Traveler Information > Telematics

• Telematics encompasses consumer products, services, and supporting systems that deliver information, communication, and entertainment to vehicles and mobile devices (e.g. personal digital assistants (PDAs), pagers, cellular phones, and palm and laptop computers).
• Telematics technologies include: global positioning systems (GPS) for determining vehicle location; one- and two-way pagers; and cellular communications, such as: digital, compressed digital packet data (CDPD), short message services (SMS), packet-switched data, and global service (GSM).
• Existing and new services targeted to vehicle drivers and passengers, include: emergency, navigation, concierge and transaction, communication and personal information, and entertainment.

• In the US, consumers are primarily attracted to emergency response systems (e.g., MayDay or OnStar). In Japan and Europe, navigation systems have been much more popular (largely due to complicated roadways).
• Frost and Sullivan, an international marketing consulting and training company, predicts that telematics will achieve revenues of $7.2 billion (US) in 2005.
• To date, very little research is available on the potential benefits and costs and full market potential of telematics.

• Potential benefits of telematics include improved safety, law enforcement, and legal protection (e.g., MayDay services and anti-theft devices); information access; enhanced productivity, convenience (e.g., concierge services), and enjoyment (e.g., infotainment services); increased highway use (e.g., alternative routes can be more easily accessed and accidents avoided, so more travel demand); increased traffic and real-time traffic information monitoring (e.g., via GPS and cell phones); and E-commerce (e.g., in-vehicle shopping).
• Potential costs include capital, maintenance, and operating costs of telematics devices and infrastructure, including the center operators, and accidents due to driver distraction.

• In North America, the telematics industry will be influenced by the time needed for a digital cellular standard to emerge. In the US, there are now several standards: AMPS (a first-generation analog cellular), TDMA (digital cellular, narrow band), and CDMA (digital cellular, wide band). With the wide band, there is a 75 MHz spectrum in contrast to a narrow band of 25 to 30 MHz, which new generation cell phones use (e.g., personal communications services (PCS)). Another emerging standard is ITS Data Bus (IDB). IDB could allow for seamless integration of technologies inside a vehicle.
• Ensuring safety is critical to in-vehicle telematics deployment since accessing information while driving is different from sitting at a computer. In the near future, voice recognition or enablers will help individuals access information safely within a vehicle, without the need to handle controls.
• Privacy concerns (e.g., monitoring of individuals) represent another deployment challenge.

• Telematics product consumers are most aware of in the US is General Motors' OnStar.
• OnStar has already enrolled over 100,000 subscribers and is targeting one million by the end of 2000 and four million by the end of 2003.
• OnStar links customers (i.e., status and location) to a communication center that offers two levels of service: 1) basic and 2) enhanced. The basic service includes: unlocking power doors in case a client is locked out of a vehicle; unauthorized vehicle entry and movement warning (i.e., GPS vehicle tracking in case of theft); notification of air bag deployment; medical response and accident assistance (by means of a built-in phone); and remote engine diagnosis to avoid breakdowns.
• The premium package also includes a concierge service for hotel and entertainment reservations; checking flight schedules; and locating local attractions or ATMs. At present, OnStar is only available on GM vehicles.
• Examples of other telematics services include:
  • Alpine's Mobile Mayday -- primarily a vehicle alarm and vehicle location system.
  • Motorola's iRadio -- an interactive radio that allows users to listen to their e-mail, download audio books, get stock reports, and hear music from a variety of delivery platforms. Market analysts estimate that 40 million vehicles will have satellite radio receivers by 2008 (a US $5 billion/year market).
  • Visteon's Information Communication Entertainment, Safety, and Security System' (ICES) -- an integrated service that makes phone calls, checks the news, and communicates with customers' e-mail accounts all by voice command. Another feature is a smart card that can be used to disable an alarm system and unlock car doors. In the near future, ICES will also connect to PDAs, which can be used inside and outside of the vehicle.
  • Clarion's AutoPC -- an in-vehicle computer that provides cellular phone dialing, navigation capabilities, real-time traffic reports, turn-by-turn directions, and business card information access.

   

Author: Susan Shaheen