Volvo launches Sensus connect on all new cars.

With the launch of Sensus Connect, Volvo Car Group (Volvo Cars) reveals an updated on-board infotainment and navigation solution. Now, Volvo Cars truly offers customers a fully connected experience. The cloud-based services allow drivers to find and pay for parking from their car, discover new restaurants at their destination, stream their favourite music seamlessly and much more. Sensus Connect also offers the first ever solution utilizing built-in connectivity supported by Pandora Internet Radio.

“Technology should make your life easier. That’s why we listened carefully to our customers when creating Sensus Connect. It’s not about offering a thousand apps; it’s about giving you precisely what you need, before you even knew you needed it,” says David Holecek, Connectivity Brand Manager at Volvo Cars.

The brand new in-car experience includes a novel take on all aspects of travelling. Tens of thousands of radio stations can now be enjoyed in the car and the new navigation system allows the driver to not only set destinations through their mobile device and get exciting information about their surroundings through Wikipedia, but which also lets them find and pay for parking at their destination. The Park&Pay application – a world-first provided by Volvo Cars – is based on car2infrastructure communication and points the way to new possibilities when the car starts to “communicate” with its surroundings.

Volvo Cars is one of few car manufacturers that strategically invests and partners in cloud-based solutions. The Volvo solution offers a branded look and feel and the possibility to remotely update content over air and time.

“It’s all about giving everyone an enjoyable, easy to use and intuitive experience. There is no point in filling a car with technology if it comes off as overwhelming, so our main focus is always to give our customers the best experience available and make it easy to digest. Our cloud-based apps update seamlessly. Sensus offers the optimal combination of input/output methods and allows the driver to turn the entire car into a Wi-Fi hotspot for all of their connected devices,” David Holecek says.

By choosing partners who are the very best in their individual fields such as Ericsson, Pandora, HERE, Yelp, Glympse and parking service providers, Volvo were able to focus on what they do best, providing a safe, comfortable and highly enjoyable ride.

“We are particularly proud to announce at CES the inclusion of Pandora Internet Radio in our launch of Sensus Connect. Sensus Connect offers the first ever embedded solution supported by Pandora, the internet radio service with more than 76 million active monthly listeners,” says David Holecek.

Sensus Connect will allow Volvo drivers to stream Pandora via a data connection provided by the built-in modem or their smartphone. Control of Pandora features like station creation and thumbs feedback are now available via the head unit, making access to personalised radio in the car is as easy as FM radio.

“The driver can now seamlessly switch between their favorite music on high-end speakers and having their text messages read out loud without taking their hands off the wheel. And as from now, your car will not only tell you when it’s time to visit the garage but also will suggest an appointment for you at your Volvo dealership. Our brand new app Connected Service Booking is only the first step in making the dealer workshop fully integrated into the digital eco-system, enabling even more services in the future. Say goodbye to expensive or outdated maps, our Sensus Navigation includes lifetime map upgrades. There’s really no reason it should be more difficult than that,” David Holecek adds.

The updated Sensus Connect includes a great selection of cloud-based applications designed to simplify the entire car experience.


“Two of my favourite parts of the new Sensus Connect are Glympse, an app where you can share your position with others to see on their phones, perfect when carpooling or visiting a friend’s house for the first time and the fact that the entire car works as a Wi-Fi hotspot for all your connected devices, using an integrated roof-top antenna to ensure the best possible signal reception,” David Holecek concludes.

All in all, Sensus Connect is there to deliver what the driver needs, when they need it – to make Volvo Cars customers’ lives easier and more enjoyable without compromising safety or comfort.

The updated Sensus Connect will be available in all new Volvo models starting in May 2014. Drivers who already have Sensus Connect in their cars today will be offered an update for their system.

The 2014 Volvo Sensus solutions will include the following features among others:

ENTERTAINMENT

• Pandora – internet radio
• 100,000 global radio stations through TuneIn
• Rdio – streaming music service
• Stitcher – on-demand radio shows and podcasts
• Regional audiobook solutions

NAVIGATION

• Upgraded navigation system with 3D graphics and lifetime map upgrades
• Park&Pay by Parkopedia – find available parking and pay for it from your car
• Yelp – find local services, e.g. restaurants, with reviews
• Glympse – dynamic, temporary location sharing
• HERE by Nokia - cloud connected services to provide seamless and connected navigation to drivers
• Send to Car – find your destination on your phone and send it to your car’s navigation system
• Wikipedia – enriched local points-of-interest information

INTERFACE

• Refreshed HMI with graphically themed centre and driver displays
• Voice control and text-to-speech

CONNECTIVITY

• Integrated roof-top antenna and embedded 3G modem
• Wi-Fi hotspot in the car
• Smartphone tethering (Wi-Fi and Bluetooth)
• Bluetooth audio streaming and hands-free calling

SERVICES

• Smartphone app – connecting your phone to your car
• Connected service booking - car knows when service is due and will pre-book itself for a convenient service appointment at Volvo dealership