Harman Adds Microsoft Office 365 to Its Connected-Car System

As the moral quandaries of the autonomous vehicle continue to rise to the forefront (should a auto make a decision that would kill its driver to save five pedestrians?), the increasingly connected auto might end up being the more realizable way of improving road safety. Most importantly, the collaboration will integrate key elements of Microsoft Office 365 productivity suite capabilities into HARMAN infotainment systems.

However, while Office apps appear to be the main focus of this release, the statement issued by Harman at CES 2016 in Las Vegas today indicates that other joint releases could be on the way. This was defined as being able to schedule meetings, listen and respond to emails and join conference calls without having to manually input phone numbers or passcodes. As part of the collaboration, drivers will have, hopefully safe, access to Microsoft’s Office 365 cloud services while they drive. Because what’s going through driver’s minds most when stuck in traffic is whether or not they have the most recent version of Office installed.

The proprietary system measures increases in pupil dilation as an indication of a driver’s mental workload.

Personal component configuration in the vehicle with multiple ultra-high resolution displays that can be used in varying configurations to support the best infotainment and entertainment intelligent use case scenarios; LIVS helps the Ʃtos raise the visual user experience to an unprecedented level with two curved, ultrahigh-resolution 4K 21.5-inch widescreen monitors and a central HD display that present relevant information to the driver and his or her copilots.

Adoption of in-cabin cameras is growing rapidly, enabling features such as occupant detection and driver drowsiness monitoring.

You remember Harman’s in-car navigation systems.

The company says this technology eliminates the need for complex sensors built into seats and steering wheels, or biometric sensors that require physical contact with the driver. Their services will be able to analyze driver habits and detect their location to deliver useful information, but this is something that goes far beyond restaurant recommendations.