Apple avoids CarPlay potholes with plan to help drivers find their cars

WHILE Apple’s strategy to take over the car dashboard has slowed, it has a plan to bond drivers with their cars forever.

APPLE’S efforts to overtake Google in the war for the car dashboard have reportedly avoided a pothole, but a new patent shows it has a cunning plan to use the iPhone to help drivers bond with their car.

ABI Research predicts that by 2019 more than 24 million new cars will be shipped fitted with CarPlay, the software platform that lets your iPhone control your car’s infotainment system.

But ABI Research’s Filomena Berardi says the June launch of Android Auto, Google’s alternative to Apple’s CarPlay, is likely to confuse consumers worried that their next new car might not be compatabile with their next new smartphone.

Computerworld reports that concern is already being reflected in the slower-than-expected uptake of CarPlay, with Volvo, Mercedes-Benz and Honda all reportedly delaying installation the Apple system into their new models.

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Apple’s plan ... taking over your car dashbord. Picture: Supplied

But there is more than one way to help motorists love their iPhone even more and a new Apple patent offers a cunning plan to woo easily confused commuters.

If you’ve ever wandered aimlessly around a carpark trying to remember where you parked your car, a pair of patents granted to Apple last week could be cause to hope.

Automatic identification of vehicle location and vehicle location in weak location signal scenarios describe a system for finding your car even when you don’t have a GPS signal.

The system describes having the car detecting when you park, using a signal such as turning off the engine and closing the door, and transmitting that information to your phone.

The iPhone then tracks your movements, using a combination of GPS signals and directional and movement sensor from the accelerometer built into the phone.

Dude, where’s my car ... Apple patents a technology to help you track your way back to your carpark.

When it’s time to find your car again, the iPhone can then tell you how far you are from your car, how long will it take to get there and guide you along the route.

It’s not clear whether Siri will get the upgrade to help you find your car in the next version of the operating system, iOS8, which will be released along with the iPhone 6 which is expected to be announced on September 9.