| Mercedes Telematics |
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2009 Distronic reaches 200 meters
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AKTIV CoCar project concluded
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| car-to-car-communication update
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TomTom Go 740 Live offers Fuel Price Service
TomTom's over-the-air fuel price search allows users to locate
pricing information, and is refreshed up to six times a day from
120,000 gas stations across the U.S. Drivers can choose which type
of gas they would like tracked, regular, mid-grade, premium or diesel,
and find the lowest prices along their route or in their local area.
April 2009
MBUSA introduces Sirius real time traffic data
Real time traffic data is collected by Navteq and broadcast
by Sirius satellite. Compatible navigation systems like the
model year 2009 E-Class, GL, G-Class, M-Class, and R-Class can display
the received traffic info overlaid on the map of the navigation system,
to help the driver avoid congested traffic on major highways.
"SIRIUS Traffic provides real-time information on accidents,
traffic flow, construction, and road closures for only $3.99/month,
when added to your existing SIRIUS Satellite Radio subscription."
-- SIRIUS Traffic
July 2008
Mercedes-Benz TeleAid to return to Europe
Mercedes is working to re-introduce TeleAid in Europe, starting
with the C-Class at the end of 2008. The Mercedes solution links to
the driver's mobile phone
and is being developed with the German safety foundation
Björn Steiger Stiftung,
who created the "LifeService" automatic emergency call system.
Mercedes-Benz TeleAid was switched off in Europe in late 2005 as mentioned
earlier.
June 2008
Hughes Telematics announces MBUSA as second customer
Newly formed Hughes Telematics
announced
their second Telematics customer and it is Mercedes-Benz USA.
The new system should be ready by November 2009. ATX's service
concludes for new subscribers in November 2009.
Existing subscribers will likely have the option to remain with ATX or switch to Hughes.
"Mercedes-Benz and ATX have simply chosen to move in different
directions with different strategies in the telematics markets, each
believing that their strategy best serves its own markets. That doesn't
mean our interests won't converge in other markets or at some point in the
future. We are extremely grateful to Mercedes-Benz for trusting us with
their customers." -- Steve Millstein, ATX
December 2007
Darpa Urban Challenge 2007
Congratulations to the finalists Team AnnieWay, Ben Franklin Racing Team,
CarOLO, Team Cornell, Honeywell/Intelligent Vehicle Systems, MIT, Team
Oshkosh Truck, Stanford Racing Team, Tartan Racing, Team UCF,
and VictorTango.
November 4, 2007
pictures: tommyr/mbworld
Navteq offers real time traffic data for 2008 S- and CL-Class
Navteq Traffic RDS was announced as standard lifetime service included with
model year 2008 S-Class and CL-Class automobiles. It's usually a good
idea to check if displayed jams really exist, before relying on
automatically rerouted navigation routes. 2007 USA S- CL-Class automobiles
may require a software update.
Navteq Traffic RDS coverage
September 5, 2007
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Mercedes-Benz Search & Send Debuts
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car-to-car-communication systems
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Continental demos Car-to-Car and Car-to-Roadside communication
During the telematics conference in Michigan Continental
announced they had succesfully tested car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure
communication. Using the installed MOTODRIVE roadside network, a high
mobility mesh architecture deployed with the Michigan DOT, they successsfully
demonstrated some in-vehicle applications to US transportation officials:
E-flare: anticipating hazards in advance and responding to them. Imagine this: long before a car reaches a blind curve in the road, an internal warning signal can sound and a warning symbol can appear on a cockpit display. These optical and acoustic warnings may also be accompanied by an intuitive signal from the force-feedback gas pedal: by pressing back on the driver's foot, suggesting to the driver to reduce his speed.
E-horn: safe traffic control. Additional safety can be provided by the e-horn function of the telematics unit. Imagine as a car approaches a busy intersection, an internal warning signal sounds and a blue light appears on the display, possibly accompanied by a text and/or audio message such as "Emergency vehicle approaching from the left". This enables the driver to brake in time before the emergency vehicle speeds through the intersection because the telematics unit in the emergency vehicle transmits the warning information to nearby vehicles.
