Harman Harmonizes CES with Immersive Audio and Connected Features
Harman immersed guests at the 2024 Consumers Electronic Show in safety, fun and convenience with their Ready Vision QVUE, part of their suite of audio and tech innovations.
Liv Leigh
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Harman Audio Creates Immersive Convenience in Your Car
The annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is a cacophony of sound. Spanning over 2.5 million net square feet, packed with over 4000 exhibitors, and stuffed with more than 130,000 people.
It’s virtually impossible to find a quiet, calm… but enter Harman.
Considering Harman is a global leader in automotive audio, perhaps it should come as no surprise that the single space of silent solace in all of CES was to be found within the cushy confines of their booth. Harman didn’t only bring innovations in audio but also a suite of market-ready products to provide automakers with the latest innovations in safety, entertainment, and audio systems. They’re providing all these offerings individually or bundled into a custom system integrated to create an enhanced experience for the user.
Related: 9 Easy Ways to Add New Tech to Your Old Car
The Harman Driver Monitoring System can alter the cabin to promote alertness Photo: Liv Leigh
What are some Highlights of Harman’s New Portfolio?
To show off their new portfolio, Jessica Adnson, Global Director of Strategic Alliances, took us through a fun consumer experience in a production vehicle with fully integrated, market-ready features showcasing how all of the Harman Ready products come together with partner technologies to elevate the in-cabin experience. In this demo, the premise was that Jessica was throwing a dinner party, and she needed to run out for a couple of last-minute items.
Jessica hopped into the car and immediately pointed out the Ready Vision QVUE that takes advantage of the unused space at the base of the windshield and shows off relevant information right in the driver’s field of view. You can see traffic, navigation, media, and more. It’s kind of like a head-up display but more expansive and visible to everyone else in the car, too.
An alert pops up on the QVUE, notifying the driver that they need to charge to reach their destination. Photo: Liv Leigh
Jessica started her errand, and as an alert popped up on the QVUE, she realized that her son had forgotten to charge the car. She used the Harman Ignite store to pull up the ChargePoint app and add a charger to her route.
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Jessica demonstrated Harman ReadyConnect features, making her errands safer and simpler. Photo: Liv Leigh
QVUE Replaces Unused Space on the Windshield with Useful Info
To top it all off, a weather alert popped up on the QVUE, notifying of inclement weather incoming. Jessica started to get distracted as she worried about whether she was going to complete her errands, and the Ready Care system kicked into gear, noting her distraction and alerting her to pay attention. She acted out the whole journey, showing how Ready Connect functioned with the onboard computing to create a seamless connected experience; when she stopped at a traffic light behind a truck blocking the view, she could see the traffic light countdown timer on the QVUE.
I was ushered into a new vehicle and treated to a demo of some of the snazzy features of the Samsung QLED screen and central processing unit that allows you to play two different games at the same time. I saw a demo of a WebEx phone call that looked super useful, but my favorite part of this section was OnMyWay by Mavi, which enables retail payments directly from the vehicle.
Related: The Future of Driving: 10 Technologies You Want in Your Next New Car
Presenter Maurice Mack and I tested out the Samsung screen that lets you play 2 games at once. Photo: Liv Leigh
One of my Favorite Features was SeatSonic
SeatSonic is a scalable system designed from the seats out, removing speakers from traditional places like the doors and trim, thereby saving space and power consumption and creating an incomparable, personalized audio experience. This holistic offering allows the user to both hear and FEEL the audio, and I was lucky enough to do just that.
Maurice demonstrated ordering a sandwich right from the vehicle as you drove to pick it up. Photo: Liv Leigh
Harman Innovates with a Customized Music Experience
I slipped behind the wheel of Harman’s demo vehicle with Max Willis, Principal Acoustic Engineer at Harman, to experience the innovation for myself. Sinking into this seat designed in partnership with Adient (global leader in automotive seating) and Gentherm (comfort & climate), I learned how much painstaking work goes into creating such a perfectly personalized auditory experience.
Many of us spend so much time in our cars that they are like our moving living spaces. Our car may even possess the most comfortable seat we own, coupled with the best sound system. I’ve heard some fantastic systems and played with beautiful customization features, but the experience of the Harman in-seat audio creates an immersive environment that is unparalleled.
Headrest speakers designed with safety in mind deliver sound right to you, while the lumbar bass unit provides audio that you can both hear and feel. This whole offering can be packaged together with a bunch of comfort features like massage to literally make it the most comfortable seat you own.
Acoustic Engineer Max showed off all the audio and comfort features. Photo: Liv Leigh
Sensitive Seats Promote Superior Sound and Safety
The seat-focused audio creates unique opportunities like alerts and phone calls delivered just to the driver. Speaking of which, the Driver Monitoring System (DMS), synced with the tech in the seat, can monitor your vitals, sense if you’re getting drowsy, and change the vibe of the cabin to promote alertness and even nudge you with the seat.
It felt like a rare treat to hear about all these features directly from one of the people responsible for creating them. Max’s passion was evident as he spoke of the countless hours spent perfecting this in-car audio experience as he demoed each feature, utilizing playlists carefully picked by him and his fellow engineers. Check out some of the highlights from each playlist to soak up this curated experience from home!
- Alertness Playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLX0GtgSwdvJyLiknFcNEorjhTyHQ1qTyl
- Recovery Playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLX0GtgSwdvJxTCqFR-Qpt9iXncN58Wj3t
- Oasis Playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLX0GtgSwdvJyrZEJMPIJjL0zaToswM7tm
- Natural Playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLX0GtgSwdvJx2ilXB5PwPLDZxB4tbiSGU