SmartMove NV, one of Europe’s leading software developers for telematics applications, today unveiled and demonstrated a complete, fully-functional end-to-end Java-based open software solution for the entire telematics pipeline. The company is demonstrating its software at Convergence 2000 – the automotive electronics exposition that runs October 16-18 at Detroit’s Cobo Center.
Called the SmartMove Open Telematics Framework (OTF), it is the first end- to-end open telematics solution in the automotive industry. Its unique single-platform, protocol-neutral, lightweight architecture is winning industry acclaim because it can be quickly and easily upgraded on-the-fly to add services and accommodate new technologies.
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Vehicle manufacturers, telecoms and automotive suppliers are currently validating the SmartMove technology for their own telematics initiatives. In addition, a recent report on the global telematics market by UBS Warburg, the global investment bank, predicts that SmartMove will lead the move toward Java-based operating systems.
SmartMove’s business model establishes three levels in the telematics pipeline and integrates the software solution for each into a single-standard platform or framework.
The three levels are: The Service Providers who originate news, information, data and services; the Service Aggregators such as OnStar or Wingcast who most likely will be owned by the vehicle manufacturer; and the consumer in his vehicle, home or office.
SmartMove’s OTF integrates all the functionality necessary to service all three levels into a single system that is capable of transporting data over an entire range of existing and future communication networks. It is fully compliant with the Open Services Gateway Initiative (OSGi) which allows it to communicate with smart appliances and devices in future homes and offices.
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By GlobalData“We believe that services and information delivery to home and vehicle networks will be organized by means of one common platform,” said Steven Buytaert, co-founder and co-CEO at SmartMove. “With the OSGi reference framework running on the SmartMove platform, we make it possible to exchange information and services between providers and both an in-home or in-vehicle gateway. We have been actively participating with OSGI and other standards groups like AMI-C, not only to create standards for information and service delivery to the vehicle, but also to create a platform for information and services exchange between home networks and tomorrow’s vehicle networks.”
The SmartMove OTF provides all of the software solutions needed by each of the three players in telematics pipeline:
1. The SmartMove Development Kit for Service Providers is a set of software tools that allow them to quickly and easily create, adapt and manage their services. They can register and operate their services through the Java Application Program Interfaces (APIs) that are part of the kit. These APIs give them access to the Open Telematics Framework, the information pipeline to the vehicle.
2. The SmartMove Communication Control Center (CCC) software for the Service Aggregator is the heart of the telematics pipeline between the Service Provider and the vehicle or home platform. The CCC provides management functionality to the Service Aggregator, functions as a database, and stores all the relevant vehicle and subscription profile data to provide system security, billing, encryption, authentication and software updates necessary to run the entire system.
3. The SmartMove Platform is the Java-based computing platform installed in the vehicle. It contains the SmartMove chip set, software components and virtual machine. It is linked to the vehicle via a bus, and interfaces with the driver through voice activation, hardware buttons or a screen display. SmartMove is also providing the reference design for a fully-functional, third-generation (3G) telematics and multimedia in-vehicle terminal.
SmartMove’s open architecture approach provides a common standard that will allow many different vehicle manufacturers to share common vehicle telematics standards across individual company lines. It is “future-proof” in that it can accommodate changing technologies such as broadband, wireless, broadcast and others. And with voice activation, simple hardware buttons or touch-screens, it is easy and safe to use in-vehicle.
“The SmartMove OTF will allow the industry to invert the old 80-20 rule which currently has 80 percent of the time and money going toward developing the telematics infrastructure, and only 20 percent going toward content,” said Buytaert.
“With our OTF solution, we believe the industry can now concentrate on developing meaningful and helpful telematics content to improve driver convenience and safety. This can speed the launch of more comprehensive telematics services, help vehicle manufacturers market and sell more vehicles and new services to consumers, and realize new sources of revenue sooner.”
About SmartMove:
SmartMove NV was founded in 1996 and received funding from several European venture capitalists. SmartMove holds several international patents in the field of vehicle telematics, and employs 90 people, most of them engineers. Based in Leuven, Belgium, the company’s U.S. subsidiary, SmartMove USA ( “http://www.smartmove-us.com”target=”_blank”>www.smartmove-us.com ), is located in Cambridge, Mass.
