Debuting on the 2012 Cadillac XTS and ATS luxury sedans and the SRX luxury crossover is an all new control system for information and entertainment data.? Designed to be unique for each consumer, the new CUE control system adapts to the needs of a broad spectrum of users from a ?simple user? to the fully connected ?super user.?

?CUE will transform personal transportation by?simply and efficiently integrating luxury design and instinctive technology with unparalleled levels of customized in-vehicle connectivity,? Don Butler, Vice President, Cadillac Marketing, announced at the CTIA Wireless Association?s Enterprise and Applications conference.

CUE, which stands for Cadillac User Experience, will pair entertainment and information data from up to 10 Bluetooth-enabled mobile devices, USBs, SD cards and MP3 players with a vehicle infotainment system that reduces complexity through customized information, natural voice commands and fewer buttons and larger icons

For example, most of today?s luxury cars have around 20 buttons controlling the radio and entertainment functions. CUE reduces that to just four buttons.

?CUE doesn?t replace your smartphone or your iPod?,? said Micky Bly, executive director, Global Electric Systems, Infotainment and Electrification. ??Rather it allows consumers to securely store those mobile devices while channeling the information on those devices, along with your navigation tools, weather maps with Doppler radar, AM/FM and XM radio, instant messages and emails, through a central portal in your Cadillac, keeping hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.?

CUE is developed around an 8-inch LCD touch screen, integrated into the top of the central instrument panel.? It also includes a motorized?faceplate at the bottom concealing a 1.8L storage area. ??The LCD screen displays CUE?s home page, which resembles a smart phone?s screen by using large, easy-to-target icons to execute commands.

To improve simplicity and connectivity for consumers, CUE will feature several auto?industry firsts.

• Proximity Sensing:? As the user?s hand approaches the ??LCD screen, command icons appear. Icons can be customized and arranged by consumers to improve ease of use.
• Haptic Feedback: Buttons on the fully capacitive faceplate pulse when pressed to acknowledge the driver?s commands and helps keep the driver?s eyes on the road.
• Multi-Touch Hand Gestures: interactive motions (tap, flick, swipe and spread) popularized by smartphones and tablets allow tasks on the LCD screen, such as scrolling lists, zooming maps and searching favorites to be easily accomplished.
• 12.3 in. LCD reconfigurable gauge cluster (on select models) offers four selectable displays ? Simple, Enhanced, Balanced ?and Performance ?? that can mix traditional vehicle data such as a speedometer and fuel gauge with navigation, entertainment and 3D vehicle image.
• Natural Speech Recognition lets consumers speak logically with fewer specific commands to recall stored media or input navigation destinations. CUE?s text-to-speech feature will also allow consumers to receive text messages by system voice and to send recorded text messages in return.
• Linux operating system, ?open? software platform and ARM 11 3-core processor, each operating at 400 million of instructions (mips) per second. This ?hardware setup offers 3.5 times more processing power ?than current infotainment systems, and allow developers to write applications to CUE that be downloaded by consumers.

CUE development began in 2008 when Cadillac designers rode with 32 consumers for six months to study driver habits. Engineers and designers then used the data to develop CUE.