iLane is a portable, in-car telematics, infotainment platform developed by Intelligent Mechatronic Systems (IMS) in Waterloo, Ontario

Waterloo, Ontario

Waterloo is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is the smallest of the three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, and is adjacent to the city of Kitchener....

. The iLane system provides any automobile access to cloud and locally stored content from the user's BlackBerry

BlackBerry

BlackBerry is a line of mobile email and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion since 1999.BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, and much more...

 through the smartphone's digital wireless network. Using a variety of applications, iLane sends audio-only content to any Bluetooth audio device including a Bluetooth headset. The iLane platform uses the latest advances in text-to-speech (or speech synthesis

Speech synthesis

Speech synthesis is the artificial production of human speech. A computer system used for this purpose is called a speech synthesizer, and can be implemented in software or hardware...

) and speech recognition

Speech recognition

Speech recognition converts spoken words to text. The term "voice recognition" is sometimes used to refer to recognition systems that must be trained to a particular speaker—as is the case for most desktop recognition software...

 to let the driver control the infotainment system by voice only.

Applications

The iLane platform's most popular applications is email, it reads the user's email aloud through a Bluetooth audio device. It also has apps for smartphone calendar data, news, sports and weather by location, all controlled by the user's voice. Most recently IMS has added an app that lets the driver send and receive SMS text messages.

Features

The system is compatible with any email or web-mail account added to the Blackberry messaging system including G-mail, Yahoo and Hotmail. The system receives online content using a secure connection to IMS servers through a Blackberry’s wireless network. Local Bluetooth-to-smartphone security is provided by 256-bit encryption from the Advanced Encryption Standard

Advanced Encryption Standard

Advanced Encryption Standard is a specification for the encryption of electronic data. It has been adopted by the U.S. government and is now used worldwide. It supersedes DES...

.

Critical reception

iLane has received industry recognition including Andrew Seybold Choice Awards for 2009 and 2010. and was named CTIA Hot For The Holidays in both 2009 and 2010 Award Winner for “Hottest Bluetooth Accessory."
The device has received widely positive media reviews for its operation and ease of use. David Pogue of the NY Times calls it: “…ingenious, polished and efficient." The widest criticism about iLane, has been related to discomfort interacting with a voice-controlled system and the unit’s cost with the inclusion of a monthly fee. IMS has since lowered iLane’s retail price.

Distribution

Hands-free legislation across North America has provided increased interest in iLane and similar in-car telematics systems offering voice control. Ford SYNC

Ford Sync

Ford SYNC is a factory-installed, integrated in-vehicle communications and entertainment system that allows users to make hands-free telephone calls and control music and other functions using voice commands...

 and GM OnStar

OnStar

OnStar Corporation is a subsidiary of General Motors that provides subscription-based communications, in-vehicle security, hands free calling, turn-by-turn navigation, and remote diagnostics systems throughout the United States, Canada and China. A similar service is known as ChevyStar in Latin...

and MyLink are examples of factory-installed infotainment systems also designed to mitigate distracted driving with voice-activated controls. One key difference is that iLane is an after-market solution and can go with the driver from car to car. The hardware that provides the iLane platform can be powered by any car’s cigarette lighter and is compatible with nearly any Bluetooth audio system and smartphone using Blackberry Operating System 4.1 or higher.

In July 2009, IMS announced that Bell Mobility stores across Canada would carry iLane for use with smartphones on its wireless network. In the US iLane is distributed by True Wireless. Areas with hands-free laws that permit the use of a Bluetooth headset are able to use iLane legally.

External links

• iLane (official site)
• New York Times iLane Review
• BBGeeks.com iLane review