a measure of market recognition, but needs to be proliferated more broadly before it can be declared a success. In discussing the prospects of Bluetooth as a "ubiquitous" platform, Withrow offered a precautionary note.
Bluetooth-enabled systems like UConnect could falter if the market is fragmented by competing automakers, Withrow said. As an example, he cited the J1850 bus standard, "which was intended to be a standard for all, but it proliferated into variations for each automaker to protect their own development interests. This should not be allowed to happen with Bluetooth. To achieve a sustainable standard, Bluetooth must be truly interoperable and promote the best interests of the largest number of potential customers," he said.
— David Benjamin is a freelance writer based in Paris.
