Automaker Honda on Thursday announced new work towards enabling Apple and Android platform in their cars.
Honda on Thursday marked the opening of its new Silicon Valley R&D facility. At an opening event, the company unveiled a refreshed 2016 Honda Accord with support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Honda also announced a new open innovation R&D initiative, Honda Xcelerator, which will provide resources to for developers.
“As an industry, we are on the verge of some major transformational changes brought on by the convergence of what have been, to this point, largely disparate technology disciplines,” said Honda R&D Americas President, Frank Paluch, in a statement. “Honda will embrace and help lead this convergence. Our operations in Silicon Valley are a testimony to our focus on this new direction in our product and technology development efforts.”
Aside from CarPlay and Android Auto, the 2016 Accord will also come equipped with “Honda Sensing,” the company’s new suite of safety and driver-assistive technologies.
Honda Sensing also serves as both a technological and perceptual bridge to the highly automated cars of the future. Honda is the first major automaker to publicly reveal a high-volume model in Silicon Valley.
Honda also launched the UNI-CUB Application Program Interface (API), a remote API for the Honda UNI-CUB, a mobile device that features Honda’s balance control technology and an omni-directional driving wheel system.
Beginning in the fall, the new remote API will allow developers to control UNI-CUB from external devices and develop new use cases for UNI-CUB. The UNI-CUB API will be released by the Honda Developer Studio.
