Telematics technology is available for deployment and beginning to move down market, witness General Motors' decision last year to make its OnStar system available as a standard feature on cars and trucks in North America. With features like air bag deployment notification, telematics has the potential to save lives, but can it also sell cars, or at least create a significant revenue stream?

OnStar is promoting telematics aggressively, offering an opt-in e-mail vehicle diagnostics service, and more recently introducing turn-by-turn navigation. GM has demonstrated vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication that allows a vehicle to detect the position and movement of other vehicles up to one-quarter mile away. GM may elect to add vehicle-to-vehicle communication to OnStar, but it is also considering other options for that technology.

Telematics Research Group estimates that OnStar's navigation feature will help the company build its subscriber base to more than 11 million users by 2010, but cautions that it may impact sales of traditional GM navigation systems.

OnStar's turn-by-turn navigation earned the “best navigation product” award at the Telematics Detroit 2006 conference and exhibition in May. OnStar won the “best technology for automotive safety” award.

Also honored in Detroit as the “best telematics solution” was Microsoft's Windows Mobile for Automotive (WMfA) software platform, which also earned Frost & Sullivan's “Excellence in Technology” award.

The WMfA software provides hands-free communication, voice-activated digital music playback and navigation. The low-end version includes basic Bluetooth functionality, speech recognition and speech synthesis, and a digital media player. The mid-level version includes a GPS receiver that can be configured on-board, off-board or for hybrid navigation, and the top-of-the-line model integrates a phone function for emergency calling, remote diagnostics and upgrade functionality.

Last year, Microsoft's Automotive Business Unit engaged Samsung Electronics, Nuance (the former ScanSoft), Siemens, SiRF, Xilinx and Magneti Marelli to develop a telematics system for Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo.

System specs included diagnostic data delivered to Fiat and its dealers, Bluetooth connectivity for hands-free calling, Web services for off-board navigation and real-time traffic information and personal electronic device connectivity via a USB port. Magneti Marelli, Fiat's automotive components arm, was tasked with hardware development. The system includes Samsung's 400 MHz ARM920T-based S3C2440 processor; Xilinx' Spartan-3 FPGA; SiRF's SiRFstarIIt GPS chipset; Siemens' AC45 wireless telecommunications module, and Nuance's VoCon 3200 automotive voice recognition and RealSpeak synthesized speech engine.

The 90 nm Xilinx FPGA implements two UARTS, volume control, a noise suppression filter, echo cancellation, decimeters and scalers. Siemens' AC45, developed for automotive applications, enables wireless access to information on a mobile phone's SIM card via Bluetooth.

The “Blue&Me” telematics system Fiat demonstrated earlier this year provides hands-free mobile phone support, portable media player integration via Bluetooth and USB, and voice-guided navigation.

BMW and Mercedes Benz are also strong proponents of telematics. BMW Assist and Mercedes' Tele Aid are powered by ATX Group. “The market for telematics is continuing to grow,” said ATX president and chief executive officer Steve Millstein. “I'm not aware of a significant OEM in North America that is not at some stage of planning for telematics.”

Toyota has offered G-Book telematics services in Japan since 2002. G-Book technology (Figure 1) was developed by Toyota with help from units of Matsushita, Denso and KDDI.

G-Book uses CDMA2000 1x EV-DO communications technology to achieve 2.4 Mb/s performance. G-Book provides HELPNET emergency call service and enables voice communication via an onboard microphone and speaker. A G-route search function combines vehicle information and communication system (VICS) traffic information with statistical data to forecast road conditions and suggest alternate routes. G-Security includes a cell phone e-mail service to notify drivers if they forget to lock their car doors. G-Book users with Bluetooth phones can connect to G-Book Alpha and access its services.