Automotive Industry Trends

Integrating Vehicles and Telematics

Issue Table of Contents

Integrating Vehicles and Telematics The Expanding Use of Telematics Telematics Offers Auto Owners a Fresh Shopping List Automotive Telematic Standards and Related Publications

The automotive industry has searched for a solution to the critical issue of incompatibility between factory-installed electronic networks and the aftermarket devices consumers want to install in their cars. IDB-C (IDB stands for Intelligent transportation systems Data Bus, and C for CAN, or Control-Area Network) was the first of a line of in-vehicle networks that enabled all cars’ electronic networks to speak to the off-the-shelf devices that were available to consumers. IDB-1394, the next in this line, was a high-speed network, introduced with a running speed of 400 Mbit/second, capable of carrying clear video, multi-channel sound, and high-speed data. IDB-1394 was the first Telematics networking technology to be approved for use by the DVD Copy Control Association (DVD-CCA) to transmit copy-protected digital video content on an in-vehicle digital network. The decision made it possible to implement 1394 technology in bringing high-quality all-digital content to vehicles.

The next great advance in network technology is MOST (Media Oriented Systems Transport), a multimedia networking technology that uses fiber optics to replace the reptilian snarl of analog data transfer through outdated copper wire and bulky cable. Back in the days when a car’s wiring only had to manage the electrical system, a radio/cassette player or a CD player, and four speakers, standard wiring techniques could suffice. But now, with a suite of onboard systems that may include a dozen different functions, including delivering rich media content, a new approach is imperative.

Oasis SiliconSystems, MOST’s creator, has designed a solution that drives all the data signals through POF (plastic optical fiber) strands. MOST not only delivers stunning speed, but it is also very lightweight, reducing car costs and the improving gas mileage. This technology allows blazingly fast transfer of streaming multimedia data, without the degradation of the signal that occurs in copper-wire electronics, without the usual electromagnetic interference, without the need for buffering and signal processing at each node, and it provides an avenue of communication between devices. For these reason,s auto manufacturers have increasingly made MOST their installed network of choice.

The Consumer Electronics Association has published CEA-2012, entitled MOST Network Application, adopting MOST as the new standard for digital networks for aftermarket in-vehicle systems. The standard, based on MOST specifications, offers a connectivity solution. “It defines a protocol,” says Dave Wilson, Director of Technology and Standards at CEA, “for attaching aftermarket products in the MOST networks being made available by OEMs. Our hope is that, in terms of technology, CEA-2012 will allow numerous new aftermarket devices to be marketed and adopted by making it easier to connect different systems.”

The publication of CEA-2012 will allow the electronics aftermarket to produce devices that communicate flawlessly and seamlessly with MOST networks. “It is remarkable,” added Wilson, “to be able to settle on one [technology]. In this case, when you have so many vehicles controlled by a few competitors, often with common suppliers, it was important.” CEA’s publication of the MOST standard opens the door to a wider variety of choices for consumers who want to customize their vehicles with an ever-greater selection of aftermarket electronics.