Cadillac introduces CUE which will improve driver connectivity

It is Cadillac's comprehensive in-vehicle experience that merges intuitive design with auto industry-first controls and commands for information and entertainment data. It will help consumers have a more connected driving experience.

The CUE system will begin rolling out on 2012 Cadillac vehicles, such as the Cadillac XTS and ATS luxury sedans and SRX luxury crossover. CUE is designed to be unique for each driver, from the “simple user” to the fully connected “super user.”

“CUE will transform personal transportation by simply and efficiently integrating luxury design and instinctive technology with unparalleled levels of customized in-vehicle connectivity,” Don Butler, Vice President, Cadillac Marketing, announced at the CTIA Wireless Association’s Enterprise and Applications conference.

“For the tech-savvy, it’s everything you want it to be – a full suite of infotainment, navigation and communication tools that keeps you fully connected. For the tech-averse, its power is remarkably simple, intuitive and accessible,” Butler said.

CUE will pair entertainment and information data from up to 10 Bluetooth-enabled mobile devices, USBs, SD cards and MP3 players with a vehicle infotainment system. This will reduce complexity and confusion through natural voice commands, customized information, and fewer buttons and larger icons.

For example, the majority of luxury vehicles on the market have around 20 buttons controlling the radio and entertainment functions, while CUE has only four buttons.

CUE is operated from a 8-inch LCD touch screen. The vibrant LCD screen displays CUE’s home page, which resembles a smart phone’s screen by using large easy to see icons to control commands and functions. The screen seamlessly integrated into the top of the central instrument panel, and a motorized fully capacitive faceplate at the bottom conceals a large storage area.

CUE’s LCD screen is smartly setup. The driver’s five most frequently used functions are stored along the top of the screen. At the bottom of the screen, drivers can select up to 60 favorites from music to points of interest, addresses, maps for weather or directions, phone numbers or various system commands. Favorites can also be re-ordered and named to be easily recallable.

The steering wheel is also apart of the system. It contains a five-way controller on the left and right side. The right side navigates the cluster display, a volume control and buttons to cycle through favorites. The left side manages cruise control, voice recognition, phone hang-up.

“CUE doesn’t replace your smartphone or your iPod,” said Micky Bly, executive director, Global Electric Systems, Infotainment and Electrification. “Rather it allows consumers to securely store those mobile devices while channeling the information on those devices, along with your navigation tools, weather maps with Doppler radar, AM/FM and XM radio, instant messages and emails, through a central portal in your Cadillac, keeping hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.”

CUE's features are also improved with OnStar's safety, connectivity, and security settings.

To improve simplicity and connectivity for consumers, CUE will feature several auto industry-firsts which include:

Proximity Sensing: As a user’s hand approaches the LCD screen, command icons appear. Icons can be arranged by consumers to improve ease of use.

Haptic Feedback: Buttons on the fully capacitive faceplate pulse when pressed to acknowledge the driver’s commands and helps keep the driver’s eyes on the road.

Multi-Touch Hand Gestures: interactive motions (tap, flick, swipe and spread) popularized by smartphones and tablets allow tasks on the LCD screen, such as scrolling lists, zooming maps and searching favorites to be easily accomplished.

12.3 in. LCD reconfigurable gauge cluster (on select models) offers four selectable displays – Simple, Enhanced, Balanced  and Performance  – that can mix traditional vehicle data such as a speedometer and fuel gauge with navigation, entertainment and 3D vehicle image.

Natural Speech Recognition lets consumers speak logically with fewer specific commands to recall stored media or input navigation destinations. CUE’s text-to-speech feature will also allow consumers to receive text messages by system voice and to send recorded text messages in return. 

Linux operating system, “open” software platform and ARM 11 3-core processor, each operating at 400 million of instructions (mips) per second. This  hardware setup offers 3.5 times more processing power  than current infotainment systems, and allow developers to write applications to CUE that be downloaded by consumers.

Please contact Adam Yamada-Hanff at – [email protected] – for comments, questions, or topics. You can also follow him on Twitter @AdamsAutoAdvice