Telematics in Automobiles

The term ‘Telematics’ was taken from the translation of the French term like télématique. This was invented by Alain Minc & Simon Nora in the year 1978, and they reported to the government of French on the society of computerization. In this, the information can be transmitted over telecommunications. It was a blend of two French words like télécommunications & Informatique, which are known as telecommunications & computer science. The unique wide meaning of this can be used in the fields of academic except in trade which is known as vehicle-telematics.

What is Telematics?

The definition of telematics is a combination of the technique like telecommunications & informatics which describes the integrated use of communications as well as information technology for data transmitting, receiving and storing from telecommunication devices to remote objects over a set-up. This is one kind of method for monitoring of an asset like heavy equipment, car, ship, the truck with the help of a GPS system to record the actions on an automated map.

Imagine a computer which is used in a vehicle to give a report on every detail like speed, usage of fuel, low-tire pressure, etc. This information saves the cost of maintenance by monitoring vehicles otherwise improving petroleum efficiency, which is known as the creation of telematics or GPS fleet tracking.

Here, the assets of this can be tracked by a small telematics device to record the data from the vehicle. This process is named as a black box and this box can be connected to CAN BUS port otherwise OBD II.

Key Components

Telematics includes commonly dependent breakthrough of recent technologies like GPS, Internet, & M2M (machine-to-machine) communication. Combining information as well as telecommunications, telematics can be used in vehicles for automation, GPS navigation, wireless security communications, cell phones, driving assistance systems, etc. The designing of telematics can be done with the following key components

• SIM card
• Engine interface
• GPS receiver
• Accelerometer
• I/O interface
• Buzzer
• Additionally, to this hardware, an algorithm is used for GPS logging which impacts the accuracy and quality of the information.

Working Principle

The information which is collected by the telematics device like the vehicle speed, position of GPS & g-force which is calculated by the integral accelerometer are transmitted in an enclosed set-up to a data center. The data then gets decoded.

This device plays a key role in collecting a vast amount of information and other sensor devices like speed, position, trip time or distance, harsh braking, driving, vehicle faults, seat belt, idling, battery voltage, fuel utilization, & other engine information.

For example in Geotab, the data can be stored within the cloud & brought into a software system like fleet management. This can be reachable from a computer or a smartphone. By using this software, every user can views and exports the reports. The gains business intelligence like top 10 drivers with the maximum no. of speeding events otherwise vehicles which are unpaid for scheduled protection.

The data points captured by the telematics includes vehicle location, speed, Interest of geographical point, incidents of vehicle like acceleration, cornering, and harsh braking, diagnostics of vehicle like MPG, EPM, odometer, status of vehicle, inspection report of remote vehicle, alarm alerts, sensor or electrical activity, and camera footage of dashboard.

Advantages of Telematics

The main benefits of this include the following.

• The fuel cost will be reduced
• Enhanced safety
• Better Communication
• Productivity
• Fleet Optimization
• Compliance
• Expandability

Telematics Applications / Examples

The telematics can be used in the fields like wireless communications, computer science, electrical engineering, telecommunications, transportation, & vehicular technologies. With the help of communication-based devices, the data can be stored, transmitted as well as received to help in controlling remote objects like moving vehicles with navigation systems. The combination of GPS technology with mobiles & telematics which are enabled with computers can mark the place to communicate with a broad variety of vehicles. The applications of telematics include the following.

• This is a flexible technology and it can perform a number of functions. It is appropriate to use in vehicles like cars, pickup trucks, cargo vans, tractor units, single axle, coaches, busses, heavy equipment, and specialist vehicles
• This can be used in fleet management to support five core areas like safety, productivity, optimization, integration, and compliance.
• Some more practical applications mainly include vehicle tracking, trailer tracking, container tracking, fleet management, satellite navigation, mobile data, safety communication of wireless vehicle, emergency warning system, etc.
• Any kind of business like small to large, non-profit association & vehicles which are government agency operating vehicles or other assets can benefit from telematics.
• Companies which use the technologies like telematics & fleet tracking.
• Transportation companies like delivery & courier
• Towing and construction companies
• Food & drink companies
• Industries like gas, oil & mining.

This is all about an overview of telematics. In the future, this technology will be incredible. Because, whether driving your car otherwise organizing a fleet, and stable contact with close-by vehicles is previously possible through this technology. The exciting regions of modernization associated with telematics mainly include big data, performance benchmarking, traffic prediction & urban analytics for the smart metropolis. Here is a question for you, what are the benefits of telematics