Volvo Collaborates With Google To Develop Android Infotainment System

The Swedish carmaker believes using an Android operating system will increase speed and flexibility in the development of in-car services and will also offer customers the ability to customize their connected in-car experience.

By car&bike Team

1 mins read

Published on May 16, 2017

Highlights

The alliance promises to usher in a new era of in-car services
It will offer connected and predictive services in and around the car
The services will be introduced on new Volvo cars within two years

Volvo Cars has announced it will partner with Google to develop the next generation of its in-car infotainment and connectivity solution based on Android. The alliance between the two titans of their respective industries promises to usher in a new era of such services that will transform how Volvo customers engage and interact with their cars. The Swedish carmaker's collaboration with Google demonstrates the continuing convergence between the automotive and technology industries as cars become increasingly connected. With that being said, the new infotainment and connectivity services will be introduced on new Volvo cars within two years. The expansive array of popular Android apps - developed by Google, Volvo, or third party app developers - will proffer connected and predictive services in and around the car. Henrik Green, Senior Vice President Research & Development, Volvo Car Group, said, "We are making an important strategic step with the Google partnership. Google's platform and services will enhance the user experience by enabling more personalisation possibilities, while Android will offer increased flexibility from a development perspective. With the advent of Android we will embrace a rich ecosystem while keeping our iconic Volvo user interface. We will offer hundreds of popular apps and the best integrated experience in this broad, connected environment. Volvo believes employing Android as the base operating system will not only increase speed and flexibility in the development of in-car services but will also offer its customers the ability to personalise their connected in-car experience. Patrick Brady, Vice President of Android Engineering, Google, remarked, "We're thrilled to partner with Volvo to bring Android into their next generation connected cars. This partnership gives us the opportunity to deliver a more seamless experience to Volvo drivers through a full-featured infotainment platform and rich ecosystem of Android applications and Google services." Other than the co-operation for the development of the aforementioned services, Volvo is also collaborating with Google on another initiative to update recent Volvo models by adding Google Local Search, a location based service application. This will be released through an update to customers with Sensus Navigation.