Exclusive Interviews

Jump to interview with: Ralf Lamberti | Martin Rosell | Graham Smethurst | Reinhard Jurk

The TU Interview with Ralf Lamberti, Director, Infotainment, Telematics and Cabin E/E, Daimler AG

Daimler AG is one of the leading OEMs and a major player in the automotive telematics space. What is your vision for connected services in Europe? What sort of innovation in services will European customers witness and why?

Services will be more relevant and their contents will become more accurate. We will see some services moving from the nice-to-have category to the must-have one. For example, while we have re-routing based on real-time traffic data in our cars today, improved quality and wider coverage of such data will make re-routing based on it an attractive and reliable feature. Also, parking-spot availability will make POI more useful and relevant. Finding an unoccupied charging station for your e-vehicle will become more important than just finding a charging station. Accessing your own private music collection from the cloud will offer unparalleled convenience. Services offering voice-based contents that are customized around current user environment and location will be valuable. Additionally, some of our future customers will make use of social networking tools and download applications in their vehicles as well.

As part of your presentation at Telematics Munich 2009 Conference & Exhibition, you will be discussing Daimler’s myCOMAND system. Could you tell us a little bit more about this innovative in-vehicle entertainment system?

Connecting our Head Unit to the Internet and a reliable and secure backend will enable shorter development cycles and open the door to upgrading its features and functions during the life-cycle of the car. We all see that the functionality of PNDs and Smartphones is migrating primarily to the Internet.  Future Head Units will be Internet-based, leveraging Web services and delivering highly relevant content through a vehicle-optimized HMI. Integration of CE devices will still be a part of such Internet-based Head Units. Enabling technologies such as broadband wireless networks with high bandwidth and global coverage will eventually become available.

Wireless network providers and technology experts do not expect broadband wireless Internet coverage and performance to be a reality until a few years from now. Daimler already proved how lower latency and higher bandwidth can boost automobile Internet-run functions like those in myCOMAND, which is an entirely Internet-based Head Unit solution. During the Nokia Siemens Networks Solutions Forum 2009 in Munich, myCOMAND was run for the first time on a 4G wireless high-speed LTE (Long Term Evolution) network. At the test-ground in Munich, a LTE network was built up and we experienced bandwidth of 5 to 25 Mbps while driving; this is about two to eight times greater than with today’s telecommunication networks. The improvement in performance is significant. Most myCOMAND features run smoother, maps load faster, higher quality audio and video can be streamed and street view images with brilliant resolution can load quickly. Our visionary Internet-based infotainment system, myCOMAND, has now passed its first on-road test.

What partnerships is Daimler currently forging or aiming to forge to offer next-generation telematics services to consumers?

Making Head Unit a connected device will require that many constants in our current telematics ecosystem will have to evolve. Supplier role augmented by large, vertically-integrated Internet players increases the need for partnering and new co-branding opportunities might emerge. We started along that route when we offered connected features such as real-time Traffic and Search & Send. For example, we partnered with Google for our Search & Send feature in the U.S. And we worked closely with Apple for connectivity to iPod and iPhone in our vehicles.

After several years of discussion, eCall is still one of the hottest topics for the European market. How does Daimler plan to integrate eCall services into their future offerings?
In August, the E.U. commission laid out a revised deployment plan for eCall in the E.U. member countries until 2014. The new deployment plan details the eCall Minimum Set of Data (MSD) and other service implementation requirements. Daimler is fully committed to the eCall initiative and is currently evaluating all possible technical options as well as organizational models to assure the implementation of an eCall solution for Mercedes-Benz vehicles is in compliance with the revised E.U. eCall deployment guidelines.

We have been hearing more and more about insurance telematics. How do you think OEM’s will leverage this service?

Insurance Telematics, or better known as Pay-As-You-Drive (PAID) programs, where the insurance premium will be calculated based on the actual usage of the vehicle, are still in an early phase. In the U.S., a few of the insurance companies such as Progressive Insurance have already been operating PAID programs successfully for a couple of years. Also, GM offers a PAID insurance program for OnStar Telematics-equipped vehicles through its GMAC finance and insurance subsidiary. In Europe, we have seen some PAID pilot programs in the U.K. (Norwich Union) and Italy, but the success of such insurance programs mainly depends on if they can provide enough incentives for customers to sign up. The right set of incentives varies widely from E.U. country to E.U. country. Ultimately, insurance telematics programs have to be initiated and driven into the market by the insurance industry itself and not by automotive OEMs. Once such programs are accepted in the market, OEMs can then work with the insurance industry to make the necessary data from the vehicle (i.e. odometer readings) more easily available to the insurance companies and maybe also bundle vehicle financing offers with such insurance programs at the point of sale. 

