Cadillac Gives A CUE

[William Maley]

Cadillac CUE: Intuitive and Connected Driving in 2012

Integrates interior design with industry-first control, command technologies

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• Natural voice recognition, fewer buttons, larger icons, greater customization
  
• Central instrument panel features fully capacitive faceplate, vibrant 8-inch LCD touch screen with proximity sensing, multi-touch hand gestures
  
• 3.5 times more processing power than current systems
  

2011-10-12 - SAN DIEGO – Cadillac CUE, a comprehensive in-vehicle experience that merges intuitive design with auto industry-first controls and commands for information and entertainment data, will benefit consumers by offering personalized, connected driving beginning in 2012.

“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.

CUE will debut in 2012 in the Cadillac XTS and ATS luxury sedans and SRX luxury crossover. CUE is designed to be unique for each consumer, from the “simple user” to the fully connected “super user.”

“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, which stands for Cadillac User Experience, 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 that reduces complexity through customized information, natural voice commands and fewer buttons and larger icons

For example, most of today’s luxury cars have around 20 buttons controlling the radio and entertainment functions. CUE reduces that to just four buttons.

“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.”

The heart of CUE is the 8-inch LCD touch screen, seamlessly integrated into the top of the central instrument panel and a motorized fully capacitive faceplate at the bottom concealing a 1.8L storage area. The vibrant LCD screen displays CUE’s home page, which resembles a smart phone’s screen by using large, easy-to-target icons to execute commands. Capacitive refers to using electrodes to sense the conductive properties of objects, such as a finger.

“CUE is a very elegant in-vehicle hub of all the information and entertainment in your life. All of CUE’s controls use the same design vernac­ular to create a harmony unique to Cadillac,” said Dave Lyon, executive director, Cadillac Interior Design. “Vibrant colors, a piano black face plate, precision-milled buttons, intuitive touch screen placement and sculpted front console provide a spacious, fashion-forward cabin.”

To improve simplicity and connectivity for consumers, CUE will feature several auto industry firsts.

• Proximity Sensing: As the user’s hand approaches the LCD screen, command icons appear. Icons can be customized and 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.
  

“It’s processing speed and power that make CUE so capable,” said Bly.

Connectivity, Control, Convenience

CUE development began in 2008 when Cadillac designers rode with 32 consumers for six months to study driver habits. Engineers and designers then used the data to develop CUE.

CUE’s LCD screen features the driver’s five most frequently used functions stored along the top of the screen. Along the bottom of the screen, users can select up to 60 favorites from music to points of interest, addresses, maps for weather or directions, phone numbers or system commands, such as “tag song.”

Favorites can also be re-ordered and named to be easily recallable.

The steering wheel contains a five-way controller on the right side to navigate the cluster display, a vol­ume control and buttons to cycle through favorites, while the five-way controller on the left side manages cruise con­trol functions, voice recognition, phone hang-up and heated steering wheel.

CUE’s customization and control features are further enhanced through OnStar’s suite of safety, security and connectivity services , such as Turn-by-Turn navigation, Automatic Crash Notification, hands-free calling and the OnStar RemoteLink mobile application.

Key OnStar features are available through CUE’s LCD screen, gauge cluster and steering wheel controls.

[SoCalCTS]

Finally Cadillac goes kicking and screaming into the modern age! I can't wait for my Cadillac ATS or XTS... decisions, decisions.

[FAPTurbo]

I'm sure the upcoming product from BMW that is similar will have FOUR, COUNT THEM, FOUR PROCESSING CORES!

GOD GM WHY ARE YOU SO BEHIND THE TIMES?!

[Camino LS6]

A market necessity, I suppose...

[hyperv6]

I is marketing as today you have to have the latest and best electronics to matter and the mechanicals are secondary in most cars.

To bad we can not worry about driving and leave it at that.

[Camino LS6]

If it had a delete option, I'd use it.

[smk4565]

I am glad they are going to put more technology in cars, really anything an iPad or smart phone can do, the car should be able to do. These new TFT screen monitors are neat, and a lot of cars are using them, however, I think I still prefer good old fashion mechanical gauges made with real metal, as opposed to having a computer monitor behind the steering wheel.

[CSpec]

It pains me to see that slick interior with even slicker software setup, and then a cheapo corporate GM magic stick windshield wiper stalk.

[Robert Hall]

Cool...no mention of the CTS..waiting until the NG model?

