Vehicle immersive communication system

An apparatus comprising:

• a user interface, in a communication system of a vehicle, that handles user inputs and outputs;
• and
• a control unit, in the communication system of the vehicle, operatively connected with the user interface, that causes:
• activation of a connectivity function that provides wireless connectivity with respect to the user inputs and outputs, the connectivity function configured to support either one or both of mobile phone connectivity and e-mail account connectivity;
• and
• processing of, in cooperation with the connectivity function, voice-based or audible inputs and outputs that provide a user with an immersive in-vehicle environment having hands-free interaction and access to information that are based on preferences or settings in at least one user profile that is accessible via at least one among the mobile phone connectivity and the e-mail account connectivity, depending upon characteristics of a user profile,
• wherein:
• the control unit supports multiple types of data compression or encoding formats and supports personalization or customization for user-tailored information used in handling of, at least one among:
• scheduling, notification alarms, custom alerts, time-sensitive rules, vehicle-awareness actions, text-to-speech settings, speech recognition performance, and multiple user support, in providing the immersive in-vehicle environment;
• the user profile is modifiable via a web-based interface of the user interface and contains rules related to delivery of the online content;
• and
• the user profile is accessible via the control unit.

An apparatus comprising:

• a user interface, of a communication system, configured to handle user inputs and user outputs;
• a control unit, of the communication system and operatively connected with the user interface, configured to cause:
• activation of a connectivity function that provides wireless connectivity with respect to the user inputs and outputs, the connectivity function configured to support either one or both of mobile device connectivity and e-mail account connectivity, and
• processing of, in cooperation with the connectivity function, voice-based or audible inputs and outputs that provide a user with an immersive communication mode environment having interaction and access to information that are based on preferences or settings in at least one user profile that is accessible via at least one among the mobile device connectivity and the e-mail account connectivity, depending upon characteristics of the user profile;
• and
• operation of a built-in intelligent assistant
• wherein:
• the control unit is configured to operate the built-in intelligent assistant to prompt the user with verbal inquiries to suggest possible actions and provide help with the interaction and access to information to support the immersive communication mode environment;
• for the connectivity function, at least one among the user interface and the control unit, and the intelligent assistant are further configured to additionally support server connectivity;
• the user profile is stored in at least one among an Internet server and the control unit, and downloadable via communication according to a wireless standard protocol;
• the user profile is modifiable via a web-based interface of the user interface and contains rules related to delivery of the online content;
• and
• the user profile is accessible via the control unit.

A vehicle equipped with a communication system comprising a controller configured to:

• establish a connection with a mobile device for communication with the mobile device;
• identify a user profile dedicated to the mobile device among at least two user profiles for at least two users of at least two mobile devices, the user profile including at least one setting related to the vehicle;
• and
• control the vehicle based upon the at least one setting included in the identified user profile, wherein controlling the vehicle based on the at least one setting comprises:
• providing, through an interface of the vehicle, inside the vehicle, and based on the at least one setting, a notification related to online content received by the mobile device via a communication based on the at least one setting;
• wherein:
• the at least one setting related to the vehicle is different for the each of the at least two user profiles;
• the user profile dedicated to the mobile device is stored on an Internet server and downloadable via communication according to a wireless standard protocol;
• the user profile is modifiable via the interface which is a web-based interface, and contains rules related to delivery of the online content;
• and
• the user profile is accessible via the controller, which is configured to use pairing information from the mobile device.