Could you give us an insight into what you will be discussing at our European flagship show Telematics Munich 2009?

I will talk about the unique opportunity for future Head Units. Navigation has evolved into more than just getting from Point A to Point B; it involves finding the most efficient route, lowest gas prices, the best restaurant, and connecting to ones social networking. As we deliver these services and applications and even more information to drivers, how and when it is presented becomes really important. With features expanding and evolving, we at Daimler are in a unique position to make their use both practical and in accordance with our very high safety standards. On top of that, only factory-installed telematics systems will be able to integrate and interact with vehicle systems and features. With these capabilities, it will be more and more feasible to combine the abilities of telematics features and safety-oriented assistance systems, thus empowering even more the core values of our brand.

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Jump to interview with: Ralf Lamberti | Martin Rosell | GENIVI Alliance | BMW

The TU Interview with
Martin Rosell, Managing Director, WirelessCar

Oct 29, 2009

In a nutshell, what does your department/company do?

We are a TSP (Telematics Service Provider); it means we manage communication between the vehicle and the backend system. We provide the backend system that coordinates and aggregates content, services and applications.

In a nutshell that means we are the spider in the web and guarantee the automotive grade delivery of telematics-based services 24/7. 

How do you differentiate your offerings from competitors? What’s your USP?

Trust. As we have been around for 10 years, through up and downs, the experience shows that technology driven trends take 10 years from powerpoint to reality. Now we have the customer base to prove our value. Global. As we deliver telematics solutions to 8 clients in 33 countries on all continents—except Antarctica! Agile. As we have built up our portfolio with reusable, modular and configurable components and can provide rapid implementation with the focus on customers' and markets’ specific needs and wants. Open. As we use and promote openness to help drive innovation and market development. One example is our strong support and involvement in NGTP (Next Generation Telematics Protocol). Personally, I believe all four keywords are the core of our differentiators, without elaborating on features and functions. 

What partnerships are you currently forging? What industry milestone did you recently achieve or are working towards achieving?

As the spider in the web, we need to forge partnerships in the entire value chain. This starts in the vehicle with vehicle hardware suppliers, telematics and/or head units. Of course, the communication service providers are important and  moving up the chain we must create partnerships with content, service and application providers globally and locally, as well as work with or provide to a whole range of call center providers. To add to this picture, we also see players like finance, insurance, authorities etc becoming more involved and important in the ecosystem of telematics. BMW is, of course, a good example, where we currently solve many of the above challenges. Being a driving force for providing a generic solution to regulation demands in Brazil is another example, and our recent demonstration of providing services in the very complex China market is a third example. 

Which trends will impact the industry the most in the coming years and why?

I see three areas of trends. Starting in the vehicle and driven by affordable technology, we will start to see a separation between the telematics unit and the navigation/infotainment/head where mission critical services will be managed from a dedicated telematics unit with built-in communication and a wave of location-based services will be handled in a more consumer-oriented way. This will create dual channels to the vehicle. However, they will require a common way to be managed outside the vehicle to capture the synergies—and that’s WirelessCar’s role.Secondly, as a TSP, we must align with the trend of providing new applications as a published service; i.e., fast and easy provision to the customer of the wealth of available apps they are used to from other devices. But we still must make sure we adopt them for usage in a vehicle, which, by the way, is very different from a mobile phone and other consumer devices.I just arrived back from China with some really interesting market input. In Beijing alone, about 10,000 new cars hit the roads every week. Of course, this creates chaos in the traffic so intelligent traffic routing is vital. In combination with a lot of accidents, because of so many new drivers, there is a screaming need for smart emergency and break down services. Well, I guess you understand how that will drive the above trends!Lastly, telematics will be used to drive a connected CRM strategy for the OEMs. By that I mean there is a tremendous opportunity to turn a reactive way of managing customers into a proactive process by integrating the solution with legacy systems, using that data intelligently. One example is to provide dealers with accurate information to connect with their customers about service planning, diagnosing the car, and other customer relations aspects. 

You are an integral part of our upcoming European flagship show - Telematics Munich 2009. Could you tell us what key topics or issues you are looking at discussing with the industry at the show?

I guess most of the topics and issues, or call it opportunities rather, have been pointed out above. But I look forward to helping define the value at each point of the value chain to make sure we capture the total value of telematics. Today, too many actors try push the entire cost to the end customer and we firmly believe that all stakeholders have tangible value that should help telematics address a much larger market. Our goal is to work with all OEMs globally to help them realize the benefits of vehicle-centric telematics. 

