Aug/Sept 2007

Lack of technical standards has been seen as a brake on growth in the telematics standard, but a new generation of intelligent embedded wireless platforms could be change that. m.logistics talks to Ron Black, chief executive of Wavecom

You would think that with over 300 companies offering fleet and asset management services around the world, there would be some uniformity in terms of technology platform. That's not the case, according to Ron Black, chief executive of Wavecom. 'There are elements of commonality, but both the automotive and machine-to-machine sectors have highly fragmented solutions, with no common technology standards.'

Wavecom is one of those companies that few end-users will have heard of, but whose products underpin a lot of telematics and wireless hardware and applications. Its core business is offering wireless packages to hardware and software developers that simplify tasks such as developing devices and black boxes for wireless applications like tracking and asset management.

The company has been at the forefront of wireless technology for the past fifteen years, and its technology includes servers, wireless central processing units, chipsets, embedded protocol stacks and real-time operating systems. It moved into the machine-to-machine (or 'M2M') market last year when it bought Sony Ericsson's M2M business.

Ron Black predicts that over the next decade there will be huge growth in embedded wireless solutions for automotive and machine-to-machine applications. 'There are fifty-five billion vehicles worldwide, plus thirty million vending machines and one million utility meters,' he points out. 'Demand for embedded wireless devices to track and manage these assets will grow, as will demand for a simple platform that allows developers to focus on applications rather than on putting together the elements of technology.'

Black thinks that until recently, the lack of a standard technology platform has actually helped the fleet telematics market develop. 'In the early days, technology was seen as the key differentiator between products. Even when the components are identical, the they are not always put together in the same way,' Black says. 'Another factor is that the fleet tracking market has been developed mainly by third-party suppliers, not by vehicle manufacturers. There was no volume from which a standard might have emerged.'

There have been calls within the telematics industry for automotive-grade components and approval of telematics applications from vehicle manufacturers - something akin to the approval they bestow on bodywork and third-party components. Suppliers of telematics systems and black boxes think this will improve reliability and build user confidence.

While agreeing that this would be ideal for vehicle applications, Black is sceptical about whether it is realistic. 'It takes time to get manufacturer approval and is a costly process. It could stifle the market and eliminate some of the smaller application developers.'

Instead, Black predicts, there will be a consolidation of technologies. 'Both the M2M and the automotive sectors are global markets, so manufacturers will seek to reduce costs through economies of scale. There is a danger when chasing costs that component standards will be lower, with shorter life span than anticipated.'

However, Black thinks a new breed of intelligent wireless applications will provide both volume and reliability - products that don't rely on external processors or application-specific integrated circuits and components. 'At Wavecom, for example, we have made our technology available to all our partners in the interests of creating volume. We don't see this approach as giving away our technology because it is the software that differentiates the partner products. Reducing costs in the wireless market is all about producing reliable technology in volume.'

De facto standard platforms will emerge as vehicle manufacturers embrace embedded telematics devices, Black predicts. A key driver is governmental pressure to improve emergency assistance for drivers involved in accidents. Systems that offer this are already a legal requirement in the USA, he points out, and now there is an EU initiative called e-call which wants all new cars to be equipped with automatic SOS capability. (BMW and Volvo already offer it, using Wavecom technology.) The justification is that there is a 'golden hour' after an accident when the likelihood of survival is at its greatest.

The SOS function can be configured in various ways, and can include, for example, a sensor that detects when airbags are deployed. The embedded wireless module, which includes GPS, then sends the vehicle position to the emergency services over the wireless network.

Black believes this push for enhanced driver safety will help open up the embedded telematics market. 'Telematics platforms will become more homogenous, because the vehicle manufacturers will have the volume purchasing power to drive the market. That should pull costs down for everyone.'

It's also good news for application developers, he says. 'Once the telematics box is installed in the vehicle, it can be the gateway for a lot of other services, including pay-as-you-drive insurance, traffic updates, even music downloads. You can program the embedded wireless module to do a variety of tasks.'