TES reinforces position in telematics device market

LANGON, FRANCE:TES Electronic Solutions, a leader in electronic design and manufacturing services, recently unveiled its latest initiative in the telematics market; a reference device called TITAN that can be quickly customised and tailored to address the majority of Telematics Service Providers requirements.

TES is leveraging its complete service breadth of electronic design and manufacturing together with its vast experience in RF and positioning technologies to the specific segment of telematics devices. The TITAN platform is the first of a range of reference platforms.

It is available in two configurations; a thin client device running Linux or Windows CE or as a low cost M2M platform. All reference designs and devices provide GPS, GSM/GPRS and basic but highly configurable I/O, while the thin client device offers an ARM 9 processor in addition to enable application deployment on the device.

The reference platform strategy is complemented with TES Electronic Solutions’ extensive design team to provide tailored telematics hardware and software solutions which can be rapidly moved into volume manufacturing in TES factories. Once in volume supply, customers can further benefit from TES’ logistics platform for device configuration and distribution to installation centres.

“In addition to applications that track vehicles and capital equipment, we are seeing new areas emerging such Pay As You Drive, Pay How You Drive and Pay When You Drive”, said Nick Walker, Senior Vice President of Business Development at TES. “Every application is different and needs optimised hardware and software in this rapidly growing and competitive market”, continued Walker.

“TES Electronic Solutions have all the skills and expertise to create, design, manufacture and distribute optimised telematics devices for every application. It’s a custom business where one size does not fit all, but all require a common set of basic functions. Our approach to the business is geared to allow the telematics service providers to focus on building out the applications based on the device while we take care of the device delivery”, he concluded.

Available now, the TITAN reference device is fitted with a Telit quad band modem including SiRF StarIII GPS that provides the communications and positioning technology, which can operate standalone for simple cost optimised applications. In the top end configuration, TITAN also includes an ARM 9 processor module for the OS and application for the more sophisticated telematics application.

The TITAN device is the first step in an emerging telematics strategy from TES. Further announcements will be made in the coming weeks.

Despite automotive slump, by 2010 12 percent of new cars will ship with embedded telematics

LONDON, UK: Amidst a very challenging automotive environment rife with mergers, acquisitions and bankruptcies, and rumors of more to come, OEMs continue to enhance existing embedded and hybrid telematics services and/or launch new ones, driving global penetration rates in new cars to 12 percent in 2010 and 43 percent in 2014.

"OEM telematics is gaining momentum across the globe. With GM’s OnStar and Ford’s SYNC to be joined by telematics solutions from Toyota and Chrysler launching later this year, the US remains the most competitive market," says ABI Research practice director Dominique Bonte. "At the same time Toyota and GM will expand into the Chinese market, while government regulation in Brazil and the EU will drive uptake in Latin America, Western and Eastern Europe."

Safety and security features such as emergency calling (eCall), breakdown assistance (bCall) and remote diagnostics remain the most popular, but connected infotainment such as off-board navigation, online local search, concierge services, and Internet access offered by OEMs such as BMW are enjoying increasing interest.

While embedded aftermarket solutions offered by companies such as LoJack and OCTO Telematics remain popular in specific markets for stolen vehicle tracking and PAYD insurance, new affordable portable and converged consumer telematics are bringing features such as geofencing, speed monitoring and basic diagnostics to a wider audience.

ABI Research expects that by offering multiple safety, cost and entertainment benefits to different stakeholders such as governments, car manufacturers and dealers, and end-users, consumer telematics will become a standard automotive feature in developed regions by 2015.

However, this evolution will require the removal of barriers such as high cost and long development cycles. Standardization initiatives such as the Next Generation Telematics Protocol (NGTP) and the adoption of open source automotive software development platforms supported by the recently announced GENIVI consortium will help.