EVOLUTION OF IN-CAR INFOTAINMENT SYSTEMS

We deep dive into history to learn about how the infotainment systems in the automotive industry evolved through the ages

- Aparajit Shastri

The birth of automobiles was solely to serve the purpose of moving from point A to point B. But humans, being humans, soon got bored of hearing the rumbling sound of the early-age engines and the gusting winds. As it is said, “Necessity is the mother of all greatest inventions.” we today have advanced to an era where artificial intelligence plays a major role in shaping the future. Today, every car comes standard with infotainment systems, but this hasn’t been the story since the beginning. So, how did it all start? Let’s know more…

THE 1930s: THE ANCESTORS 

• AM radio was introduced for the first time in a car.
• For the next two decades, it was just the AM radio on offer.

You can call this the ancestors of what today’s in-car-infotainment system looks like. The earliest ones date back their roots to 1922 on a Chevrolet. However, it wasn’t until the 1930s that people saw this feature as a significant part of the dashboard. These radios were usually fit in the trunk due to the massive size of the units, and the only kind of data was transmitted via radio waves.

THE 1940s-‘50s: RADIO PRESETS