[William Maley]

Cool...no mention of the CTS..waiting until the NG model?

I would assume so

[Justin Bimmer]

That is a mock-up using the SRX interior.

[Robert Hall]

That is a mock-up using the SRX interior.

That's what I thought that was...something funny about the steering wheel buttons, though.

[regfootball]

impressive......kudos to GM.

[loki]

"3.5 times more processing power than current systems"

using amd fusion chips maybe?

[Justin Bimmer]

That is a mock-up using the SRX interior.

That's what I thought that was...something funny about the steering wheel buttons, though.

The wheel on the CUE mock up is not the wheel that they currently use in the SRX. I'm guessing it is the future Cadillac wheel.

[SAmadei]

More CPU power the system has, the less capable and more distracted the driver gets.

It must be a lot of fun trying to drive while a Gears of War 3 Deathmatch is going on with the car next to you.

[Carguy]

Just as long as this tech at this level does not show up on a Chevy Spark soon afterwords! Keep the Cadillac features more premium then the other GM brands!

[Robert Hall]

Just as long as this tech at this level does not show up on a Chevy Spark soon afterwords! Keep the Cadillac features more premium then the other GM brands!

Well, Ford started their SYNC w/ the cheaper youth-oriented cars first rather than the premium models...Cadillac may have it as an exclusive at first for a year or so, but it will spread..telematics are becoming a very important product differentiator for many consumers.

Telematics can be a driver distraction, though. I could see myself trying to read email, Twitter, view latest posts on C&G, Facebook, play Farmville, etc while at stoplights..(I do the 1st 4 on my phone now at stoplights, no Farmville app for Android that I've seen yet).

Edited October 13, 2011 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[Carguy]

Just as long as this tech at this level does not show up on a Chevy Spark soon afterwords! Keep the Cadillac features more premium then the other GM brands!

Well, Ford started their SYNC w/ the cheaper youth-oriented cars first rather than the premium models...Cadillac may have it as an exclusive at first for a year or so, but it will spread..telematics are becoming a very important product differentiator for many consumers.

Telematics can be a driver distraction, though. I could see myself trying to read email, Twitter, view latest posts on C&G, Facebook, play Farmville, etc while at stoplights..(I do the 1st 4 on my phone now at stoplights, no Farmville app for Android that I've seen yet).

Well they should have two or three versions of this Tech with the most premium version only offered on top end Buick's and all Cadillac's! I do not want to see GM turn into Ford with high cost Fords and affordable Lincolns! With a loaded Flex costing as much as and even more then some versions of the MKT!

[Z-06]

It seems people here may have forgotten of Mylink for Chevy and Intellink for Buick GMC.

Cadillac gets a CUE. So no GM will not be recycling the Cadillac system into lesser vehicles.

[SoCalCTS]

Just as long as this tech at this level does not show up on a Chevy Spark soon afterwords! Keep the Cadillac features more premium then the other GM brands!

I couldn't disagree more. This needs to be passed down to the other brands sooner than later. Cadillac needs to keep innovating and not rest on its laurel wreath. Cadillac needs to be thinking about whats next by the time this is rolled out.

[Drew Dowdell]

That is a mock-up using the SRX interior.

That's what I thought that was...something funny about the steering wheel buttons, though.

The wheel on the CUE mock up is not the wheel that they currently use in the SRX. I'm guessing it is the future Cadillac wheel.

it's the Cadillac XTS wheel and part of the center stack.

[Drew Dowdell]

Just as long as this tech at this level does not show up on a Chevy Spark soon afterwords! Keep the Cadillac features more premium then the other GM brands!

Well, Ford started their SYNC w/ the cheaper youth-oriented cars first rather than the premium models...Cadillac may have it as an exclusive at first for a year or so, but it will spread..telematics are becoming a very important product differentiator for many consumers.

Telematics can be a driver distraction, though. I could see myself trying to read email, Twitter, view latest posts on C&G, Facebook, play Farmville, etc while at stoplights..(I do the 1st 4 on my phone now at stoplights, no Farmville app for Android that I've seen yet).

Android has been able to take voice commands to txt, send emails, create calendar entries, look up weather, post to twitter, etc, already.

oh yeah, and so can the iPhone now too.

[Justin Bimmer]

Anybody go to the LA show and try out the kiosk GM had there? If not, anybody planning on doing it in Detroit or Chicago?