Samsung's digital cockpit lab brought the car of the future into reality

Samsung Electronics revealed the Digital Cockpit 2019, a revamped version of the platform incorporating insight from research and consumer feedback. Samsung Newsroom sat down with the Digital Cockpit Lab from Samsung’s Automotive Electronics Business Team to learn how they brought the car of the future into a reality.

The cockpit is the dashboard of the car in front of the driver and the passenger seat. A ‘Digital Cockpit’ is a platform that comes with the latest digital technology which takes the overall in-vehicle system to the next level. With Samsung’s latest Digital Cockpit 2019, the new platform provides full vehicle control for drivers and a variety of tailored content to the passengers as well.

In today’s world, the car is more than just a mode of transportation — it is a space that connects different parts of our lives together. While at home, you start the car and adjust the temperature in your car from your living room via Galaxy Home. Once everyone gets in, your car starts to play tailored content for each passenger with face recognition technology. The car also informs you of possible danger by scanning moving objects and tries to prevent dangerous situations from happening like when the driver dozes off while driving. Surprisingly, you will be able to use all of these features in the near future.

On the move, you can even check what’s inside your home refrigerator via the car system, in order to prepare for the evening’s dinner.

A feature called ‘Home to Car’ is an example of the leading-edge innovation featured in the Digital Cockpit. The function allows customers to control their cars at home through the SmartThings app. 

When your hands are on the wheel to control your driving safely, a voice command can be the best alternative when you are interacting with your car. Bixby, Samsung’s AI platform, has been integrated into the Digital Cockpit undergoing a transformation in order to fit into the vehicle environment.

While the previous Digital Cockpit had three displays, the 2019 version has a total of six displays delivering tailored infotainment to all passengers. For instance, passengers in the back seat will also be able to enjoy tailored content from their own screens.

The screens can also recognise your face wherever you sit and suggest content based on the preferences of pre-registered passengers in which they can activate or deactivate the feature. 

When a vehicle is equipped with various sophisticated technologies, the challenges increase. One of the challenges had to do with the number of buttons. Not only were the least used buttons taking up space, but they were also ineffective. So, the team solved the problem with a knob.

A car must assure the safety of its driver and passengers. In order to support safe driving, the Digital Cockpit 2019 is equipped with a total of nine cameras.

The Digital Cockpit features a ‘Mirror Replacement Vision System (MRVS)’ that replaces side-view mirrors in conventional cars. The system consists of two displays on both sides and it helps safer driving by detecting moving objects in the rear when the driver checks behind them. By utilising the camera technology, Digital Cockpit 2019 ensures safer driving with a wider viewing angle. 

The Digital Cockpit also monitors the driver’s condition through a system that tracks the driver’s pupils to detect drowsy eyes or careless driving

Drivers can sometimes miss the system alert while they are looking ahead when they are on the road. To prevent this from happening, the Digital Cockpit 2019 provides additional alerts.