Teradyne Diagnostic Solutions Partners with GM Europe's OnStar in Leading-Edge Telematics Field Trial

    MANCHESTER, U.K.--Dec. 11, 2002--Teradyne Diagnostic Solutions is taking part in a major General Motors Europe Field Trial to identify and assess selected Telematics Services and to evaluate the Open Telematics Framework (OTF) as a new delivery technology. In the 6-month study, which runs from July through December 2002, GM Europe's OnStar group will evaluate a variety of new telematics services and their functionality in an OTF in-car delivery environment under real driving conditions.
    "We are very optimistic about the future potential of the technologies and services we are testing in this study. GM Europe's OnStar group, working closely with Opel, is testing what we think represents the future standard for in-car telematics," said Jonathan Browning, Vice President of GM Europe's Sales, Marketing and Aftersales. "What makes this study particularly important is the participation of innovative industry leaders, like Teradyne Diagnostic Solutions, without whose support and expertise we could not have moved so quickly to test tomorrow's telematics possibilities."
    "In-car telematics presents GM Europe with an opportunity to realize their vision of extending the servicing and maintenance of their vehicles outside of the traditional service centers. This study has enabled Teradyne Diagnostic Solutions to deliver a range of vehicle diagnostic and prognostic services that support GM Europe's vision and long term servicing goals," said David Stott, OEM Service and Telematics Business Manager. "The open standard, Java(TM) based technology developed within the study is the perfect enabler for the flexible delivery of our diagnostic services. This technology allows us to create diagnostic applications, and data, once and then deploy to a wide range of platforms supporting telematics, service centers and manufacturing.
    The GM Europe telematics Field Trial involves a fleet of Opel cars in Germany equipped with the Acunia Open Telematics Framework (OTF). With the Acunia OTF, users will be able to subscribe and unsubscribe to an "unlimited" range of information and services at any time and any place. Applications become lightweight and are gathered on a single Java(TM)-based platform which enables them to run on multiple communication devices. OnStar Europe teamed up with multiple service providers to generate and operate Java(TM)-based services, which can be remotely downloaded to the user's in-vehicle terminal.
    Selected telematics service providers were asked to participate in the study by providing services compatible with the OTF delivery technology, requiring identification, development, testing, deployment and maintenance of these services, which could form the basis for the future telematics business of OnStar Europe.

    About OnStar

    OnStar is GM Europe's information, communications and entertainment arm. The OnStar Service offers a seamless customer experience, as personalized services can be accessed through different channels - while being in the car, on the move, at home, or in the office. OnStar uses wireless communication to link the driver and vehicle to the OnStar Service Center, where OnStar Assistants provide real-time, personalized assistance 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
    Via OnStar C@rWeb (a PDA in combination with a mobile phone) or via OnStar WAP (when using any mobile phone supporting WAP) drivers can also be connected with the Internet based OnStar Mobility Portal to get access to their personalized service suite. OnStar services today include latest traffic information, route guidance / planning, OnStar SOS Service Call, breakdown assistance, a city guide with information on hotels and restaurants, leisure time activities, the "scene", sightseeing tips, and more.

    About Teradyne Diagnostic Solutions

    Based in Manchester, England, Teradyne Diagnostic Solutions provide diagnostic support to producers and users of complex electronically controlled vehicles throughout the complete product lifecycle, from Design through Manufacturing to Service. It current employs over 400 people with offices located worldwide. For more information visit www.teradyne-ds.com.

    About Teradyne

    Teradyne is the world's largest supplier of automatic test equipment and a leading supplier of high performance interconnection systems. Manufacturers of semiconductors, circuit assemblies, and voice and broadband telephone networks use Teradyne's test products. Manufacturers of communications and computing systems central to building networking infrastructure use Teradyne's backplane assemblies and high-density connectors. The company had sales of $1.4 billion in 2001 and currently employs about 8000 people worldwide. For more information visit www.teradyne.com.