Harman wants to be the brains inside all connected cars

LAS VEGAS — Dinesh Paliwal drives a sleek snake of a car, a BMW i8, befitting his status as CEO of electronics giant Harman.

Paliwal is happy with his high-end hybrid. But it’s readily apparent that there’s lust in his heart for the lime green version of the i8, which is packed with Harman (HAR) connected car technology.

Dubbed the Etos and built in conjunction with German tuner Rinspeed, this glammed out i8 dominates Harman’s showroom here at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show. It showcases the kind of technology, well beyond audio, that Paliwal is determined to spread throughout the automotive ecosystem.

“What we’re looking at is a future where cars will be comfortable and safe and offer the luxuries of both home and office,” says Paliwal. “That means lots of sensors and software, as well as the critical safety systems to protect the car’s information from hackers.”

Stamford, Conn-based Harman is a quiet partner in everything from Audi’s interactive dashboard screens to Tesla’s software updates, helping to keep cutting edge technological interfaces simple for consumers.

That's in addition to its audio-focused brands — including Harman Kardon, Mark Levinson and Infinity — whose infotainment tech powers systems for the likes of BMW, Lexus and Ferrari.

Earlier this week, Harman announced it was buying yet another connected car-focused cyber-security company, TowerSec. At one Harman demo station, executives showed how a hacker breeching a car’s systems through a smartphone-anchored dongle in the OBDII computer port could be detected and thwarted in real time before the vehicle’s engine and brakes were hijacked.

Paliwal says it’s all part of a mission to ensure that all the advancements brought to consumers through connected and cloud-based mobility aren't jeopardized by compromised systems. The hacking of connected cars continues to be an issue that worries those concerned about turning cars into sentient machines.

Harman has been hosting a number of top tier automakers at its showroom over the course of CES, Paliwal says. With each executive, he reiterates his company’s four-pronged focus on developing reliable and upgradable software, interfaces that can be personalized, productivity-focused applications and security.

On the productivity front, Harman on Monday announced a partnership with Microsoft, with a goal of eventually integrating access to a full suite of Office 365 applications into the car. That includes the ability to do Skype audio and even video calls, the latter of course only when cars drive themselves. Voice activation will happen through Microsoft's cloud-based assistant, Cortana.

The Etos test-car offers a glimpse of the car of the future. Although the sports coupe was stationary at the Harman stand, a video of the car in motion shows its steering wheel suddenly vanishing into the dashboard as the car’s computer takes over driving duties. The vehicle features three large screens, one for each of the two passengers and a central console. Beneath the passenger screen is a small bookshelf.

“In the future, we’ll be working and relaxing in cars,” says Paliwal with a laugh.

And if we’re driving, there will also be a dash-mounted camera keeping tabs on how we’re doing. Another Harman tech development is a pupil-based driver monitoring system that reads the diameter of a driver’s pupils and, when necessary, makes adjustments to the car’s behavior based on whether it detects that the driver is distracted.

So, for example, if the sensor concludes that you’re not concentrating on your driving based on pupil dilation, it may slow the car on its own.

Asked whether Google and possibly even Apple getting into the car business ups the competition for Harman, Paliwal shakes his head.

“Quite the opposite,” he says. “While those companies certainly know a lot of about software and hardware, the minute they decided to get into the automotive game that essentially locked them out of collaborating with other existing companies, and that gives us an opportunity.”

Stay with USA TODAY tech reporter @marcodellacava for more auto tech news from CES.