LTE Connected Car at Shanghai Expo

As the worlds of communications, IT and cars begin to merge, more and more companies embrace a concept which up until now seemed to belong to the realm of sci-fi: car connectivity. The concept, already on the working agenda on several manufacturers, got a whole new dimension back in the beginning of the year, when the Long Term Evolution (LTE) Prius-based connected car was presented at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada.

This week, the car moved to Shanghai, at the 2010 World Expo. There, the creators of the program, Alcatel-Lucent, QNX Software Systems and Samsung (working together as ng Connect) are showcasing what their interpretation is all about.

Alcatel-Lucent will be setting up a live LTE network at the Expo, using the Prius as a demonstration tool. In the Prius, the system translates into the capability to run video/audio files and online games, ask for remote maintenance or get access to detailed traffic and weather information. All these features are controlled via multiple touch screens.

“Samsung is very pleased to contribute our industry-leading communications technology to the LTE Connected Car during the Shanghai World Expo,” Mingu Kim, Samsung R&D chief for the project said in a release.

“Our participation in the ng Connect Program has allowed us to leverage our communications and consumer electronics expertise to show the world what is possible in terms of providing rich user experiences at home, in the office, and now, even in the vehicle.”

The LTE is a tool through which its creators tried to see whether connecting a car to a high-speed mobile network would be feasible. It uses ultra-high bandwidth, always-on network connectivity, cloud computing and cloud storage to bring all the advantages of infotainment and Internet into one package.

There's no word on when it will enter production though, if ever, nor have its creators thought of a price for it yet.