Race Porsche

By Mike Trudel

 It’s Saturday, which means you have chores to do. You jump in your minivan and turn the ignition. Without being told, your favorite song is cued, your seat is automatically heated to your preferred temperature, and you are reminded of about how many miles you can drive until you need gas. “Oh,” you think, “I’ll get gas first.” With the touch of a button, your navigation system shows your current location and the price of gas at the five nearest gas stations.

Welcome to the world of telematics and the new wave of automotive in-car technology that’s quickly finding its way into our vehicles.

Telematics is deeply embedded hardware, software and telecommunications systems that provide an increasingly wide range of applications that serve our vehicles. These applications can enable safety, security, monitoring of vehicle health and remote diagnostics services. For the driver and passengers, telematics systems can provide dynamic location-based services such as navigation, traffic information, emergency assistance and a suite of other driver services based on two-way connectivity.

The icing on the cake is the idea of bringing the Internet to your vehicle. Automakers are working with Web companies to devise ways of connecting this technology intelligently, and advertisers are ready to jump on board and make it cost-effective, all to integrate your vehicle into the connected world.

Today’s vehicles are already providing a glimpse of what lies ahead. Many already have their own personal computer, their own cell phone and a display monitor. Add a keyboard or touch pad in-dash and the possibilities are endless. It all depends on how much information about yourself you are willing to provide. Data such as your blood type, favorite restaurants and even the stocks you own can prove useful. Ultimately, you will be able to tell your vehicle what you want it to do and when. Want an alert sent to your cell phone if your vehicle alarm goes off? Want to let your significant other know if your airbag has been deployed? Want to know when you’re driving by your favorite coffee shop? Easy to do; your vehicle will be as smart as you let it be.

Global automakers are working toward making telematics the core of the connected vehicle, and they have a strong incentive to integrate this technology as quickly as possible. The competition from connected mobile devices has clearly acted as a very powerful stimulant. Personal Navigation Devices (PNDs) and smart phones are grabbing the consumer’s fancy, and navigation systems are on a lot of wish lists.

PND manufacturers are heavily reliant on sales and are aiming their brand of navigation as a service product. As more devices have navigation capabilities, it won’t be about the hardware but about the service - something that provides two-way communication and lends itself to the consumer’s lifestyle.

Even automakers are realizing that it’s the suite of services that will help them achieve success. The wireless mobile and wireless automotive communities are fighting tooth and nail to win consumers’ hearts and minds.

One industry that is highly interested in telematics is the insurance industry. As more in-car technologies become available, automotive insurers have the opportunity to collect driver data with as much or as little granularity as they desire. They can monitor vehicle location, speed and driving times, or they can collect data on specific, narrowly defined events, such as hard braking. With better underlying data and the accompanying ability to price risk more accurately, insurers can roll out new types of products, often targeted at customers previously considered uninsurable. Information collected in the vehicle can also be used during the claims process. The overwhelming obstacle is the business issue of cost.

This is where advertisers are chomping at the bit to jump on board. Enabling these systems in your vehicle carries a cost, whether it’s a monthly subscription based on usage or a flat fee, and bringing advertisers into your vehicle can lower the cost considerably. So whenever you download a movie into your vehicle for the kids to watch on the next trip, it’s likely to be sponsored by an online movie provider. A major quick lube company will gladly make arrangements for your next scheduled oil change.

Advertisers also see the value of “knowing where you’re going” as a valuable customer relationship management tool. Remember those Saturday chores? Heading to a home improvement store? A telematics- equipped vehicle offers advertisers sophisticated, location-based options never before available. It’s all about capturing a consumer when they’re ready to make a decision. Let your system know you’re going to a home improvement store, and you get a quick glimpse at a discount being offered by one of the major chains. Once your vehicle is detected going to that location, the incentive is activated. You get something in return for sharing your data. Advertisers love that.

Mike Trudel, Freelance Writer.

Delphi Corp. is poised to apply its expertise and know-how to provide vehicle manufacturers and consumers with in-vehicle entertainment and connectivity. To learn more about Delphi Corp, please visit www.Delphi.com/4Innovation or www.Delphi.com/4Connected

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Active Safety Takes Occupant Protection To The Next Level
By Mike Trudel

 As experienced drivers and vehicle owners can readily attest, today’s vehicles are safer than ever before. Thanks to passive safety improvements like driver and passenger air bags, steel reinforced side beams, innovative seat restraints and frames that include engineered crumple zones, impressive reductions in vehicle accident fatalities have been witnessed.

