Parrot Faurecia Automotive SAS is a French tech company that designs, develops and markets

infotainment Infotainment (a portmanteau of ''information'' and ''entertainment''), also called soft news as a way to distinguish it from serious journalism or hard news, is a type of media, usually television or online, that provides a combination of infor ...

products for passenger vehicles and commercial trucks.

History and products

The Paris-based tech firm designs its own software, hardware and processors. It is an early adopter of

Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...

technology and is an associate member of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group. Parrot originally stepped into the automotive business in the 2000s, with aftermarket Bluetooth hands free car kits and car radios. In 2011, at the Las Vegas

Consumer Electronics Show CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typi ...

, the company introduced the first

Android Android may refer to: Science and technology * Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human * Android (operating system), Google's mobile operating system ** Bugdroid, a Google mascot sometimes referred to ...

-based car radio. In the following years, Parrot's automotive business unit transitioned from aftermarket products for consumers to infotainment platforms and connectivity modules sold directly to car makers or to Tier-1 suppliers. Parrot's technology revolves around connectivity, analog and

digital radio Digital radio is the use of digital technology to transmit or receive across the radio spectrum. Digital transmission by radio waves includes digital broadcasting, and especially digital audio radio services. Types In digital broadcasting syst ...

, voice processing and

recognition Recognition may refer to: *Award, something given in recognition of an achievement Machine learning *Pattern recognition, a branch of machine learning which encompasses the meanings below Biometric * Recognition of human individuals, or biomet ...

. Parrot's head units provide entertainment features for the front and the rear of the vehicle, are mostly Android-based, and support Android Auto and

Apple CarPlay CarPlay is an Apple standard which enables a car radio or head unit to be a display and a controller for an iOS device. It is available on all iPhone models beginning with iPhone 5 running iOS 7.1 or later. According to Apple's website, all ma ...

. The Simple Box, introduced at CES 2016, enables the vehicle occupants to use their own tablets or smartphones as the main interface with their vehicles. In 2014, Parrot joined the Open Automotive Alliance, an alliance of auto makers and tech companies fostering the use of Android in the automotive industry. In 2015, Parrot Automotive branched off from Parrot SA to become a fully owned subsidiary. In 2016, Parrot launches Octopus 3+, a TV and radio tuner processor. In March 2017, Faurecia starts the acquisition project for Parrot Automotive. The company is renamed Parrot Faurecia Automotive. On October 1, 2018, Faurecia completes the acquisition of 100% of Parrot Faurecia Automotive Parrot Automotive's customers include car makers such as

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...

, Volvo Cars, and

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

References

{{reflist 1994 establishments in France 2015 establishments in Paris Technology companies of France Automotive accessories Consumer electronics In-car entertainment Travel technology