Telematics: vital information on road and traffic conditions. Telematics turns the car itself into a sensor so that it can warn traffic behind it; for example, about icy roads. Warnings about this potential hazard are transmitted by the ESP to the telematics unit via the vehicle's data bus. If the ESP senses that a slippery or icy road presents a potential hazard, it can notify all vehicles in the vicinity. In addition to this car-to-car communication, the relevant information can be forwarded via fully integrated telematics stations to a traffic control center, which can then incorporate this information to roadside hazard-warning displays to warn vehicles and, if necessary, re-route traffic by recommending detours, thus preventing traffic jams.
Continental E-flare, E-horn, Telematics
May 22, 2007
Frontline Fills in Proposed Details of 700 MHz Service Rules
Frontline Wireless published some details about the
upcoming 700 MHz public safety band. "These proposed service rules
provide a clear way forward for a national, broadband wireless network
for both public safety users and commercial customers, including those
in rural areas," said Frontline.
Mar 30, 2007
ATX envisions next generation Telematics
Mercedes Telematics service provider ATX publishes some of their ideas for
the future and comes up with these three "pillars":
Web Access: Recent advances in the integration of natural language voice technology into the vehicle has finally enabled the delivery of an IP address to the driver's seat. Content providers are now ready to deliver "geo-casts" information that could be pushed or pulled to the vehicle depending on customer choice. This enhanced information, most notably navigational directions and point of interest information, will replace many of the navigational-oriented information currently provided through embedded and aftermarket navigation devices.
DIVA: Driver Interactive Vehicle Applications allow the driver to continuously communicate with his vehicle, using any networked communications device to remotely control vehicle functions, to poll the car and its browser for information, or to download information to the car.
Remote diagnosis of the car's environment: In the past, remote polling of vehicles has primarily focused on potential traffic flow information, but in fact the car can also probe in real-time the temperature, precipitation, air quality and road conditions at any given location as well as in-vehicle consumer behavior.
Mar 9, 2007
Continental and Microsoft form alliance for mobile platform
Next generation Telematics gateways will integrate Microsoft's
Auto software. Ford is the first automaker to deploy this concept
later this year in the Ford Sync®: syncmyride. Ford RESCU pioneered telematics in 1996.
Continental press release
Microsoft Automotive
Ford Vehicles
Jan 8, 2007
Daimler R&D to demo R500 with ultra wideband (UWB) wireless at CES
It uses an Intel Wireless UWB Link 1480 MAC and Alereon
AL4000 WiMedia RF Transceiver to create a wireless USB connection. The
demo will stream high-definition video from a handheld mobile
to the R500 RSE system viewable on the factory installed headrest
monitors for the middle and third row passengers.
Intel Ultra-Wideband (UWB) Technology info page
Alereon's AL4000 PHY Chipset press release
WiMedia Alliance
Jan 3, 2007
Digital TeleAid Retrofit for Mercedes with D2B fiber
Mercedes with D2B connected TeleAid units can be upgraded now.
Unplug connector A, GPS antenna and connector B, power, from the
analog TeleAid module and connect them to the digital TeleAid module,
part number BQ 482 0123. This upgrade became available for
Mercedes with D2B fiber like the 01-05 M-Class, G, C, CLK and SLs.
The SDS needs to be connected to read data from
the analog unit and transfer them to the new digital one.
Connect the D2B fiber to the digital TeleAid only if the existing
analog TeleAid uses D2B.
11/10/2006 update
10/21/2006
Digital TeleAid Retrofit for MY2004 S-Class and E-Class
As previously announced TeleAid needs to be switched to digital
service by 2008. A retrofit just became available for the model year 2004
S-Class. Five connectors from the analog TeleAid unit under the
rear seat are unplugged: A GPS antenna, B antenna, C power supply,
D power supply, E Most fiber, and instead plugged into the retrofit
digital Teleaid unit, part number BQ 482 0124, and then coded with
the Star Diagnostic System to transfer the settings. The retrofit
for the 04 E-Class with MOST fiber uses the same part.
10/6/2006
BMW Adds Real Time Traffic Information to Its Navigation System
NAV systems in several 2007 BMW models will
have free real time traffic info fed into them,
enabling dynamic rerouting. A satellite radio is not necessary
as the signal is fed by FM RDS TMC subcarrier using Clear Channel's
broadcast network. BMW USA: "Traffic data is then streamed to a dedicated
tuner in the car's radio and transferred directly to the navigation system,
so customers can
receive traffic updates from a variety of stations, 24 hours a day, seven
days a week -- even when the radio is turned off or when the customer is
listening to other entertainment sources such as a CD or iPod. The
navigation system calculates the best route considering the traffic
incidents and potential delays. In addition to alerting the driver to where
the traffic is, if the delay is calculated to be more than 5 minutes then
the navigation system will offer alternative routes around the congestion,
either automatically or at the choice of the driver."
