Ericsson Automotive e-Services preview of the future in Car technology

Courtesy: Telematics Update.Com

Telematics enables new and effective ways of dynamically delivering services (6/22/2001)

Ericsson Automotive e-Services demonstrated recently with a car manufacturer a sneak preview of the future in Car technology. One hundred of the car manufacturer sales people where shown how customers could access and download features to their cars from their home computer using the internet. Future Technology is the name of the co-operation project which is driven by the car manufacturer's Car Customer Service unit. Other contributors include, among others, Ericsson Automotive e-Services and the car company IT development unit. So far most of the concept is still at development phase however the infrastructure and competence is possible today.

"What we are demonstrating is a taste of the future designed to stimulate ideas" says a representative from the car company. "On this we can build even better customer relationships".

This area of technology called Telematics enables new and effective ways of dynamically delivering services for different interest groups, for example the car owner, driver or work shop mechanics. They can access information about the car and can control various functions. It is also possible to download new services on the go. The communication to the car is currently enabled via internet over a fixed telephone network or via the mobile GSM net.

The demonstration showed amongst other things how one can call up real-time status information from the car via a web portal. If needed the owner could then book the car into the service station and find an available time. In their turn, the workshop, who is also connected to the network, can check the car before it arrives and confirm what is wrong and how long it will take.

In the future it would also be possible for the workshop to contact the car owner to inform them when a service is due or when attention is needed on the car. At the same time the car owner would receive an alert and directions on how to get to the nearest workshop.

But what roll has Ericsson played in this project?

Ericsson's Business Innovations venture Automotive e-Services developed amongst other things the control system called Talaris e-Service Manager which manages the services between the communications network and the car.

The system looks after the selection of personalized services, as decided by each user, ensuring that the right information goes to the right user. This solution is built on an open standard, called the OSGi (Open Service Gateway initiative).

"We also developed the Talaris Vehicle Software. A platform designed to allow the owner to download personalized services into the car." said Erik Bick Business Development Manager at Automotive e-Services.

The business portfolio that Ericsson offer includes the Talaris e-Service Manager, which is the heart of the system, manages communication and services for the car from a centralized operations site, the onboard vehicle software called Talaris Vehicle Software, that allows dynamic services to be downloaded and the system to be upgraded, plus additional services all of which operators could offer their customers.

"The co-operative development project with the car manufacturer is what we are working with now, but in the autumn I think we could present a more concrete product as a result of these trials" said Erik Bick