CES: Auto OEMs Steal the Spotlight
January has been a busy month for the telematics industry. The annual International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was the venue for several announcements regarding new telematics services or next-generation platforms. It appears that CES has become more relevant to the automotive industry than ever before.
One of the biggest announcements was Toyota’s official announcement of its Lexus Enform and Safety Connect monitored telematics solutions. The OEM will partner with the ATX Group—now a part of Cross Country Automotive Services—as the service provider. Other partners on the new solution include VoiceBox for voice recognition, Zagat for Point of Interest (POI) ratings, and XM for an added suite of location-based services like traffic, weather, sports, and stocks.
Toyota Telematics vs. General Motors’ OnStar
Safety Connect will offer Automatic Collision Notification (ACN), Stolen Vehicle Location (SVL) and Emergency Assistance Button (SOS) and roadside assistance. Based upon Toyota’s press release, iSuppli has examined all of the new Toyota telematics services and how they stack up to the existing services offered by General Motors’ OnStar.
Toyota’s ACN offers the basic ACN functions that will help drivers in the event of an accident with either an airbag deployment or a severe rear-end collision. The ATX response center will be notified via embedded cellular technology and GPS, and receive the vehicle identification and location from the car. Then by speaking over the phone, the agent will determine the level of emergency. The vehicle data is then automatically sent to the nearest Public-Safety Answering Point (PSAP) available to provide emergency support.
The basic function is the same as OnStar. However, OnStar offers additional data transmission from the vehicle in the event of an accident. OnStar will automatically send information about the air bag status, the velocity at impact, the direction at impact, the number of impacts, and if the vehicle rolled over, which all result in a more detailed description of the accident sent to the emergency responders. According to the Toyota press release, it doesn’t appear that its ACN provides this amount of data to the PSAP.
SVL is also a very basic safety function, providing the subscriber peace-of-mind when or if his vehicle is stolen. SVL will enable the ATX call center to track the location of the stolen vehicle with GPS, and once a police report has been filed, the owner can contact the call center to report the theft and authorize ATX and the local authorities to attempt to recover the vehicle.
Meanwhile, OnStar recently added Stolen Vehicle Slowdown to its service portfolio, which allows the local police, in cooperation with the owner and OnStar, to disable the vehicle’s acceleration, slowing it down to a stop. This added functionality is intended to prevent high-speed chases and to minimize the amount of damage the car thief can inflict upon the vehicle or other motorists. Again, according to Toyota’s press release, its solution will not offer this.
In terms of SOS and roadside assistance, the Toyota solution is virtually the same as OnStar’s E-Call and B-Call. The SOS button in all Toyota and Lexus vehicles with Safety Connect will connect them to a 24-7 call center that can send help to the vehicle’s location either in the event of an emergency or vehicle breakdown. The only real difference is that OnStar’s solution uses a red E-Call button for emergencies, and the blue OnStar button for B-Call, where Toyota’s solution integrates both services into the same button.
Beyond the above mentioned features, OnStar’s basic service plan also offers remote vehicle door unlock and lock, crisis assist, hands-free personal calling, and OnStar’s remote vehicle diagnostics services. According to the Toyota press release, these features will not be available in its service package.
Telematics still valued
The automotive industry is in its worst times at the moment, however major introductions at CES—such as Toyota’s announcement—show that automakers and suppliers are still confident in telematics products and that they see the need to bring more connectivity and safety features to vehicles.
One of the biggest announcements was Toyota’s official announcement of its Lexus Enform and Safety Connect monitored telematics solutions. The OEM will partner with the ATX Group—now a part of Cross Country Automotive Services—as the service provider. Other partners on the new solution include VoiceBox for voice recognition, Zagat for Point of Interest (POI) ratings, and XM for an added suite of location-based services like traffic, weather, sports, and stocks.
Toyota Telematics vs. General Motors’ OnStar
Safety Connect will offer Automatic Collision Notification (ACN), Stolen Vehicle Location (SVL) and Emergency Assistance Button (SOS) and roadside assistance. Based upon Toyota’s press release, iSuppli has examined all of the new Toyota telematics services and how they stack up to the existing services offered by General Motors’ OnStar.
Toyota’s ACN offers the basic ACN functions that will help drivers in the event of an accident with either an airbag deployment or a severe rear-end collision. The ATX response center will be notified via embedded cellular technology and GPS, and receive the vehicle identification and location from the car. Then by speaking over the phone, the agent will determine the level of emergency. The vehicle data is then automatically sent to the nearest Public-Safety Answering Point (PSAP) available to provide emergency support.
The basic function is the same as OnStar. However, OnStar offers additional data transmission from the vehicle in the event of an accident. OnStar will automatically send information about the air bag status, the velocity at impact, the direction at impact, the number of impacts, and if the vehicle rolled over, which all result in a more detailed description of the accident sent to the emergency responders. According to the Toyota press release, it doesn’t appear that its ACN provides this amount of data to the PSAP.
SVL is also a very basic safety function, providing the subscriber peace-of-mind when or if his vehicle is stolen. SVL will enable the ATX call center to track the location of the stolen vehicle with GPS, and once a police report has been filed, the owner can contact the call center to report the theft and authorize ATX and the local authorities to attempt to recover the vehicle.
Meanwhile, OnStar recently added Stolen Vehicle Slowdown to its service portfolio, which allows the local police, in cooperation with the owner and OnStar, to disable the vehicle’s acceleration, slowing it down to a stop. This added functionality is intended to prevent high-speed chases and to minimize the amount of damage the car thief can inflict upon the vehicle or other motorists. Again, according to Toyota’s press release, its solution will not offer this.
In terms of SOS and roadside assistance, the Toyota solution is virtually the same as OnStar’s E-Call and B-Call. The SOS button in all Toyota and Lexus vehicles with Safety Connect will connect them to a 24-7 call center that can send help to the vehicle’s location either in the event of an emergency or vehicle breakdown. The only real difference is that OnStar’s solution uses a red E-Call button for emergencies, and the blue OnStar button for B-Call, where Toyota’s solution integrates both services into the same button.
Beyond the above mentioned features, OnStar’s basic service plan also offers remote vehicle door unlock and lock, crisis assist, hands-free personal calling, and OnStar’s remote vehicle diagnostics services. According to the Toyota press release, these features will not be available in its service package.
Telematics still valued
The automotive industry is in its worst times at the moment, however major introductions at CES—such as Toyota’s announcement—show that automakers and suppliers are still confident in telematics products and that they see the need to bring more connectivity and safety features to vehicles.
Posts
No comments: