Telematics in Vehicles and Road Safety

Vehicle telematics

The etymology of telematics, as determined by Automotive Telematics author and academic Dennis Foy, is from the Greek "tele" ('far away', especially in relation to the process of producing or recording) and ~Matos (a derivative of the Greek machinari, or contrivance, usually taken in this context to mean 'of its own accord'). As combined, the term "telematics" describes the process of long-distance transmission of computer-based information. It has been first introduced in French by Simon Nora and Alain Minc in L'informatisation de la Société (La Documentation Française, 1978)

Telematics — 1. The convergence of telecommunications and information processing, the term later evolved to refer to automation in automobiles, such as the invention of the emergency warning system for vehicles. GPS navigation, integrated hands-free cell phones, wireless safety communications and automatic driving assistance systems all are covered under the telematics umbrella. 2. The science of Telecommunications and Informatics applied in wireless technologies and computational systems. 802.11p, the IEEE standard in the 802.11 family and also referred to as Wireless Access for the Vehicular Environment (WAVE), is the primary standard that addresses and enhances Intelligent Transportation System


Vehicle tracking

Vehicle tracking is a way of monitoring the location, movements, status and behaviour of a vehicle or fleet of vehicles. This is achieved through a combination of a GPS(GNSS) receiver and an electronic device (usually comprising a GSM GPRS modem or SMS sender) installed in each vehicle, communicating with the user (dispatching, emergency or co-ordinating unit) and PC- or web-based software. The data are turned into information by management reporting tools in conjunction with a visual display on computerised mapping software. Vehicle tracking systems may also use odometry or dead reckoning as an alternative or complementary means of navigation.



Trailer tracking

Trailer tracking is the technology of tracking the movements and position of an articulated vehicle's trailer unit, through the use of a location unit fitted to the trailer and a method of returning the position data via mobile communication network or geostationary satellite communications, for use through either PC- or web-based software.

Cold store freight logistics

Cold store freight trailers that are used to deliver fresh or frozen foods are increasingly incorporating telematics to gather time-series data on the temperature inside the cargo container, both to trigger alarms and record an audit trail for business purposes. An increasingly sophisticated array of sensors, many incorporating RFID technology, are being used to ensure that temperature throughout the cargo remains within food-safety parameters.

Fleet management

Fleet management is the management of a company's vehicle fleet. Fleet management includes the management of ships and or motor vehicles such as cars, vans and trucks. Fleet (vehicle) Management can include a range of Fleet Management functions, such as vehicle financing, vehicle maintenance, vehicle telematics (tracking and diagnostics), driver management, fuel management and health & safety management. Fleet Management is a function which allows companies which rely on transportation in their business to remove or minimize the risks associated with vehicle investment, improving efficiency, productivity and reducing their overall transportation costs, providing 100% compliancy with government legislation and Duty of Care obligations. These functions can either be dealt with by an in-house Fleet Management department or an outsourced Fleet Management provider.

Satellite navigation

Satellite navigation in the context of vehicle telematics is the technology of using a GPS and electronic mapping tool to enable the driver of a vehicle to locate a position, then route plan and navigate a journey.

Mobile data and mobile television

Mobile data is use of wireless data communications using radio waves to send and receive real time computer data to, from and between devices used by field based personnel. These devices can be fitted solely for use while in the vehicle (Fixed Data Terminal) or for use in and out of the vehicle (Mobile Data Terminal). See mobile Internet.

Mobile data can be used to receive TV channels and programs, in a similar way to mobile phones, but using LCD TV devices.


Wireless vehicle safety communications

Wireless vehicle safety communications telematics aid in car safety and road safety. It is an electronic sub-system in a car or other vehicle for the purpose of exchanging safety information, about such things as road hazards and the locations and speeds of vehicles, over short range radio links. This may involve temporary ad hoc wireless local area networks.

Wireless units will be installed in vehicles and probably also in fixed locations such as near traffic signals and emergency call boxes along the road. Sensors in the cars and at the fixed locations, as well as possible connections to wider networks, will provide the information, which will be displayed to the drivers in some way. The range of the radio links can be extended by forwarding messages along multi-hop paths. Even without fixed units, information about fixed hazards can be maintained by moving vehicles by passing it backwards. It also seems possible for traffic lights, which one can expect to become smarter, to use this information to reduce the chance of collisions.

Further in the future, it may connect directly to the adaptive cruise control or other vehicle control aids. Cars and trucks with the wireless system connected to their brakes may move in convoys, to save fuel and space on the roads. When any column member slows down, all those behind it will automatically slow also. There are also possibilities that need less engineering effort. A radio beacon could be connected to the brake light, for example.

