AT&T, LG announce connected car research partnership

AT&T's Drive Studio is welcoming electronics company LG Electronics to the connected car research fold.

The South Korean electronics maker is the latest company to join AT&T's Drive Studio, a research center focused on connected car technology. The Atlanta, CA-based center has acquired sponsorship from 12 companies since opening in January 2014, all of which are working with US carrier AT&T on infotainment and connected car products.

Qualcomm, Ericsson, iHeartradio, Jasper and Accenture also among the sponsors of the research center, which AT&T says is the first of its kind as a lab for innovation and research in the connected car industry.

The 5000 square-foot facility features garage bays, a speech lab, a showroom to exhibit the latest developments, conference facilities and serves as a hub for sponsors, automakers and the US carrier to develop new solutions for the connected car industry.

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The sponsorship agreement with LG allows the companies to collaborate on the AT&T Drive platform to support services on automotive grade hardware and equipment for our future vehicles.

Chris Penrose, senior vice president of Internet of Things Solutions at AT&T commented:

"At the Drive Studio we work with automakers to make the in-car experience better and safer for the driver and passengers. The spirit of the AT&T Drive Studio is to bring together players in the auto industry ecosystem, like LG, to design the road ahead."

US chipmaker Qualcomm joined the scheme in February this year, bringing the Snapdragon processor to vehicle infotainment and telematics software at the lab. Qualcomm and AT&T are combining the processor technology with AT&T's Drive portfolio, including AT&T's global SIM, bifurcated billing, voice recognition, and 4G LTE network.