Drivers: Start your imaginations. Welcome to the dashboard of the future—one with new services brought to you by Motorola's state-of-the-art iRadio Telematics System. It may remind you of your car stereo, but the iRadio system is far more than that. Picture entertainment, information, navigation, and communication, all converging in one smart, wireless package that serves you while you're behind the wheel, making your life easier and more productive.

Perhaps you're wondering, "What is telematics?" Well, telematics is an automotive communications term that refers to all the electronic systems in and out of the vehicle that, when combined, help the driver to navigate roads with greater ease, communicate more freely, and enjoy more entertainment options. These systems can also assist the driver in case of emergency. Motorola is the leader in today's telematics, of which the iRadio Telematics System is a cutting-edge technological extension.

Before you even get behind the wheel, the iRadio system gets personal with you: You preconfigure your preferences through your own Web page, which the system will later access wirelessly and apply to the car.

Then, let the games (or music, or driving directions) begin.

"We really tried to focus the iRadio system toward the things that you would want to do in your car, and to the experience you would want to have in your car," says Jeff Lee, the engineer who heads the iRadio Telematics System team at Motorola.

What does this mean for you, the driver? Well, some new services are coming up fast:

• Server-based navigation (helps you with route planning and instruction while you drive and tells you when you go off-route, as well as providing other services) 
• Satellite radio channels 
• "Genre" music-on-demand (when you travel, the iRadio system accesses your personal Web page to find out your preference in music, then finds the local radio stations for you) 
• Location-based weather and traffic reports 
• User-specific news, stock portfolio updates, and infotainment options 
• Address-book updates and inquiries 
• Hands-free telephony services (including emergency notification communications) and voicemail/e-mail access 
• Secure e-commerce transactions through your preconfigured Web page

The system functions with multiple wireless network types: analog, digital cellular, and two-way paging. Lee has watched the team take car technology's communications capabilities to the limit: "It allows one to systematically look for content along the airwaves, no matter what kind of content it is." The driver could tune to a conventional radio station—or access content through satellite radio, a two-way radio, television, or cellular network connections.

Ask Lee how plans for the system began, and he relates a simple question Motorola designers asked: "What's possible?"

The team began by envisioning all the possibilities. The designers wanted to improve car drivers' lives both inside and outside of the automobile, and they wanted to combine wireless and automotive technologies. Ultimately, they decided to focus their plans for a communications revolution on what was, at the time, the paradigm of automotive communications: the car stereo.

What the designers came up with was something extraordinary. To allow drivers to activate the features while keeping their eyes on the road, voice-recognition capabilities and text-to-speech technologies were integrated into the interface as well as the usual knobs and buttons. The iRadio Telematics System interface can give you a voice response and simultaneously show you easy-to-glance-at icons.

The iRadio Telematics System can also synchronize with a multitude of personal devices, including cell phones, personal digital assistants, pagers, and other electronic devices. The inclusion of a GPS (global positioning system) receiver also enables all the location-based services.

Motorola is licensing the enabling technologies behind the iRadio Telematics System to auto manufacturers, telecommunications carriers, service providers, and traditional car-audio electronics providers.

So, pretty soon your everyday drive won't be an everyday experience.