GPS World, January 2012

THE BUSINESS they wont speak either While smartphones dominate in many areas they have been ruled out for eCall safety apps in cars as no one can guarantee a smartphone will work after an accident As for crash detection that can only work if a device is bolted down to the car frame Only that way can you sense the high G forces during a crash Insurance Until the mandates kick in for eCall ERA you can understand why an automobile manufacturers marketing imagery does not include one of their car crashing or breaking down So selling the eCall feature in this mindset is hard On the other side are guys that do have the image of helping you after a crash the insurance companies And true to form the big business has become insurance telematics Octo Telematics has taken a pole position in this area and had an impressive crashing car demo that you could sit in at the show The insurance telematics box then becomes an aftermarket product that is crosssubsidized by the insurance company In return they receive crash data and get to monitor you to help you improve driving habits to reduce crashes A last word on safety most accidents now seem to occur when people are texting while driving Apparently when the Blackberry message service was down for three days in Dubai there were 20 percent fewer accidents Apart from eCall and insurance telematics the other famous perennial telematic application is the connected car As we all expected we saw a lot of presentations on this In simple terms via telematics a car is connected to the Internet As the definition of telematics The branch of information technology that deals with longdistance transmission of computerized information this might seem a nobrainer But exactly how the car is connected and what value that offers constitute the two key questions for any application and market segment Today OCTO TELEMATICS crash simulator Show attendees were taken for a ride The telematics box sends crash data to the insurance company to help drivers improve driving habits a car buyer will almost certainly be an internet user How Is It Connected For basic telematic apps like eCall and stolen vehicle recovery it suffices to connect to the 2G GSM GPRS wireless network that gives worldwide coverage Operators like Telenor offer a so called global subscriber identity module SIM model that supports worldwide access at a price that makes business real For the so called infotainment connectivity the trend is 4G LTE which offers the high data rates that the car companies dream about and flat rate smartphone users expect LTE is a packet mobile phone network already at Verizon and in European trial that is ideal for data It appears that in the future the best mobile phone network will be a combo of 4G LTE for infotainment data with 2G GSM for speech and 2G GPRS for global coverage telematic data What Value Does It Offer The blanket answer is unless it offers a useful service it wont really be used Today most connected car services drop to a poor 10 20 percent retention after the free trial period The key is really to look for helpful services For instance the connected heater or rather the ability to switch your car heater remotely on in cold winters of Sweden increased Volvo connected usage 50 percent Saving fuel in this energy conscious low CO2 emission days would seem a useful application Couple that with a connected car traffic information best routes good driving habit rewards social network to let you post your good driving score and Fiat showed its eco Drive solution helping people save 6 percent on fuel consumption on average Thats a start At the end of the day more efficient cars are the answer to that Getting people to use more efficient small cars for short trips is one of the ideas behind the BMW car sharing model Based on the BMW One series and the Minis made by BMW it offers a service in Munich and Berlin I have to admit I live in Munich and havent tried it yet When you register you present your driving license and the service add an RFID You can use this RFID as a keyless entry into a car share Of course the cars are connected and a smartphone app helps you find the next free car You can pick it up and drop it off where you want Because they are new more efficient small cars than your average old gas guzzler they have done a deal to get free parking in town It costs a flat 29 cents Euro cents per minute to drive which includes the fuel price I can remember when a mobile phone call cost that much before MONI MALEK is CEO of ML C MobileLocation Company GmbH based in Munich Germany www gpsworld com January 2012 GPS World 31