Ashok Leyland Employees Journal November FutureScape...

Transcription

1 Ashok Leyland Employees Journal November 2004 FutureScape...

2 Cover Story Telematics 2 The Magic of Convergence

3 Clairvoyance through telecom and the power of IT, together, is set to change the way we live... IN MARCH 2000, HONDA MOTOR WON APPROVAL FROM THE JAPANESE MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT TO TEST THE COMPANY S HONDA INTELLIGENT DRIVER SUPPORT (HIDS) SYSTEM, AN AUTOMATED DRIVER SAFETY SYSTEM, ON THE PUBLIC HIGHWAY. THE AIM OF HIDS IS TO KEEP A VEHICLE IN ITS LANE AND AT A PROPER DISTANCE FROM VEHICLES IN FRONT. HIDS USES CCD CAMERAS FOR DETECTING ROAD MARKINGS, AND TO ALERT THE DRIVER IF THE VEHICLE IS MOVING OUT OF ITS LANE. HIDS ALSO USES RADAR FOR DETECTING VEHICLES IN FRONT. DAIMLER CHRYSLER S DYNAMIC AUTOPILOT SYSTEM (DYNAPS) IS A DYNAMIC NAVIGATION SYSTEM THAT PROVIDES INTEGRATED ROUTE GUIDANCE AND REAL- TIME TRAFFIC INFORMATION. THE SYSTEM IS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE IN THE GERMAN MARKET. IN CONJUNCTION WITH A CAR PHONE, IT PROVIDES CONGESTION AVOIDANCE BY TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE LATEST TRAFFIC STATUS. IN GERMANY, BMW OFFERS BMW ASSIST AND BMW ASSIST PLUS TO ITS SUBSCRIBERS THROUGH A PUSH BUTTON SYSTEM INSTALLED IN THE VEHICLE THAT ACTIVATES: EMERGENCY, ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE, AND TRAFFIC AND TRAVEL INFORMATION. ASSIST ALLOWS FOR AUTOMATIC NOTIFICATION OF AN ACCIDENT IN GERMANY TO THE ASSIST CALL CENTER FOLLOWING THE ACTIVATION OF THE AIRBAGS. POSITIONING INFORMATION IS AUTOMATIC DUE TO THE INTEGRATION OF GPS WITHIN THE ASSIST SYSTEM, AND GSM BASED SMS MESSAGING IS USED FOR AUTOMATIC NOTIFICATION. VOICE ACTIVATION TECHNOLOGY ALSO IS A FEATURE OF THE SERVICE. The three instances listed above give just a hint of the wonderful possibilities of marrying IT, telecommunication and electronics for application in the automotive industry. In other words, what we see in each of these cases is telematics in action. What s Telematics? The word Telematics is derived from the French word télématiques. The French created the term to define the convergence of telecommunications ( télécommunique ) and computers ( informatique ). Telematics is the coming together of two mature fields: mobile telecommunication and IT network. What happens is: a telecom device transmits critical information wirelessly to a centralized server that consolidates the information and presents it in human readable form that is conveniently accessible over the Internet. Is Telematics part of telecom or should it be part of automotive? Questions like these have created a myopic view that Telematics revolves around provisioning of communication services and infotainment services over wireless medium when a person is mobile. Telematics is much more than mobile wireless communication. Telematics is going to define a new travel experience, a new way of life on roads with improved productivity and better facilities. Telematics in transportation Though telematics finds application in varied industries, it has become synonymous with the automotive and transportation industry. In fact, Telematics has been mooted as the technology solution to some of the key problems within the transportation industry. Some of the application areas of Telematics in transportation are: (i) Vehicle applications remote vehicle diagnostics, guidance to nearest service center, electronic payment at toll gateways, petrol pumps, dynamic parking system etc.

4 Cover Story Diagram 1 : Vehicle tracking system condition/ fault in a non-intrusive manner. VEHICLE IMMOBILIZATION SYSTEM: This system is used in conjunction with the vehicle tracking system. When the vehicle owner or driver gets the information that the vehicle is being stolen(for which different detection systems are available), they can activate vehicle immobilization. Upon receiving this signal the in-vehicle device will lock all the doors, will stop the engine and immobilize the vehicle. AUTOMATIC TOLL COLLECTION: In this system, the in-vehicle device has an identification tag, which can be read by the sensors on the toll-gateway. Through 4 (ii) Commercial applications asset/ fleet management system (iii) Mobility extensions connect to and synchronize with home and office systems, on road maintenance (iv) Safety and security remote control of vehicle functions, immobilization, remote vehicle tracking, locking and unlocking of doors, call center assistance (v) Navigation dynamic route guidance, navigation support on current location, real time traffic information, shortest route finder, optimal rerouting guidance (vi) Infotainment news, weather, satellite radio etc. A close look at some... VEHICLE TRACKING SYSTEM: In a vehicle tracking system, there is a mobile device, which is placed inside the vehicle. This in-vehicle device has GPS receiver through which it receives the location data from satellite. This device then transmits the location data to the central database from where the vehicle owner can access the information on whereabouts of the vehicle. The vehicle tracking system enables vehicle owner to keep a check on the vehicle s position, driver s driving habits and helps to improve productivity, reliability and safety. VEHICLE NAVIGATION SYSTEM: Vehicle navigation systems help driver to plan the route according to traffic conditions for convenient travel. In this system there is a unit inside the vehicle, which interacts with the driver through voice commands or through the LCD display screen. This unit has the complete map of the area and upon receiving location data from GPS, this system calculates the present position and guides with turn-by-turn assistance to reach destination. VEHICLE REMOTE DIAGNOSTICS: Vehicle operating conditions like tyre pressure, status of oil filter, air filter, gear oil and engine temperature can be read from the remote vehicle diagnostics system via wireless network. This system enables the user to know vehicle Diagram 2 : Vehicle remote diagnostics system this tag the toll gateway will recognize the vehicle and will automatically deduct the toll charges from the customer s account. There are different versions of this system: prepaid, postpaid, etc. The last decade has seen significant developments in the West in telematic applications. Several OEMs have entered into this business along with telematics development companies. Closer home, telematics has the potential for huge returns on investments, by improving productivity of the vehicle, the driver and the whole value chain. Amit Kumar Pandey Senior Engineer, Advanced Engineering.