Continue to: "BMW releases real time traffic information (RTTI) as no-fee service"
Continue to: "Clear Channel's Total Traffic Network Named Traffic ISP for BMW of North America"
Continue to: "The Inrix Smart Dust Network"
9/7/2006
How's the latency across the wireless link?
Here's a test from the car on 101 across about 1 mile wireless (Tropos MESH Network) into Google's vpn server:
wolfgang> ping -n 20 vpn.google.com:
Pinging vpn.google.com [64.9.224.68] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 64.9.224.68: bytes=32 time=81ms TTL=63
Reply from 64.9.224.68: bytes=32 time=9ms TTL=63
Reply from 64.9.224.68: bytes=32 time=8ms TTL=63
Reply from 64.9.224.68: bytes=32 time=8ms TTL=63
Reply from 64.9.224.68: bytes=32 time=8ms TTL=63
Reply from 64.9.224.68: bytes=32 time=11ms TTL=63
Reply from 64.9.224.68: bytes=32 time=8ms TTL=63
Reply from 64.9.224.68: bytes=32 time=8ms TTL=63
Reply from 64.9.224.68: bytes=32 time=8ms TTL=63
Reply from 64.9.224.68: bytes=32 time=9ms TTL=63
Reply from 64.9.224.68: bytes=32 time=8ms TTL=63
Reply from 64.9.224.68: bytes=32 time=9ms TTL=63
Reply from 64.9.224.68: bytes=32 time=9ms TTL=63
Reply from 64.9.224.68: bytes=32 time=8ms TTL=63
Reply from 64.9.224.68: bytes=32 time=8ms TTL=63
Reply from 64.9.224.68: bytes=32 time=13ms TTL=63
Reply from 64.9.224.68: bytes=32 time=10ms TTL=63
Reply from 64.9.224.68: bytes=32 time=15ms TTL=63
Reply from 64.9.224.68: bytes=32 time=9ms TTL=63
Reply from 64.9.224.68: bytes=32 time=7ms TTL=63
Ping statistics for 64.9.224.68:
Packets: Sent = 20, Received = 20, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 7ms, Maximum = 81ms, Average = 12ms
8/31/2006
Michigan VII testbed
The Vehicle Infrastructure Integration testbed in Michigan is
currently under construction to test feasibility before
wider deployment decisions are made in 2008.
read the draft here (pdf, 16 pages)
Connected Vehicle Proving Center (CVPC)
8/29/2006
California Vehicle Infrastructure Integration testbed
Some photos from the California testbed near the research
centers in Palo Alto. The 5.9 GHz DSRC antenna is mounted on
a lamppost on a corner of the intersection of El Camino
and Page Mill in Palo Alto. The antenna connects to a Denso WAVE
radio in a nearby roadside cabinet. A GPS antenna and a GPRS
antenna are mounted on top for the location and backhaul. This
research is intended to help reduce intersection crashes. At
present the applications are simple feasibility tests.
car to car communication, DSRC
8/26/2006
Free Citywide GoogleWiFi debuts in Mountain View
The photos show us driving at 35 MPH connected to GoogleWiFi, then
the antenna on a lamppost with Tropos repeater and backhaul antenna
pointed in the direction of the Googleplex, and finally streaming video
while at 60 MPH on the highway. Works great. For security we run GSA
VPN with 128 bit encryption over the wireless link from behind the
firewall to vpn.google.com.
Testing the speed into the car with the Speakeasy test:
Download Speed: 978 kbps (122.3 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 944 kbps (118 KB/sec transfer rate)
Info taken from the repeater:
WAN Connection Info:
Signal level: -71 dBm
Bit rate: 5
Missed beacon: 0
ESSID: GoogleWiFi
Mode: 802.11g
Frequency: 2.442 GHz
Channel: 7
Signal strength: good to excellent
Google WiFi Mountain View
8/22/2006
Continental announces their telematics plans
Continental put out a press release announcing their plans for the Motorola Telematics business they purchased in April. They say "Continental is on the cutting edge of telematics technology -- telematics technology adds to consumers' enjoyment of life by keeping drivers connected to the outside world, offering a wireless lifeline that increases convenience, mobility and safety."
