For Cadillac, a Tale of Technology and Patience

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- With the release of the XTS and its advanced CUE touch screen device, Cadillac aims to gain a competitive edge against European brands.

Cadillac has sought to update and refine its sedan with the XTS, incorporating innovative technology into the car. Karl Brauer, the CEO of Total Car Score, says the new XTS shows how Cadillac has "finished clearing out old, tired models from previous eras" and is finally moving in the right direction towards more advanced cars.

Cadillac developed CUE, which helps the driver operate the car more easily. Jim Vurpillat, Cadillac global marketing director, says "CUE is all about convergence -- the notion that all of the information, communication and entertainment options are available through one elegant, easy-to-use interface".

Vurpillat says Cadillac used CUE "as an opportunity to make both a technology and design statement." Through CUE, Cadillac has introduced new features to the auto industry such as natural voice recognition, haptic feedback, and proximity sensing.

Natural voice recognition enables the driver to speak normally when issuing commands to the car that are not restricted to pre-set phrases. After a simple push of a button, voice commands can be used to operate the phone, navigation, or media systems in the car.

Whenever using the touch-screen, the user has haptic feedback, which means the user receives a slight pulse on the finger after pressing a button. This haptic feedback serves as confirmation to the user that a button was pressed. The driver's seat also uses haptic feedback, so that a pulse goes through the seat when the driver drifts off the road or is close to hitting another object.

To keep the screen clean and non-distracting, CUE also has proximity sensing. All the apps not in use disappear but will reappear immediately after placing a hand in front of the screen.

Cadillac has stressed that the CUE system will be easy-to-use and clutter-free for drivers. To make sure customers can easily learn this new system, Cadillac hired more CUE experts to help customers navigate CUE. Cadillac also created an app called CUE Trainer, which has videos and visuals on how to use CUE. Every customer who buys an XTS also receives an iPad, so the training app will be available to every customer.