Financial Times. March 2002.
Telematics
In-car entertainment has come a long way
since the days of the transistor radio. The gadgetry in some cars,
including multi-CD changers, DVD players, surround sound systems
and games consoles, would put many living rooms to shame. At this
year's Cebit show, for example, Sony will unveil an in-car audio
library system, capable of storing up to 169 hours of music on
a 10Gb hard disc drive, as well as a CD tuner with an LCD screen
which can display photographs and animations. Both devices use
Sony's Memory Stick removable data storage medium to import data.
As long ago as 1997, Volvo offered a Dolby Pro-Logic surround
sound system on its C70 coupe, and this year, the company's XC90
sports utility vehicle comes with Dolby Pro-Logic II matrix decoding
technology, which transforms standard two-channel stereo into
multichannel surround sound. Many upmarket cars, meanwhile, offer
DVD video systems as an optional extra, with video screens mounted
in the back of the front seats to keep the kids happy in the back.
Smart cars
But there's more to in-car technology than having a good time.
Developments in the field of telematics are transforming the car
from a simple means of transport into a mobile communications
centre, where information is always at hand, and where an accident
can trigger an automatic response from the emergency services,
improving the safety and security of the driver and passengers.
Early telematics systems consisted of little more than satellite
navigation. But sophisticated, and useful, though these systems
are, offering drivers "turn-by-turn' instructions and directions
to their destination, they represent only a fraction of what telematics
can do.
Telematics uses a Telematic Communications Unit (TCU), "black
box" buried deep in the heart of the car, which enables the
vehicle to communicate wirelessly (using the GSM mobile
communications protocol in Europe) with a remote server.
A telematics-equipped car can do a number of things, depending
on the sophistication of the unit and the level of service provision
the car owner is prepared to pay for. The most common features
are what are dubbed: "e-call" (emergency call) and "b-call"
(breakdown call) services. These send a distress message from
the car in the event of an accident or a breakdown. The e-call
is triggered by an airbag activation detector which is, typically,
crash-proof, and has its own back-up battery. The b-call is triggered
when the driver presses a button in the car to be connected to
his roadside service company. The message pinpoints the location
of the vehicle, and might also include information relating to
the nature of the fault
Beyond these basic services, telematics can do much more. "Imagine
you come back to your car in a car park and can't find your keys.
A telematics system can unlock your car doors over the air"
says Harben Dass, director of strategy and sales at Motorola,
whose Telematics group has shipped 1.5 million telematics units
worldwide, to car manufacturers including Mercedes-Benz and Ford.
"Perhaps the car park is so big that you can't even find
your car" adds Mr. Dass. "A telematics system can flash
the lights and sound the horn for you to help you track it down."
Beyond these types of applications, telematics can also be used
to provide location-based "Concierge" services, assisting
the driver in finding the nearest restaurant, theatre or petrol
station in a strange city, and for mobile data applications. With
a driver to get the car from A to B, the busy executive can sit
in the back and check emails, browse websites and keep on top
of the workload.
These data-rich applications will become a reality over the next
couple of years as higher-bandwidth, 3G mobile services create
a fatter pipe into the car, enabling the executive not only to
work on the move, but to download audio and video files or even
play games online too.
Driving forces
Telematics development is being driven by a number of factors.
One is increasing concern about car theft. Among other things,
a telematics system can track the position of a stolen vehicle.
Another is legislative. The Block Exemption regulations which
have traditionally exempted the car industry from standard competition
rules, and so enabled car manufacturers to exert tight controls
on who sells their goods, are due to be abolished in September.
After this date, car dealers will be able to sell multiple makes
of car, and new retailers will be able to enter the market. This
imminent severing of the ties between the car makers and the traditional
car dealer is fuelling interest in telematics.
"Up until now, the manufacturers have had cosy dealer relationships,
but with the changes in Block Exemption regulations, they're looking
for any ways they can to improve relationships with their customers,
and Telematics is one way they see of doing this" says Mike
Dornan, research analyst with Gartner G2. In fact, says Mr. Dornan,
telematics goes beyond simple relationship-building.
"If you drive a car around and you become dependent on the
system within the car, when you next come to change the car, you're
not going to want to give that up or learn a new system, so it's
building in some inertia with the driver" he says.
Ford released a telematics-equipped version of the Focus in Germany
last year, developing the telematics system in conjucntion with
the telecommunications company, Vodafone. The car is now also
available in the UK, along with a telematics-equipped Mondeo.
Ford european communications manager Don Hume says the company's
focus initially was on safety, particularly the ability to locate
the vehicle in the event of an accident. Going forward, however,
he says telematics will have an increasingly important role to
play in the company's relationships with its customers.
"We see (telematics) as a key development for the future"
says Hume. "As it develops, we see it as becoming a key interface
between us and the customer, providing feedback to us in terms
of the mechanical state of that particular vehicle, and providing
the driver with useful information about routes, facilities and
so on."
By 2004-05, says Hume, telematics should be available on most
of the Ford range, from the new Fiesta upwards, and this, says
Motorola's Mr. Dass, will be an industry-wide trend.
"You're going to see the luxury cars, the BMWs, the Mercedes,
Audis, Jaguar, coming with these systems in 2002 and 2003",
he says. "Then in 2004 and 2005, you're going to see mass
market cars coming with similar features, though not quite as
sophisticated. So you'll be able to buy a mid-sized car, probably
in 2004, from five different manufacturers, and all of them will
have telematics on board as standard. "
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