HARMAN International Industries announced a strategic partnership to extend Dirac’s digital audio solutions and superior tuning technology to HARMAN’s best-in-class automotive audio and infotainment system applications.

Through this partnership, HARMAN will also become a worldwide distributor of Dirac’s sound technologies to automotive sound system suppliers and car manufacturers, bringing together HARMAN's legacy of premium audio and Dirac’s mission to develop technologies for the ultimate sound experience. 

This collaboration builds on HARMAN’s existing partnership with Dirac that provides the Bowers & Wilkins premium in-car surround system for the Volvo XC90 with Dirac’s advanced sound optimization technology Dirac Unison™. HARMAN will implement Dirac’s advanced digital audio technologies to enhance the in-car entertainment experience for consumers and enable automakers to further differentiate and elevate their sound systems across brands and car lines. 

“Dirac continues to be a leader in the development of audio quality optimization technologies, and we are pleased to integrate their exceptional solutions with HARMAN’s superior audio systems to bring best-in-class audio to our automotive partners around the world,” said Michael Mauser, Executive Vice President and President, Lifestyle Audio at HARMAN. “Integrating Dirac technologies into HARMAN’s products will further create great lifestyle experiences for today's connected generation through premium automotive audio and infotainment systems.”

“HARMAN has become the premier audio and infotainment provider for automotive applications, and we’re thrilled to work closely together and add our digital audio solutions to the most compelling automotive audio portfolio in the world,” commented Mathias Johansson, CEO of Dirac. “The team at Dirac will be fully vested in developing new digital audio solutions for the automotive market segment as we collaborate with HARMAN to bring the highest level of value and innovation to the most sophisticated automotive environments.”

HARMAN automotive partners will now have the opportunity to license Dirac’s advanced technologies for sound optimization directly within eligible models, including room correction, sound field synthesis, active room treatment and more. Additionally, HARMAN will work closely with Dirac R&D engineers to ensure seamless integration of Dirac’s existing and new technologies into automotive audio and infotainment system applications. 

Automotive IT -- Despite greater focus on digital technologies throughout the auto industry, carmakers are  still struggling with digitalization, according to a new study.

The study, conducted by management consultants Batten & Company, found that the auto industry lags behind most other industry sectors in the implementation of digital technologies.

For their research, the consultants developed a so-called “digital automotive index” that measures 70 factors. They then compared the pressure from customers, suppliers and competitors to digitize with the actual degree of digitalization in the industry.

According to the study, only Mercedes-Benz, VW and BMW scored well in the study. Land Rover and Kia were at the bottom of the 20-brand ranking.

“All are talking about digitalization, but many managers aren’t focusing on what is essential: What does an automaker need in concrete terms to address in a targeted and solution-oriented way the growing digitalization pressure ,” said Tobias Goebbel, Batten managing partner.

Read the rest of the story here: http://www.automotiveit.com/study-automakers-struggle-with-digitalization/news/id-0049757