Visteon and hands-free cell phones

Visteon's Bluetooth Interface Module.

Visteon Corp. expects to be the first provider of an in-vehicle system that combines voice-activated controls with an interface module that permits hands-free operation of cellular phones, as well as wireless file access for personal digital assistants (PDA) and laptops.

"Anything that's Bluetooth-enabled will have the ability to work with Visteon's Bluetooth Interface Module," said Kyle Walworth, Wireless Communications Supervisor for Visteon's Telematics & Multimedia Division.

The system, activated with Visteon's patented Voice Technology system, which recognizes six languages (U.S. and UK English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, and Japanese) as well as regional accents, makes a wireless connection to a chipset and associated software embedded in the vehicle's radio. Enabling the wireless connection is a 150- x 80- x 28-mm (5.9- x 3.1- x 1.1-in) module that contains a microprocessor for voice recognition and Bluetooth software; Bluetooth radio frequency, base-band chipsets, and software; and a vehicle interface (i.e., J1850, MOST, SCP, D2B, ACP, I-Bus).

Visteon's Bluetooth Interface Module uses proprietary signal processing, Bluetooth code, vehicle interface code, power management algorithms, and a human-machine interface. "To initiate the pairing—i.e., car radio to cell phone—the user would, depending on the OEM, hit a Bluetooth pairing button to activate, enter a four-digit PIN number on the existing radio buttons, then hit the Bluetooth pairing button again to confirm," explained Walworth. "That's a one-time setup." Bluetooth pairing steps are needed for each consumer electronics device used in the vehicle.

Visteon's Bluetooth Interface Module can be located nearly anywhere with proper storage space from instrument panel or trunk.

No docking station is required with the system, which operates in the 2.4-GHz unlicensed Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band. The Bluetooth Interface Module offers support of high-speed vehicle networks, active echo cancellation, and noise reduction, and it functions with either an internal or external Bluetooth antenna.

"We believe we will have the first automotive Bluetooth solution with a voice activation system in production," said Walworth. The system will be available in 2002. Initial applications are slated with multiple automakers on multiple continents in the 2003 1/2 model year.

The user can update Bluetooth profiles with standard software sets using a cell phone and flash memory. "You'll always have the latest. It won't be outdated, which isn't the case with docking stations," said Walworth.

- Kami Buchholz

Japan at telematics forefront

Since Japanese auto manufacturers have been relatively low key in their telematics efforts in the U.S. and Europe, there is an assumption by some that they are "behind the curve" in telematics. "This assumption is wrong," said Phil Magney, co-founder and principal analyst with Telematics Research Group. "In Japan, the major auto companies have numerous ongoing telematics programs, and they are leaders in experimenting and developing future telematics systems." The OEMs are leveraging Japanese strengths in consumer electronics and IP-based cell-phone deployment.

Current automotive telematics efforts in Japan are mostly focused on navigation and real-time routing, according to Concept Telematics, a report published by Telematics Research Group. This focus is due to the high density of automobiles, according to Egil Juliussen, co-founder and principal technology analyst with Telematics Research Group. "Japan has 500 autos per square mile (in-use) vs. 58 per square mile in the U.S.," said Juliussen.

Japan's Vehicle Information & Communications System (VICS), a government-backed traffic information system begun in the early 1990s, is at the low-end of the telematics scale, but its information is used by over 3 million VICS-enabled vehicles in Japan. In addition, the number of telematics-enabled vehicles in Japan used for other types of content (i.e., Internet, etc.) has topped 0.5 million, and surpasses 4 million when all navigation systems are included.

At the 2001 Tokyo Motor Show, a significant number of concept vehicles had a telematics focus or included advanced telematics functionality, demonstrating the technology's importance to the Japanese market.

According to the study, Japan's OEMs lead the industry in telematics system conceptualization and prototype design. The country's OEMs and suppliers have introduced creative user interfaces and devices used to control and communicate with their vehicles. Japanese OEMs have established branded Internet portals providing navigation, travel, and lifestyle content to users, though navigation and routing are still the "killer app" for telematics in Japan. Finally, Japan's cell-phone industry is influencing vehicle telematics through the promotion of personalized, mobile-phone-based technologies.

- Kevin Jost