According to statistics published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in 2005, there has been a dramatic decrease in accident-related deaths over the past 40 years. As the research shows, fatalities were reduced from 1965 through 2005, an era that coincides precisely with the development of most passive safety improvements. Also, injuries have seen a steady decline over the past 20 years.

It would be difficult to argue against the idea that passive safety measures have accomplished what they set out to do - save lives. Unfortunately, drivers still have accidents. In fact, NHTSA data shows that the actual number of vehicle accidents is virtually unchanged from 1988 to 2005. This is where researchers hope active safety technology will have its greatest impact.

Active safety technology product development is focused squarely on the types of products that can have the most impact on accident avoidance. Studies being conducted by the Transportation Active Safety Institute (TASI), located in Indianapolis, have identified “Zones of Greatest Opportunity,” which are high accident categories and thus product development targets for active safety technology.

Active safety technology addresses a major cause of accidents: driver error. According to another study by NHTSA, published in October 1999, the majority of accidents occur under benign driving conditions: in daylight, in normal weather conditions and at speeds less than 50 mph. In breaking down the cause of accidents to percentages, 24% of accidents were due to factors such as road conditions, vehicle defects and the driver’s physiological state. An overwhelming 76% of accidents were due to a mistake by the vehicle’s driver.

Helping reduce the actual number of vehicle accidents is the logical next step in automotive safety, and this is where active safety technology may have a tremendous impact. Building a “cocoon of safety” for the vehicle, with the ability to provide front, rear and side collision avoidance, as well as the technology to monitor the driver’s state, is the next technology frontier. And we are already catching glimpses of active safety technology that is either on the road today or well along in the development cycle.

The use of radar is perhaps the most exciting adoption of an existing technology that will drive many active safety systems. Many of these sophisticated systems will be on the road soon, including a new generation of radar sensors used for smart or adaptive cruise control, accident avoidance, pedestrian detection and collision warning. These newest radar sensor systems are designed to enhance performance at a lower cost, making this smart technology available across a larger percentage of vehicles.

Next-generation radar has a wide field of view and provides simultaneous long and medium range capabilities in a single sensor. There are also multi-sensor applications in development that incorporate both radar and visual technology. Radar is used to detect object range and range rate, while vision systems confirm the classification of identified objects such as vehicles, traffic signs, bridges and tunnels. In the rush to meet consumer demand and stay competitive, suppliers tend to be increasingly eager to develop ways to integrate these systems. As an example, the following technologies may involve integration of multiple functions and features on a single vehicle camera to decrease cost and increase functionality:

Lane Departure Warning - A lane tracking system that helps alert drivers when they unintentionally drift out of their intended lane. Using a camera and image processing to detect painted lane markers up to 25 meters ahead of the equipped vehicle, the system determines the vehicle’s heading and lateral position in the lane to provide the appropriate warning.

Rain Sensing - A true safety convenience, a camera operates the rain sensing function that activates wipers when moisture is detected on the windshield, with the addition of a small proprietary optical system.

Intelligent Headlamp Control - Another convenience system using a camera and intelligent headlamp control automatically activates the high beams according to lighting and traffic conditions and automatically dims headlights for oncoming traffic and when approaching vehicles from the rear.

Active Night Vision - Active night vision uses near infrared headlamps to illuminate the road scene ahead and displays an enhanced image in the vehicle. This system provides high-beam visibility without blinding oncoming traffic. The system provides more natural looking images to the driver than thermal vision systems and allows non-thermal-intense objects like trees and lane markers to be seen.

Pedestrian Recognition - Again, a camera enables pedestrian detection, a system that detects and classifies pedestrians. It predicts potential pedestrian impact and activates countermeasures to mitigate injuries. Pedestrian protection technologies are gaining much attention in Europe and other countries with densely populated cities.

Road Sign Recognition - An amazing technology that will have a positive impact for all drivers. Using a camera to recognize and read road and traffic signs, the system can alert the driver to varying conditions ahead such as speed limits and no-passing zones.

A reduction in accident-related deaths coincided with the development of passive safety devices from 1995 to 2005. Similarly, as automotive engineers innovate and introduce more active safety technologies to the mass market, another positive trend in automotive safety statistics is very likely on the horizon.

Mike Trudel, Freelance Writer.

Delphi Corp. is a leading innovator of automobile safety equipment and technology. To learn about Delphi’s safety advancements, visit www.Delphi.com/4safe.

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