Network ideas are scheduled for test in fall 2008, in Europe where radio frequency bandwidth has been allocated. The 30 MHz allocated is at 5.9 GHz, and unallocated bandwidth at 5.4 GHz may also be used. The standard is IEEE 802.11p, a low latency form of the Wi-Fi local area network standard. Similar efforts are underway in Japan and the USA.

Emergency warning system for vehicles

Telematics technologies are self-orientating open network architecture structure of variable programmable intelligent beacons developed for application in the development of intelligent vehicles — with target intent to accord (blend, or mesh) warning information with surrounding vehicles in the vicinity of travel, intra-vehicle, and infrastructure. Emergency warning system for vehicles telematics particularly developed for international harmonisation and standardisation of vehicle-to-vehicle — infrastructure-to-vehicle — and vehicle-to-infrastructure real-time Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) systems.

Telematics most commonly relate to computerised systems that update information at the same rate as they receive data, enabling them to direct or control a process such as an instantaneous autonomous warning notification in a remote machine or group of machines. By use of telematics as applied to intelligent vehicle technologies, instantaneous direction travel cognizance of a vehicle may be transmitted in real-time to surrounding vehicles traveling in the local area of vehicles equipped (with EWSV) to receive said warning signals of danger.

Intelligent vehicle technologies

Telematics comprise electronic, electromechanical, and electromagnetic devices — usually silicon micromachined components operating in conjunction with computer controlled devices and radio transceivers to provide precision repeatability functions (such as in robotics artificial intelligence systems) emergency warning validation performance reconstruction.

Intelligent vehicle technologies commonly apply to car safety systems and self-contained autonomous electromechanical sensors generating warnings that can be transmitted within a specified targeted area of interest, say within 100 meters of the emergency warning system for vehicles transceiver. In ground applications, intelligent vehicle technologies are utilized for safety and commercial communications between vehicles or between a vehicle and a sensor along the road.

An automotive navigation system is a satellite navigation system designed for use in automobiles. It typically uses a GPS navigation device to acquire position data to locate the user on a road in the unit's map database. Using the road database, the unit can give directions to other locations along roads also in its database. Dead reckoning using distance data from sensors attached to the drivetrain, a gyroscope and an accelerometer can be used for greater reliability, as GPS signal loss and/or multipath can occur due to urban canyons or tunnels.

Technology
Visualization

Navigation systems may (or may not) use a combination of any of the following:

* top view for the map
* top view for the map with the map rotating with the automobile (so that "up" on the map always corresponds to "forward" in the vehicle)
* bird's-eye view for the map or the next curve
* linear gauge for distance, which is redundant if a rotating map is used
* numbers for distance
* schematic pictograms
* voice prompts



Road database

Contents

The road database is a vector map of some area of interest. Street names or numbers and house numbers are encoded as geographic coordinates so that the user can find some desired destination by street address (see map database management).

Points of interest (waypoints) will also be stored with their geographic coordinates. Point of interest specialties include speed cameras, fuel stations, public parking, and "parked here" (or "you parked here").

Contents can be produced by the user base as their cars drive along existing streets (Wi-Fi) and communicating via the internet, yielding a free and up-to-date map.

Media

The road database may be stored in solid state read-only memory (ROM), optical media (CD or DVD), solid state flash memory, magnetic media (hard disk), or a combination. A common scheme is to have a base map permanently stored in ROM that can be augmented with detailed information for a region the user is interested in. A ROM is always programmed at the factory; the other media may be preprogrammed, downloaded from a CD or DVD via a computer or wireless connection (bluetooth, Wi-Fi), or directly used utilizing a card reader.

Some navigation device makers provide free map updates for their customers. These updates are often obtained from the vendor's website, which is accessed by connecting the navigation device to a PC.
Real-time data
Main article: Integration of traffic data with navigation systems

Some newer systems can not only give precise driving directions, they can also receive and display information on traffic congestion and suggest alternate routes. These may use either TMC, which delivers coded traffic information using radio RDS, or by GPRS/3G data transmission via mobile phones.

One key type of real-time data is traffic information, which includes:

* Real-time data about free/full parkings;
* Nearest public transport lines and prices, to go to a destination, when there is a jam.

Other real-time data includes weather broadcasting, etc.

Integration and other functions

* The color LCD screens on some automotive navigation systems can also be used to display television broadcasts or DVD movies.
* A few systems integrate (or communicate) with mobile phones for hands-free talking and SMS messaging (i.e., using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi).
* Automotive navigation systems can include personal information management for meetings, which can be combined with a traffic and public transport information system.

Source: Wikipedia