SmartMove's Open Telematics Framework Technology Designed To be Fully Compliant With OSGi Specification Release 1.0
19 September 2000
SmartMove's Open Telematics Framework Technology Designed To be Fully Compliant With OSGi Specification Release 1.0
First Embedded Vehicle Telematics Platform Running an Open Services Gateway
LEUVEN, Belgium and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 19 The Belgian
telematics technology specialist SmartMove today announced the successful
creation of a full-service delivery chain for OSGi-compliant services bundles.
Bundles can now be deployed into SmartMove's embedded automotive platform
using wireless communication. With the OSGi reference framework running on
SmartMove's Open Telematics Framework, SmartMove makes it possible to exchange
information and services between providers and an in-house gateway, the same
way it does with the vehicle. The SmartMove Open Telematics Framework is the
first embedded vehicle telematics platform running an Open Services Gateway.
Imagine being able to check the oil and fuel level of your car, or defrost
the windows, heat the interior, check your e-mail and appointments for the
day, select music files and news categories you want to listen to while
driving to work. You could download a map you might need for the day,
complete with the latest traffic information. All of this, and much more, as
you eat breakfast at home -- just by talking to your personal "advisor".
According to Steven Buytaert, co-CEO at SmartMove, "This is exactly the
kind of scenario the future will bring. It is our belief that in the near
future, services and information delivery to home and car networks will be
organized by means of one common platform. We have been actively
participating within OSGi, showing our commitment to working with others, not
only to create standards for information and service delivery to the vehicle,
but also to create a platform for information and services exchange between
home networks and tomorrow's car networks."
This makes it possible to access, download and use the services that are
offered for in-home use, both at home and in a vehicle's mobile environment,
and the other way around -- creating an enormous potential for telematics
service providers to offer their services to drivers and passengers. Banking
applications, Web browsing, on-demand navigation, remote diagnostics, online
shopping, etc., will all benefit from the added synergy between information
exchange and the compatibility of resident and mobile services on one common
platform.
"SmartMove has been working very hard on the match between our own Java-
based intelligent communications computer specifications and those developed
by OSGi," says Marc Maes, co-CEO of SmartMove.
"This recent accomplishment is not only an important milestone for the
company, but it will also create a lot of new business opportunities. And
without losing our current business focus on the automotive industry, we've
proven for the first time that our technology is perfectly applicable for more
than mobile platforms," he adds.
About SmartMove
SmartMove NV (http://www.smartmove-eu.com ) was founded in 1996 and received
funding from several European venture capitalists. SmartMove holds several
international patents in the field of vehicle telematics, and employs 90
people, most of them engineers. Based in Leuven, Belgium, the company's U.S.
subsidiary, SmartMove USA is located in Cambridge, Mass. SmartMove will be
exhibiting in Booth #884 at Convergence 2000, at Cobo Center in Detroit,
Mich., Oct. 16-18.
About OSGi
The Open Services Gateway Initiative (OSGi), is a non-profit corporation
formed to provide a forum for the creation of open specifications for the
delivery of multiple services over wide-area networks to local networks and
devices, and to accelerate the demand for products and services based on these
specifications worldwide through the sponsorship of market and user education
programs. The San Ramon, California, USA-based consortium comprises 70 member
organizations from around the globe. Membership is open to any interested
party, including Internet Service Providers, Network Operators, Original
Equipment Manufacturers, Independent Software Vendors, end users, academic
institutions, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. The
consortium's Web site address is http://www.osgi.org .