5 And right here in India In India, an expert Core Group of Automotive R&D (CAR) has been formed to focus on technologies for the future. CAR has identified six potential areas, one of which is telematics. A consortium of auto, IT, telecommunication and electronic companies has since been formed to spearhead telematics applications. Ashok Leyland plays a leadership role in this consortium, informs Dr Aravind Bharadwaj, Head-Advanced Engineering, because we believe that ultimately it is about adding value to our customers be it the fleet owners or the end users. The immediate benefits of telematics for India are marked improvements in productivity and safety, quite distinct from the safety, security and infotainment needs of the West. As Dr Bharadwaj points out, we have a distinct advantage over the West in the application of telematics because we need not re-invent the wheel. Also, our zero base gives us another rare advantage: take, for example, electronic toll collection. While countries like Germany have to dismantle the system they perfected over the years - including demolition of physical infrastructure - India can directly go virtual, since we don t have a full-fledged toll system in the first place. The pilot project Asia s largest bus station - with around 3,000 buses arriving every day - the Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT) has been taken up by CAR for a pilot project on vehicle tracking and control. Ground traffic control, fleet management of the State Express Transport buses and multi-modal transport with the local Metropolitan Corporation buses are the three aspects zeroed in on, informs Dr Bharadwaj. The CMBT is a Rs 1,030 million project executed by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority on 37 acres of land. Since inception in November 2002, it is the single point entry/exit for all the State owned buses operating from Chennai, apart from a few private players. It is also a transit point for the local buses that ply on the route. Cover Story 5

6 Cover Story From L to R: Dayanidhi Maran, Union Minister for Communication & Information Technology; R Seshasayee, Chairman-Teletrans 2004; K V Shetty, President, ACMA; Prof S Sadagopan, Director, IIIT, Bangalore; Dr Aravind Bharadwaj, Head-Advanced Engineering, Ashok Leyland and Dilip Chenoy, Director General, SIAM at the Teletrans 2004 Conference at Chennai. are not available in the direct bus. (2) Drivers are guided to their parking bays from within a kilometer of the terminus, reducing parking time significantly. Through the pilot project, launched at the Teletrans Conference in September this year, CAR wants to demonstrate the technological feasibility and scalability of the tracking and control applications. Fleet management From ordering food to be served at the next halting point to knowing the seat availability in a bus after departure, fleet management telematic solutions provide a range of opportunities. The Chennai-Madurai route of the State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) has been taken up for pilot. It even includes linking of trauma care centres en route within the intelligent loop. Organized platforms and bays, separate areas for local and mofussil buses, separate parking bays for maintenance and high class amenities for waiting passengers make the CMBT a large-scale benchmark for wellequipped infrastructure. However, the functional management of such a huge bus terminus, with a large influx of buses everyday, is an immense task. It is here that CAR saw the potential to add the intelligent dimension through telematics. Vehicle tracking and control As part of the pilot project, the consortium has proposed a dynamic parking system, whereby parking bays are assigned to buses prior to their entry into the terminus. Just like air traffic control, where the pilot is given directions for landing, here the driver acts on the instructions given to him, once he communicates through the in-vehicle device to the control station, informs Dr Bharadwaj. (See diagram1 in page 4). Parking bays are also classified according to destinations that lie on the same route. The intelligent information boards that give arrival/departure details, bay numbers, etc. would be equipped with Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology. THE BENEFITS: (1) Waiting passengers know the bay allotted to the bus they need to board. Also, they can plan alternative buses on the same route to reach their destination, if tickets Multimodal transport If you are traveling from Madurai to Chennai by bus and have a train to catch exactly in an hour s time from the Chennai Central railway station, what a world of help it would be if there s a bus to Chennai Central waiting for you right at CMBT! The third initiative under the pilot project is looking at crucial bus routes that connect CMBT with other major transit points like the railway station or the airport. Once we demonstrate the feasibility of these initiatives here, it s just a matter of time before we take it across the country, says Dr Bharadwaj.