Google is joining forces with auto manufactures from Audi to General Motors to bring its open-source Android platform to car dashboards and streamline driving for tech-savvy customers, the search engine giant announced Monday the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. “Today, millions of people already bring Android phones and tablets into their cars, but it’s not yet a driving-optimized experience,” Patrick Brady, Director of Android Engineering, wrote on the official Android blog. Drivers are already wired: they use a huge… read more →
With its multi-million dollar acquisition of Agero’s telematics unit last year, satellite radio provider Sirius XM poised itself to dominate the U.S market for ‘connected cars.’ Now, according to an evaluation by investment bank Evercore Partners, SiriusXM could reach 50% of a $30 billion telematics market within a decade, allowing it to push new telematics-based media services and draw millions of more listeners to its satellite radio channels. Evercore upgraded SiriusXM (SIRI) shares to an ‘overweight’ rating on Friday, indicating… read more →
Industrial and construction equipment manufacturer Caterpillar Inc. and its long-time partner Trimble, the sector’s navigation and fleet management leader, have announced plans to launch a “brand agnostic” telematics solution, providing analytics and tracking across contractors’ entire equipment fleets. Currently, the Cat Connect portfolio–consisting of five solution sets, including Equipment Management, Productivity, Safety, Sustainability, and Command, provides telematics connectively to more than a quarter of a million Caterpillar vehicles and machines around the world. The system is accessed through a common… read more →
Hyundai’s cloud-based, mobile optimised Blue Link platform is about to become even more sci fi as it integrates wearable devices like Google Glass. The Glassware application, to be launched next year for the new 2015 Genesis Sedan, will allow users to access all the features and analytics of the Blue Link multimedia system from their Google Glass optical display. “As a leader in connected car technology, we’re always exploring new ways to use technology to enhance the ownership experience for… read more →
The analytics tracked by telematics systems are myriad and expanding rapidly, as developers devise new ‘black box’ systems to meet the whims of private consumers and the needs of fleet-operating companies across a range of industries. International Telematics Corporation (ITC) provides a telematics system specifically for fleets of refrigerated trailers, protecting the cold chain and offering costumers the assurances that their foods and medication have been kept at a safe temperature throughout their transport. Kriska, a Canadian provider of temperature… read more →
According to statistics from the Department of Transport, one in four road casualties in 2012 involved a business car driver and each year an estimated third of those drivers will be involved in some sort of traffic accident. For employers looking to guard their assets, minimize costs and, of course, protect their employees on the road, telematics systems can be key. RAM Tracking, a leading UK provider of vehicle tracking systems, reports that comprehensive telematics systems can allow fleet managers… read more →
Factory-installed telematics devices currently dominate the Chinese automative technology market, generating 1.5 million sales in 2013. However, change is coming and, according to projections from IHS Automative, black box systems that operate through consumer electronic devices like smartphones will take the lead by 2020. Currently consumer electronic (CE) based systems hold only a paltry share of the market. They generated sales of just 119,000 last year and hybrid systems, which tether wireless devices to embedded telematic control units (TCUs) sold… read more →
Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, black boxes? An automotive telematics device unravelled a whodunit in Scotland this week, leading to the conviction of 32-year-old Daniel Paita of Kirkintilloch for a knife attack and attempted murder. When Paita drove to Reyside Road in Glasgow to meet Barry Divers, 29, in February of last year he thought he was pulling off the perfect crime. There were no witnesses to the brutal knife attack that slashed Divers’ jugular vein, and Paita claimed he hadn’t… read more →
Indian IT service and consulting provider Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has launched an iOS and Android-optimised app that transforms users smartphones into mobile and cost-effective telematics devices. The app, TCS Insurance Telematics Solution, will be adopted as part of usage-based auto insurance policies to trim premiums and personalise service. Drivers will be able to track their driving habits and, based on the feedback the app provides, modify them to reduce fuel consumption and risk of collision. Insurers will also leverage… read more →
Widespread telematics use could bust crash for cash schemers and fraudulent whiplash claimants, lowering everyone’s insurance premiums. Black box technology, often installed in cars as part of telematics insurance policies that can trim costs, can track speed and maneuvering, pointing to possible culpability in an accident. They are frequently equipped to send out emergency calls in the event of an accident and to produce comprehensive crash reports for use by insurance companies and law enforcement. Some telematics devices are so… read more →
