‘OK Google, start navigation to office’

If you’ve used an Android smartphone with Google Now activated, you’d probably be familiar with Google’s card system. If you’re not, then it’s simply a service that Google offers, that gives you your personalised information based on your usage patterns.

It ‘understands’ how you get to work – in a car, by public transport, on foot or on a bicycle – and remembers your route. If you leave every day at 9am, it shows up a ‘card’ that gives you information about how long it will take you to get to work, depending on the traffic conditions. If your usual route is clogged, it will suggest an alternate route. If 6pm is when you leave for home, it will show you a card that informs you about the traffic situation on your way back. It does the same for weather, movie timings, and travel timings (it even tells you if your flight is delayed and your gate number at the airport) and so on.

At the Google I/O developers’ conference, Google unveiled Android Auto, a redesigned in-car interface that brings many such features into an automobile. Android Auto connects to the car through an Android smartphone, tethered by Bluetooth.

However, as shown in the I/O keynote address and the subsequent demonstrations, the core Android operating system will not be embedded directly into the car’s infotainment console. Instead, all the computing will be done through the Android phone. The car’s touchscreen navigation system will act as an extended interface, bringing a card based interface like Google Now inside the car, which can be used with voice commands and the touchscreen display in the car. Android Auto may also use the car’s physical controls, such as the steering-wheel-mounted buttons, depending on how deeply the service is embedded into the car by one of its more than 40 partners, which includes, GM, Hyundai, Audi and Honda.

So far, Google has demonstrated that this new service will integrate Google Maps Navigation and Music, among services like Contacts and Messages, and also third-party apps.

Google has made it a priority to keep the driver and passengers safe, by letting the driver control Android Auto using voice commands. Even replying to texts will be done via voice commands. For controlling the music player, you’ll have to say, “Listen to Avicii”, and sat-nav communications would end up being “Navigate to the nearest fuel station.” If you’ve kept your Google contact database well arranged (with street addresses for your contacts etc), you’ll just have to tell Google “Navigate to Esha’s house”.

The unveil comes soon after Apple’s announcement about CarPlay, a similar feature that mirrors iOS apps on the car’s dashboard, and uses Siri (Apple’s personalised voice assistant) to use voice commands.

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