Continental press release: "Telematics Positions Continental as a Leader in Comprehensive Vehicle Safety"
On conti-online: "The new Business Unit Telematics"
July 31, 2006
Bosch to acquire Telex Communications
"With the acquisition of Telex, Bosch Security Systems can
significantly expand its communications systems product offerings
and penetrate the professional audio equipment market. The strength
of the Telex distribution network will enhance our worldwide market
position as a provider of comprehensive security and communication systems."
Bosch press release: "Bosch to acquire Telex Communications
Significant boost to Security Systems division"
Telex Communications
June 28, 2006
Mercedes-Benz drops TeleAid in Europe
MB doesn't accept new orders for TeleAid in Germany. It was a rather
unpopular option and was discontinued. TeleAid was offered in the CL-,
S-Class and Maybach and optional on the E-Class for EU1740, bundled with
a WAP phone and Bluetooth handset. The service will be switched off on
December 27, 2005.
July 2005
DSRC car to car communication
June 7, 2005
ITIS Holdings agrees new 3 year contract for TMC traffic service for Mercedes vehicles (UK)
ITIS
announces real-time traffic information for Mercedes vehicles
in the UK thus enabling dynamic route guidance around traffic jams.
They combine traffic information with floating vehicle data
before it is broadcast via TMC to the vehicles.
January 5, 2005
MERCEDES-BENZ USA LAUNCHES DIGITAL TELE AID
"New Feature-Rich Packages Offered for 2005"
MBUSA press release
November 19, 2004
Analog TeleAid service to be discontinued by 2008 in North America
AT&T currently provides analog cellphone service for the TeleAid
system. MY 2006 MLs have digital TeleAid, some other models starting
with MY2004, most with MY2005. Digital TeleAid is dual mode, analog and
digital using Verizon. Since AT&T might sunset analog cell service
by 2008, analog only TeleAid systems will have to be updated before 2008.
MB might offer retrofit kits, but so far there is no demand for it.
Analog service has more range in nonurban areas, although voice quality
may not be as high. Mercedes came up with several different analog
versions: TeleAid I hardwired in the 2000 S-Class, TeleAid II using
D2B fiber in model year 2001 M-Class until the fiber connection was
dropped in 2004, and the CP communications platform on the MOST ring
starting with the model year 2003 E-Class. All these analog systems
will become obsolete. TeleAid complicates the on-board electrics
quite a bit.
August 3, 2004
MBUSA Tech Training: Introduction to Tele Aid
download pdf file here, 874 kbytes, 20 pages
download pdf file here, 3.51 Mbytes, 56 pages
July 23, 2004
Court limits in-car FBI spying
Kevin Poulsen, SecurityFocus
"An appeals court this week put the brakes on an FBI surveillance
technique that turns an automobile driver's on-board vehicle navigation
system into a covert eavesdropping device, after finding that the spying
effectively disables the system's emergency and roadside assistance features."
securityfocus article
November 23, 2003
Telematics information service providers (ISP)
Mercedes, Maybach, BMW and Rolls-Royce use ATX in North America.
GM, Toyota and Honda use Onstar in North America.
Vodafone Passo/ATX provides BMW-ASSIST in Italy, France, Germany, United Kingdom and Austria.
Mercedes, Audi used Debitel and T-Systems Traffic/Tegaron in Germany.
Ford RESCU used Protection One/ATX.
EETimes: E-911 mandate could hit telematics industry hard
EEtimes article
2/10/2003
Does TeleAid reduce fatalities?
Proponents claim its safety benefits are similar to improved door locks
or side door beams. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reports
in their status report published on October 26, 2002, that Automatic crash
notification wouldn't make a difference in most cases. Also note the new
location based E 911 service is being phased in which displays the caller's
location to the 911 operator. Regarding injuries, TeleAid appears to have
no or maybe even an adverse effect when comparing injury loss rates in cars
without to the same model with Teleaid. For example the IIHS reports
for 98-00 M-Classes, all without TeleAid, an injury loss rate of 59.
And for 01-03 M-Classes after TeleAid became standard starting with
the 2001 model year, the loss rate increased to 75.
