Boosting M2M connectivity Weekly Brief—7.30.2012

In this week's Brief: NNG, Vodafone, Honda, Aeris Communications, Qualcomm, Renault, Ford, Special Telecommunications Service, AVnu Alliance, Traficon, TomTom and Allstate

Navigation specialist NNG teamed up with Vodafone to deliver a fully connected in-dash navigation solution. The partnership starts with a Vodafone M2M SIM card, which, when integrated with NNG’s software products, enables NNG to provide connected services like online traffic, online alert points and local search.

To date, these features have been confined to PNDs and smartphone navigation apps. New cars will come loaded with the bundle of services, and drivers will then have the option to renew their connectivity subscriptions on NNG’s white label online portal, Naviextras, which can be rebranded along with NNG’s iGO Navigation software according to each OEM’s requirement.

“The much-praised mobile phone connectivity [faces] serious limitations in some geographics regions,” says Attila Simon, Vice President of Online Services at NNG. “An M2M SIM card delivers a real alternative model to our automotive partners, as its modularity [reconciles] the lifecycles of automotives and internet industries.”

Honda selected M2M cellular specialist Aeris Communications as its communications provider for HondaLink EV, Honda’s new electric vehicle smartphone app.

The app will enable a host of remote features, such as starting and stopping vehicles, checking vehicle state of charge, and pre-conditioning the cabin temperature to maximize battery driving range.

HondaLink EV will be offered to customers of the 2013 Honda Fit EV, which is already on the market in the U.S.

On the EV front, Qualcomm and Renault announced a memorandum of understanding on wireless electric vehicle charging technology. The two companies will cooperate on the London trial of Qualcomm Halo Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging (WEVC) technology, which uses inductive charging via an electromagnetic field — rather than plug-in charging — to charge EV batteries.

The London trial will act as a preliminary study of the integration of this WEVC technology and will include a cross section of stakeholders from government departments and agencies to commercial and private sector enterprises. Renault will also join the London trial steering committee.

Elsewhere, Ford released 100 of its new mini car, the Ford B-Max, prefigured with a module to automatically call the 112 emergency service in case of an accident, making Ford one of the first companies to have eCall-ready vehicles on the market.

Emergency services will receive the call and the vehicle’s GPS coordinates. Ford partnered with the Special Telecommunications Service (STS) to integrate the module and will be participating in a pilot in Romania as part of the Pan-European eCall implementation, called HeERO.

AVnu Alliance, an industry forum dedicated to bringing AVnu-certified Audio Video Bridging (AVB) products to the market, started providing its more than 40 members with a rich set of tools to test AVB devices and troubleshoot problems before entering the formal testing procedures.

The alliance will offer software scripts to manufacturers to help accelerate their development of AVB products in preparation of final interoperability testing.

AVnu also unveiled the certification mark for devices that have passed AVnu Alliance interoperability testing to become an AVnu-certified AVB product.

Traffic video specialist Traficon announced two new traffic detection products aimed at the U.S. intersection market.

The first, Traficon’s VIP-BIKE detection board, analyzes images from thermal cameras in order to detect bicycles approaching or waiting at the intersection on multiple lanes.

The second, the TrafiRador vehicle presence sensor, provides vehicle detection information to the traffic light controller for stop bar and advance detection, for traffic adaptive applications and for dilemma zone protection.

TomTom, often viewed as the standard bearer for the telematics industry, saw its revenue decline 17 percent in the second quarter of 2012. Group revenue decreased by 17 percent to €262 million, while consumer revenue decreased by 26 percent to €155 million.

Automotive revenue was flat at €60 million. The biggest growth came in business solutions revenue increased by 26 percent to €18 million.

Finally, in insurance telematics news, Allstate announced plans to harness crowdsourcing to test its UBI offering Drive Wise. The crowdsourcing technique will put the device in the hands of employees and agency owners around the U.S. to identify opportunities to continue enhancing the device as Allstate looks to expand its telematics footprint.

Already available in Illinois, Ohio and Arizona, Drive Wise will roll out to additional states in 2012.

"Our early experience with Drive Wise indicates telematics technology has the potential to save lives, reduce injuries and save millions of dollars in property damage each year," says Bob Otis, senior vice president of Allstate's auto product operations.