An intelligent transportation system (ITS) is an advanced application which aims to provide innovative services relating to different modes of transport and traffic management and enable users to be better informed and make safer, more coordinated, and 'smarter' use of transport networks.
Wireless communication is the transfer of information (telecommunication) between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The most common wireless technologies use radio waves. With radio waves, intended distances can be short, such as a few meters for Bluetooth or as far as millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications. It encompasses various types of fixed, mobile, and portable applications, including two-way radios, cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and wireless networking. Other examples of applications of radio wireless technology include GPS units, garage door openers, wireless computer mouse, keyboards and headsets, headphones, radio receivers, satellite television, broadcast television and cordless telephones. Somewhat less common methods of achieving wireless communications involve other electromagnetic phenomena, such as light and magnetic or electric fields, or the use of sound.
Automatic vehicle location is a means for automatically determining and transmitting the geographic location of a vehicle. This vehicle location data, from one or more vehicles, may then be collected by a vehicle tracking system to manage an overview of vehicle travel. As of 2017, GPS technology has reached the point of having the transmitting device be smaller than the size of a human thumb, able to run 6 months or more between battery charges, easy to communicate with smartphones — all for less than $20 USD.
An electronic control unit (ECU), also known as an electronic control module (ECM), is an embedded system in automotive electronics that controls one or more of the electrical systems or subsystems in a car or other motor vehicle.
Telematics is an interdisciplinary field encompassing telecommunications, vehicular technologies, electrical engineering, and computer science. Telematics can involve any of the following:
OnStar Corporation is a subsidiary of General Motors that provides subscription-based communications, in-vehicle security, emergency services, turn-by-turn navigation, and remote diagnostics systems throughout the United States, Canada, China, Mexico, Europe, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
On-board diagnostics (OBD) is a term referring to a vehicle's self-diagnostic and reporting capability. OBD systems give the vehicle owner or repair technician access to the status of the various vehicle sub-systems. The amount of diagnostic information available via OBD has varied widely since its introduction in the early 1980s versions of on-board vehicle computers. Early versions of OBD would simply illuminate a malfunction indicator light (MIL) or "idiot light" if a problem was detected, but would not provide any information as to the nature of the problem. Modern OBD implementations use a standardized digital communications port to provide real-time data in addition to a standardized series of diagnostic trouble codes, or DTCs, which allow a person to rapidly identify and remedy malfunctions within the vehicle.
A tracking system, also known as a locating system, is used for the observing of persons or objects on the move and supplying a timely ordered sequence of location data for further processing.
Machine to machine (M2M) is direct communication between devices using any communications channel, including wired and wireless. Machine to machine communication can include industrial instrumentation, enabling a sensor or meter to communicate the information it records to application software that can use it. Such communication was originally accomplished by having a remote network of machines relay information back to a central hub for analysis, which would then be rerouted into a system like a personal computer.
A GPS tracking unit, geotracking unit, satellite tracking unit, or simply tracker is a navigation device normally on a vehicle, asset, person or animal that uses satellite navigation to determine its movement and determine its WGS84 UTM geographic position (geotracking) to determine its location. Satellite tracking devices may send special satellite signals that are processed by a receiver.
Ford Sync is a factory-installed, integrated in-vehicle communications and entertainment system that allows users to make hands-free telephone calls, control music and perform other functions with the use of voice commands. The system consists of applications and user interfaces developed by Ford and other third-party developers. The first two generations run on the Windows Embedded Automotive operating system designed by Microsoft, while the third and fourth generations runs on the QNX operating system from BlackBerry Limited. Future versions will run on the Android operating system from Google.
A Fleet Telematics System (FTS) allows the information exchange between a commercial vehicle fleet and their central authority, i.e., the dispatching office. A FTS typically consists of mobile Vehicle Systems (VS) and a stationary Fleet Communication System (FCS). The FCS may be a stand-alone application maintained by the motor carrier or an internet service running by the supplier of the system. The FCS usually includes a database in which all vehicle positions and messages are stored.
A vehicle tracking system combines the use of automatic vehicle location in individual vehicles with software that collects these fleet data for a comprehensive picture of vehicle locations. Modern vehicle tracking systems commonly use GPS or GLONASS technology for locating the vehicle, but other types of automatic vehicle location technology can also be used. Vehicle information can be viewed on electronic maps via the Internet or specialized software. Urban public transit authorities are an increasingly common user of vehicle tracking systems, particularly in large cities.
Kia Connect, formerly UVO eServices, is a paid subscription OEM infotainment and telematics service offered by Kia Motors America on select vehicles for the United States market. The system allows users to make hands-free calls on their smartphone, stream music, navigate to a POI, and perform vehicle diagnostics with the use of voice commands.
Toyota Entune was an integrated multimedia navigation and telematics system for Toyota automobiles that provided satellite-based information on traffic, weather, sports scores, stocks, and fuel prices via subscription through SiriusXM. In 2023, support for Entune phone app was discontinued, and Entune features were integrated into the Toyota phone app. When connected to a compatible cellular phone running the Entune app via radio or USB cable, the system provided a browser and other apps including those from music services such as iHeartRadio, Pandora and XM Satellite Radio. The cell phone app supported iOS, Android, and Blackberry with different versions utilizing cell data. The system could be controlled with speech recognition, and optionally include the “Safety Connect” personalization system.
A connected car is a car that can communicate bidirectionally with other systems outside of the car. This connectivity can be used to provide services to passengers or to support or enhance self-driving functionality. For safety-critical applications, it is anticipated that cars will also be connected using dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) or cellular radios, operating in the FCC-granted 5.9 GHz band with very low latency.
CarWings, renamed NissanConnect in 2015, and also branded as Infiniti InTouch is a vehicle telematics service offered by the Nissan Motor Company to drivers in Japan, the United States, Canada, Great Britain, and most other countries where the LEAF is sold. It provides mobile connectivity for on-demand traffic information services and internet provided maps displayed inside select Nissan vehicles. The service began in December 1997, having been installed in the 1997 Nissan Cedric, Nissan Gloria, Nissan President, Nissan Cima and the Nissan Elgrand.
ERM Electronic Systems ltd. aka ERM Advanced Telematics is an Israeli electronic company focused on the design, development, and manufacture of vehicle security and GPS tracking devices for the telematics and fleet management industry. ERM Advanced Telematics has a global operation offering telematics devices for Stolen Vehicle Recovery (SVR) and Fleet Management Solutions (FMS), all incorporated within vehicle security.
Airbiquity Inc. is a business-to-business (B2B) software development and engineering company operating in the automotive telematics industry. Airbiquity's business model is to develop, deploy, and support the ongoing management of connected car programs for automotive industry customers.
Link Motion is an automotive software and hardware company developing embedded automotive systems that have been used in the Lamborghini Huracán. Their main product is the Motion T carputer which can implement a connected vehicle gateway as a separate unit or as a part of the cockpit solution (eCockpit). The Motion T carputer runs on NXP's i.MX8 multi-OS platform, supports four in-car HD displays and hosts connectivity features on Microsoft’s connected vehicle platform, a set of services built on the Microsoft Azure cloud, such as over-the-air software and firmware updates, telemetry and diagnostics data and secure remote access.
