Defender is the First Vehicle with Dual-eSIM Connectivity
The Land Rover Defender family will showcase its 21st Century dual-eSIM connectivity at CES 2020 in Las Vegas.
The new Defender is the first vehicle with two embedded LTE modems for enhanced connectivity, while Jaguar Land Rover’s new Pivi Pro touchscreen infotainment has an industry-leading design and shares electronic hardware with the latest smartphones.
The fast-responding and intuitive Pivi Pro system allows customers to make full use of the Defender’s Software-Over-The-Air (SOTA) technology, without compromising its ability to stream music and connect to apps on the move. With its own designated LTE modem and eSIM, the SOTA technology can operate in the background, without affecting the day-to-day connectivity provided by the separate modem and eSIM in the infotainment module.
The always-on and always-connected Pivi Pro set-up sits at the heart of the Defender’s cabin and its 10-inch high-resolution touchscreen allows customers to control all aspects of the vehicle using the same processing hardware as the latest smartphones. In addition, customers can connect two mobile devices to the infotainment head unit at once using Bluetooth, so the driver and passenger can enjoy hands-free functionality concurrently without the need to swap connections.
Peter Virk, Director of Connected Car and Future Technology, Jaguar Land Rover, said, “With one LTE modem and eSIM dedicated to the Software-Over-The-Air (SOTA) technology and the same set-up looking after music streaming and apps, the new Defender has the digital capacity to keep customers connected, updated and entertained at all times anywhere in the world. You could liken the design to a brain, with each half enjoying its own connection for unrivaled and uninterrupted service. Like the brain, one side of the system looks after logical functions, like SOTA, while the other takes care of more creative tasks.”
Pivi Pro has its own battery, so the system is always on and able to respond immediately on start-up. As a result, the navigation is ready to accept new destinations the moment the driver sits in the vehicle, with no delay. Customers can also download updates, so the system is always using the latest software – including navigation mapping data – without the need to visit retailers for updates to be installed.
The LTE connectivity behind Jaguar Land Rover’s infotainment also allows the new Defender to roam across multiple networks in different regions to optimize connectivity, so customers suffer minimal interruptions caused by coverage blackspots from individual providers. In addition, the cloud-based architecture provided by CloudCar makes it easy to access and use content and services on the move and will even support in-car parking payments when the Defender hits UK streets this spring.
Land Rover has also confirmed the first new Defenders will feature more SOTA capability than originally projected. At its Frankfurt Motor Show launch in September, Land Rover announced that 14 individual electronic control modules would be able to receive remote updates, but the first production vehicles will feature 16 control units capable of receiving SOTA updates. Land Rover engineers estimate that in-dealer software updates will be a thing of the past for Defender customers before the end of 2021 as additional SOTA modules come online, rising from the current 16 to more than 45.
Land Rover will showcase its advanced Pivi Pro technology at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, with the New Defender 110 and 90 taking pride of place on the Qualcomm (LVCC, North Hall, 5606) and BlackBerry (LVCC, North Hall 7515) stands respectively.
Photos: Land Rover UK