The road ahead for PCs in cars

There's nothing worse than a back-seat driver. But imagine a co-driver who was full of useful information; one who could read a map properly, tell you where to get the cheapest petrol and even call the emergency services if you had an accident.

Wouldn't it be great to have someone who could keep the kids quiet with games, DVDs and music, and make sure you didn't miss important phone calls and emails while on the road? And what's more, someone who spoke to you quietly and calmly.

This perfect passenger could be by your side very soon. Voice-controlled computers in cars can already guide drivers on their journey, and we have reported on various mobile technologies that help keep drivers safe. Now Microsoft wants to bring these elements together with a mechanic, a DJ and a cinema.

This bag of tricks is the company's operating system for our four-wheeled friends, and it's called Windows Automotive. Microsoft's dream is to see one in every car, but will it leave you in awe or appalled?

It might seem futuristic but this technology is already available, and not just to drivers rich enough to have luxurious cars such as the BMW 7 Series. As the technology has become easier to produce, prices have fallen, and the latest computer gizmos have found their way onto the options lists of more affordable cars, such as Citroen's Xsara MPV.

Car radio
Computers in cars are not new. Vehicles are crammed with computer chips that handle anything from engine emissions to anti-lock brakes. The change is that technology is now poking its nose over the dashboard.

At the heart of automotive computing is the Global Positioning System (GPS). The technology creates a radio link with a fleet of US satellites in a permanent orbit around the Earth. The satellites can work out almost exactly where the receiver is on the Earth's surface. This data, combined with very accurate maps and voice software, enables computers to give directions.

Combine GPS with internet access and the sky's the limit for drivers. Not only can your car tell you how to get from A to B, it can advise you on how to avoid troublesome delays en route.

With Windows Automotive in place, companies can create software for it. Volvo already offers customers a roadside assistance program. This will recommend and book a garage appointment when a car is due for a service and has a system which will send an alarm call to a driver's mobile phone if someone tries to break into their car.

In Germany, harassed drivers of BMWs fitted with a mobile phone and navigation module can be guided to any one of 600,000 parking spaces in 84 German cities and 20 airports.

All car computers have to rely on wireless technology to access the internet and the cellular telephone network is a handy, if expensive and slow, communications link. The UK Highways Agency hopes to build a network that uses broadband transceivers in traffic signs and streetlights. The system, WDirect, is due in 2005 following trials this year.

Extra gadgets add to the cost of a car but Microsoft believes it can produce in-car technology within the reach of the average family. Jurgen Za, product manager for Microsoft Automotive, explained that the secret to cutting costs is to build an economy operating system that uses the gadgets most people already own.

"Most people would prefer to plug in their own devices, such as mobiles, handheld computers and digital music players, rather than splash out on a car with a computer that already has these tools," he said.

Manufacturers will, therefore, still build luxury cars with all the bells and whistles but cheaper systems will be rolling down the road within the next two years.

Clunk-click computer chip
If surveys are to be believed, safety is high on drivers' priority lists. Higher, in fact, than driver comfort. According to research company RDA Group, drivers want cars that can monitor how their teenaged sons and daughters drive when they're let loose in the family car and computers which will take control if they spot that the driver is drowsy.

Volvo developed a safety-oriented system in 2001 which automatically places an emergency call and notifies a service centre of a car's position when an airbag is used. The emergency signal can also be activated via a button on the car's dashboard - useful if, for example, a driver stops to help another motorist.

BMW's Assist package also has an emergency function that sends a distress call when an airbag inflates, and a breakdown service function. This pinpoints the location of the car and transmits it to a BMW service centre.

Attention deficit
Some, however, believe that the best way to keep drivers safe is to limit the use of computers in cars. Driving bodies doubt whether technology is reliable enough and fear an increase in dangerous driving as drivers manage complex systems on the move.

Brake, the UK's national road safety charity, has a clear position. Simon Collister, campaigns officer, said: "Any application that will distract the driver and take attention from the road cannot be compatible with safe driving.

"In-car devices that require interaction with the driver may increase the risk of a crash up to six-fold. Brake believes that new technology should be thoroughly evaluated before it is passed onto the public."

Andrew Howard, head of road safety at The AA Motoring Trust, foresees dangers but also believes that technology can improve safety. "It's better for a driver to use a system which tells him where to exit a roundabout, or that Sheffield is to the north when entering a motorway, than to leave him struggling with a map while driving," he said.

"The catch is that if I were listening to an email while negotiating a roundabout, I might be too distracted to hear the GPS guidance. As we try to push road deaths down further in the UK, attention must turn to the issue of distraction. It does concern me that people are finding ways to take a driver's attention away from the road."

Shatter-proof Windows?
Microsoft is understandably keen to reassure driving bodies and the public of its safety testing. The company points out that Windows Automotive is based on Windows CE, an operating system that has long been used in industrial automation.

"Our developer-to-tester ratio is unsurpassed within Microsoft and probably the industry," claimed Za. This means that for every software writer, there is more than one person checking to see if it works properly.

Za also believes that motorists can be trusted not to abuse the features. "Speech recognition is a great feature to increase safety; applications can be controlled solely using voice commands so that drivers have less opportunity to be distracted by fiddling with the buttons on an audio system," he explained.

"We do not think that motorists would opt for having emails read to them while driving, but would like to have voice-control over their music selection."

Whether that trust is merited remains to be seen. Computers offer many benefits to drivers and passengers. Long journeys would be less stressful with some entertainment, and the benefits of the safety features speak for themselves.

As is so often the case with technology, people have to use it responsibly. While our cars seem likely to feature some of the comforts of home, drivers must remain aware and keep their eyes and mind on the road ahead.

Microsoft's Windows Automotive website