Highlights from Telematics Munich

Leaders and innovators from the Web, digital, automotive, and wireless industries gathered for the 8th annual Telematics Munich 2010 conference. With the telematics industry set to grow to a €6 billion market by 2016, Telematics Munich was designed to provide companies with the tools to gain exciting, forward-thinking opportunities and revenue streams heading into 2011 and beyond. The conference featured more than 40 expert presentations that addressed issues like OEMs’ growing investments in value-added services, the ongoing saga of eCall, and the rise of predictive traffic services. More than 450 senior level delegates attended. The conference also included an exhibition hall with more than 25 exhibitors—from TomTom and Telenor to Nav N Go and Navteq—showcasing the latest solutions in the telematics world. A number of companies used the exhibition as a forum to introduce new products.

INRIX’s XD Traffic

INRIX unveiled XD Traffic, a new premium real-time and predictive traffic service optimized for the delivery of next generation connected navigation and driver services applications in the car. These applications include Busy Commuter, which calculates the fastest route, best time to leave, travel time, and ETA; Traffic Ahead, which continuously monitors traffic conditions along drivers’ routes, identifying traffic incidents with pinpoint accuracy; Friend Ahead, which uses sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Foursquare to alert drivers when friends are close by and to determine the best way to meet up; and Real-Time Speed Predictions & Traffic Forecasts. INRIX announced that Ford Motor Company will adopt XD Traffic across all SYNC-equipped vehicles in 2011.

“Just as THX cinema surround sound revolutionized how we experience film, XD Traffic will transform how we navigate our world,” said INRIX CEO Bryan Mistele. “XD Traffic delivers a service that breaks through quality barriers, offering automakers and navigation providers the premium traffic information and toolset required to deliver navigation applications for the daily driver.”

Luxoft launches LUXnet

Luxoft announced the world’s first Google Android-based OEM software platform for automotive infotainment, LUXnet. The platform delivers a combination of social networking capabilities with navigation, multimedia, and connectivity services, including dynamic POIs and voice over IP. LUXnet works with a wide-range of interfaces—CAN, USB, 3G, WiFi and Bluetooth—and comes with integrated Facebook and Twitter capabilities.

“Luxoft is committed to providing the automotive market with efficient solutions that will greatly reduce costs and the time needed to deliver new products to market, and LUXnet is a perfect example of such a solution,” said Michael Minkevich, VP Technology Services, Luxoft. “We see great potential in Google Android implementation for the automotive industry.”

Luxoft also announced that its automotive OEM software platform, LUXdash, is now fully GENIVI-ready. The Linux-based LUXdash is a full-function platform that combines a virtual instrument cluster with head unit functionality. Luxoft has implemented a number of adjustments in the platform’s software components, allowing the platform to align with GENIVI Alliance's vision of open source software usage in the automotive industry.

Jungo’s in-car connectivity middleware

Jungo launched Automotive Connectivity Middleware that allows OEMs to rapidly introduce innovative infotainment solutions, leveraging the same codebase across different systems. The solution provides support for a variety of devices (including iPod, iPhone, and smartphone devices), protocols (USB, Bluetooth, WiFi, 3G, 4G), media management (indexing, streaming playback), phone management (placing calls, phonebook management) and Internet connectivity software. It also provides an open platform for easy integration with mapping and telematics applications, with support for a number of operating systems including Linux, QNX, Windows CE, and ulTRON.

“Jungo’s connectivity middleware solution makes it easy for in-car infotainment manufacturers to integrate a comprehensive media access, control, and streaming infrastructure into their products,” said Jungo connectivity software general manager Ophir Herbst. “This enables manufacturers to quickly implement a broad set of connectivity features while focusing their efforts on applications and human interface.”

Sierra AirPrime

Sierra Wireless showcased the AirPrime AR Series, a suite of intelligent embedded wireless modules designed specifically for automotive manufacturers. AirPrime’s embedded modules are the first wireless modules designed and developed from the ground up to achieve the highest level of compliance with automotive specifications, providing an unmatched level of quality, reliability, and performance under harsh operating conditions. Commercial shipments of the modules are scheduled to begin in mid-2011. Sierra Wireless already has multiple design wins for the AirPrime AR Series with leading automotive manufacturers.

“This new product line offers our customers the superior quality they need to deliver reliable wireless solutions that last for the expected life of their products,” said Didier Dutronc, senior vice president and general manager, M2M embedded solutions for Sierra Wireless.

RealVNC Mobile Solution

RealVNC showcased Mobile Solution for Automotive, which provides remote access and control of mobile devices and desktop computers directly from in-vehicle telematics or infotainment systems. Mobile Solution can automatically detect, access, and control virtually any mobile device or desktop computer from the vehicle’s touch-screen or fixed input devices, such as steering wheel switches and head unit buttons and menus. RealVNC maintains the VNC Server software running on the mobile devices for all operating systems and new mobile devices, removing the burden that exists for car manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers to continuously upgrade in-vehicle system software to keep pace within the fast moving mobile market. Real VNC announced that Clarion Co., the global Tier-1 automotive equipment supplier, has already licensed Mobile Solution.

“After evaluating several options and development paths, we selected VNC
as it provided the most comprehensive and mature solution, with the
widest range of cross-platform device support and features,” said Hideyuki Tamura, general manager, software development division, Clarion. “The performance is excellent and puts little load constraints on the limited head unit resources.”

Ruthana Foulkes

Connected Vehicles