Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.
Samsung sells 'Digital Cockpit' to Chinese carmaker
Visitors to the Consumer Electronics Show test Samsung Electronics' Digital Cockpit automotive electronic product in Las Vegas, Wednesday. / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics
By Baek Byung-yeul
By Baek Byung-yeul
LAS VEGAS ― Digital Cockpit, an automotive control platform developed by Samsung Electronics and its affiliate Harman, will be installed in vehicles manufactured by a Chinese firm in 2021, Samsung said Wednesday.
“We signed a contract with a Chinese carmaker to install Digital Cockpit products we introduced in 2018, and these will be used in cars set to be marketed from 2021,” Park Jong-hwan, vice president and chief of Samsung's auto parts division, said at the Consumer Electronics Showcase (CES).
With the rise of the connected car and self-driving technologies, Samsung stepped into the automotive component market after acquiring U.S. auto parts maker Harman in March 2017.
In 2018, Samsung and Harman together introduced their first Digital Cockpit product. Comprised of displays, knobs and cameras, the product can be customized according to uses' tastes.
Park said the firm also has a contract with a European carmaker to sell Digital Cockpit, and this will be available beginning around 2022.
“It has been about a year and 10 months since we acquired Harman. After the acquisition, we took a few months to get to know about each other and could then come up with the first Digital Cockpit product in 2018,” Park said.
Park Jong-hwan, vice president and chief of Samsung Electronics' auto parts division, introduces the firm's Digital Cockpit automotive electronics product at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Wednesday. / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics
The auto parts chief said Samsung would have an impact on the auto component market due to its cutting-edge electronics technologies.
“Many vehicles have a shark fin-styled antenna on the roof, but this is not good design-wise. As we removed the outer antenna from cell phones, we have developed a technology to bring the antenna inside the car. I cannot reveal the details but we are about to sell this technology as well,” Park said.
Though it has been over a year since the firm launched the Digital Cockpit platform, it took time to announce the first contract because business practices in the auto industry are different from those in IT.
“Unlike the IT industry, it takes more time for carmakers to adopt new products. This is because they have to conduct safety checks. It usually takes four years for a carmaker to adopt new components,” Park said.
Introducing the concept model of the 2019 Digital Cockpit, Samsung said it comes with six displays to provide a customized infotainment environment for each passenger.
Its driver monitoring system is to assist safe driving in a variety of potential scenarios, the firm said. Scanning the driver's iris in real time, the system gives a warning sound if it detects dangerous behavior such as driving while drowsy or using a smartphone behind the wheel.