M-Class D2B fiber ring in 2002 and in 2005
Mercedes M-Class D2B fiber optic ring (2000 to 2005)
Starting in 1999 with model year 2000 the D2B optical fiber ring was
introduced to the M-Class and MB phones connect to the MCS radio
using the fiber starting with model year 2000. Tele Aid and the fiber
CD-changer were added with model year 2001, and Linguatronic voice
recognition and the Bose premium sound system amplifier were added
to the ring starting with model year 2002. When the data info services
were discontinued TeleAid was dropped from the ring in model
year 2004 starting with VIN 486200 and the Sirius satellite receiver
added instead.
Tele Aid
became standard on all M-Classes with the 2001 model year. The
year before, in 2000, it became standard on all S-Class, C-Class, CLK,
E-Class, CL Coupe and SL Roadsters sold in the United States. In early
2003 the TeleAid Traffic service was introduced to the M-Class with on-demand
real time traffic reports downloadable to the MCS screen. A "services"
button was added on the front of the MCS radio. Its usefulness was
limited since the traffic data didn't affect the NAV route
calculation. Folks without the SVC button can simply call
511 in the bay area to receive current
traffic reports. On the main menu say "traffic condition"
"101 southbound" and it then tells if anything's on file.
TeleAid data service with traffic, weather and stock quotes
was not popular and was discontinued - no surprise considering
the cost and limited usability.
Atheros Chipsets Used in Mercedes-Benz Future-Technology Demonstration
Innovative Wireless Capability Heralds New Era in Automotive IT
Atheros press release
November 13, 2001
DaimlerChrysler Selects AT&T Wireless as Part of Comprehensive North American Telematics Strategy
DaimlerChrysler press release
August 8, 2001
Mercedes-Benz First With Web-Based in-Car Info Services
Tele Aid Standard on Every 2001 Model; Info Services Optional
MBUSA press release
September 14, 2000
A bit of history: DynAPS real time dynamic traffic routing
Blaupunkt pioneered the TMC traffic message channel in the early 1990s
in Nordrhein Westfalen and in 1997 Mercedes-Benz offered optional dynamic
routing DynAPS (Dynamic Auto Pilot System) for the APS4 shown at left.
Dynamic routing became standard on the new S-Class COMAND APS 2.5 starting in
October 1999 shown in the inset at right.
2005 M-Class North America OEM: (Tele Aid standard)
Tele Aid 1?, 3W analog cell
| |
GPS cell ______/_____
| +----black---combo GPS/cell
Modular COMAND System--FAKRA:blue--splitter-------blue----roof antenna
DVD navigation split GPS, cell,
phone keypad +-----FAKRA:bordeaux------TeleAid coax
| |
PTT D2B +-------2W linear compensator
| | | |
| voice recognition ctrl phone cradle in center armrest
+----controls radio, CD, | MB V60
tape, phone, switch | |
to navigation | |
| | | |
| D2B | |
| | | |
mic-------PSE phone controller--+
2002 to 2004 M-Class North America OEM: (Tele Aid standard)
+---------D2B ring-----------Tele Aid 2, 3W analog cell
| | |
| GPS cell ______/_____
| | +---black----combo GPS/cell
Modular COMAND System--FAKRA:blue--splitter------blue-----roof antenna
CD navigation MY2002 split GPS, cell,
DVD navigation MY2003+ +-------FAKRA:bordeaux----TeleAid coax
phone keypad |
| |
PTT D2B +-------2W linear compensator
| | | |
| voice recognition ctrl phone cradle in center armrest
+----controls radio, CD, | MB V60
tape, phone, switch | |
to navigation | |
| | | |
| D2B | |
| | | |
mic-------PSE phone controller--+
2001 M-Class North America OEM: (Tele Aid standard)
+---------D2B ring-----------Tele Aid 2, 3W analog cell
| | |
| GPS cell
| | | _______/______
Modular COMAND System----------GPS splitter------splitter-----combo GPS/cell
CD navigation | GPS amp roof antenna
phone keypad | |
| +--antenna switch--+
| |
| +-------2W linear compensator
| | |
D2B ctrl coax
ring | |
| | phone cradle in armrest
| | MB Timeport CDMA or TDMA
| | |
mic--------PSE phone controller--+
2000 M-Class North America OEM: (last year before Tele Aid)
_______/______
Modular COMAND System----GPS---splitter---------------combo GPS/cell
CD navigation GPS amp roof antenna
phone keypad |
| cell
| |
| +-------2W linear compensator
| | |
D2B ctrl coax
ring | |
| | phone cradle in armrest
| | MB Startac or Timeport
| | |
mic--------PSE phone controller--+
|
"fone home" - ET |