In his 2012 CES keynote speech, Mercedes-Benz chairman Dr. Dieter Zetsche announced the new mbrace2 system that will debut in the 2013 SL roadster and outlined some of the future products coming from Mercedes-Benz.
The big announcement, the mbrace2 telematics system, uses an iPhone or Android phone to connect to online services. The feature list so far is extensive, and includes Google search, Yelp, Facebook, financial trackers, and news reports in addition to remote diagnostics and geo-fencing (where a parent can restrict usage of a teen’s driving and receive automatic notifications if settings are violated). Mercedes-Benz boasts that mbrace2′s feature set is more complete than other connected solutions. The Facebook app, for instance, gives access not only to news feeds but also Facebook’s places functionality, so that users can locate friends and drive in their direction. Facebook contact information also can be used in the car’s phone system.
All of this functionality comes from a cloud-based system, which allows Mercedes-Benz cars to keep pace with the rapid development of software and electronics. Zetsche also assured that any user content that goes though the internet to the car will go only to that car, as the communications protocol uses a virtual private network, or VPN, for information security.
Zetsche’s speech also showed off the new Dynamic & Intuitive Control Experience, or DICE, which takes a look at the future connected car with gesture-based controls for the infotainment system and augmented reality projected onto the windshield. We’ll provide hands-off impressions of the prototype system soon.
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