Research and Markets: Strategic Analysis Report Reveals Demand for Comfort, Convenience, and Safety Fuels Growth in the Automoti

This research service covers the North American human machine interfaces market in terms of various types of HMI's on the vehicles built in North American in the year 2007. It offers valuable insights to existing and new market participants in this space. Systems such as Multifunctional switches and touch screens are discussed under haptic-based HMI, while systems such as night vision, lane departure warning, blind spot detection, reverse park assist and head-up display under visual-based HMI and systems such as stand-alone voice-based navigation and hands-free calling under voice-based HMI's. The market's competitive structure is outlined, and the revenue shares of major market participants are estimated.

Market Overview

Increasing demand for comfort and convenience juxtaposed with the heightening of safety concerns is encouraging the uptake of HMI systems in vehicles. Regulatory pressures from government and safety agencies have prompted automakers to introduce HMI technologies such as hands-free calling, reverse camera park assist, and lane departure warning (LDW) to reduce accidents. "Legislative pressures to at least 'offer' some kind of camera-based systems in new vehicles will improve safety and drive market penetration," notes the analyst of this research service. "Legislations have already bolstered the demand for LDW and park assist systems (PA) though night vision systems and head-up display remain limited to high-end models." Nonetheless, these systems too are expected to see better penetration as regulations help reduce unit prices. The demand for systems such as night vision, head-up display, and multifunctional knobs will continue to remain lackluster in the short term.

High gas prices are also helping market momentum as the use of voice-activated navigation systems helps optimize route and save gas. Further, smaller cars, which offer greater fuel economy, are the preferred options among consumers, who expect the same safety and comfort features afforded by high-end cars. To cater to this demand, more upscale content will be featured in smaller vehicles, thus aiding the penetration of HMI.

HMI Systems Gain Traction with Growing Concerns over Driver Distraction

Driver inattention is a major concern for vehicle manufacturers in the development of HMI solutions. Talking and texting while driving is a potential hazard and future intelligent systems deployed will be designed to delay non-critical information to restrain driver distraction. "Future systems will be programmed to think and decide which information to provide and in what manner to the driver," says the analyst. "The intelligent system will not delay the critical functions such as failure of brake or engine temperature warning, but will only delay the non-critical information such as phone calls and text messages, taking the driving situation into consideration." Currently, visual feedback is widely adopted, but audible feedback is touted as a plausible solution to driver distraction and is expected to grow in popularity among vehicle manufacturers. Voice will eventually play a more significant part in HMI, but its development will be restrained as technology undergoes the process of continuous refinement.

Technologies such as voice recognition and touch screen interface are anticipated to change the dynamics of the interaction between man and machine. Various systems with similar functions are being integrated to enable cost reduction in individual systems. The market is likely to witness volume and technology-driven price reduction, with vehicle manufacturers pushing for cost reductions from Tier I suppliers year after year. Escalating competition in this space has triggered a race for product differentiation. Product differentiation plays a crucial role and vendors are offered enormous scope as safety related HMIs are yet to penetrate North American vehicle production.

Market Sectors

Expert Frost & Sullivan analysts thoroughly examine the following market sectors in this research:

- Haptic-based HMI

- Visual-based HMI

- Voice-based HMI

The following technologies are covered in this research:

- Multifunctional switches

- Touch screens

- Handwriting recognition

- Capacitance/proximity/touch sense buttons

- Fingerprint recognition

- Night vision

- Blind spot detection

- Lane departure warning

- Reverse park assist

- Head-up display

- Gesture recognition

- Driver drowsiness detection

- Voice-activated hands-free calling

- Navigation

- Radio

- A/C

Key Topics Covered:

1. Executive Summary

2. Total Human Machine Interface Market

3. Haptic-Based Human Machine Interface Market

4. Visual-Based Human Machine Interface Market

5. Voice-Based Human Machine Interface Market

6. Profiles and Consumer Perceptions

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/4fb8f2/strategic_analysis

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