Which gadgets/gizmos/cars are on your current Christmas wish list?

Connected Navi—but why wait for Christmas?!

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Jump to interview with: Ralf Lamberti | Martin Rosell | GENIVI Alliance | BMW

Exclusive Interview with GENIVI Alliance

Oct 23, 2009

In the lead up to Telematics Update's biggest European Conference, Telematics Munich 2009, Krystyna Grant interviewes Graham Smethurst, GENIVI Alliance President & General Manager - Infotainment and Communications Systems, BMW. Graham is a leading speaker at the show and GENIVI Alliance are due to announce new members at the show itself.

Krystyna Grant: As president of the GENIVI Alliance, you are heavily involved in the development of open in-vehicle reference platforms for the telematics industry. What exactly is GENIVI trying to achieve?

Graham Smethurst: The GENIVI Alliance is focussed on taking the non-differentiating aspects of an automotive infotainment solution and standardising them for the benefit of the industry and ultimately the consumer. In doing this, automakers and Tier 1 suppliers will be able to re-focus on delivering the customer relevant, value-added elements of the solution.

Consumer demand for the latest in-vehicle infotainment is high, and as the appetite for features continues to grow, it becomes necessary to divert resources that were previously engaged in the creation and validation of the basic software infrastructure towards the generation of customer feature

GENIVI has taken a three-pronged approach to creating the platform, based on open source technology: adopt, adapt and create. We look at what can be adopted from open source, what needs to be adapted to meet automotive requirements and what needs to be created. This approach significantly reduces the scale of the challenge traditionally faced by the automotive industry. 

KG: The Alliance currently consists of 21 members, what are your plans for future growth and are you trying to attract any other industry verticals?

GS: The number has now grown to 30! This rate of growth underlines the logic of what the GENIVI Alliance is trying to achieve. We will also be announcing new members at Telematics Update’s Telematics Munich 2009 Conference & Exhibition (November 10th -11th, Munich, Germany).

We plan to grow the number of consumer electronic (CE) companies involved in the GENVI alliance. The automotive industry has always struggled to bring the latest consumer electronic technology into the vehicle in a timely manner. The addition of CE companies to the GENIVI alliance means that the latest consumer electronics trends and functionalities can be reflected in the platform development, making them more accessible to the automaker. Equally, the Alliance can provide a route to market for the CE companies that have historically found it difficult to access the auto industry.

Essentially, the aim of GENIVI is to create a “shop window” from which the automakers can choose what they want to install in to the vehicle.  

KG: After the launch of the GENIVI alliance in March, many other players in the market have launched alternatives, what do you make of these alternatives?

GS: There are a number of competing platforms in the industry. However, what differentiates GENIVI from the rest is that GENIVI sets out to avoid single-point dependencies in the productisation of the platform. No other platform offers this. The ability to develop infotainment solutions from a common platform and still being able to choose your commercialisation partners is important; this stimulates competition and drives innovation. Each participating automaker will be able to benefit from the collaboration around the GENIVI platform and still be able to offer something different to their customers. 

KG:Could you give us an insight into what you will be discussing at our European flagship show Telematics Munich 2009? What cutting-edge techniques and strategies will our audience take away from your speaking engagement?

GS: I will be explaining exactly what GENIVI has achieved since its launch in March and will be able to communicate the results of various projects we have been working on. Our first annual members meeting takes place a week before Telematics Munich, so I will be able to provide the very latest on the future direction of the GENIVI Alliance.

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Jump to interview with: Ralf Lamberti | Martin Rosell | GENIVI Alliance | BMW

Exclusive Interview with BMW

Oct 14, 2009

Krystyna Grant interviewes Reinhard Jurk, Head of Product Management for BMW Group’s telematics program ‘ConnectedDrive;' in the lead up to Telematics Update’s annual and biggest European conference – Telematics Munich 2009 (November 10-11, Munich Germany.) as Reinhard Jurk is speaking at the forum.

Reinhard Jurk: I would expect the onboard infotainment systems to become “connected” by default. There will be online information merged into every screen you will see on your in-car infotainment system. Customer benefit will be the ease-of-use and quality they are rightly expecting from the automaker’s built-in navigation systems.

K.G.: BMW ConnectedDrive recently launched an intelligent fuel saving navigation platform. Please tell us what makes this offering unique?

R.J: BMW Group is always researching new and innovative functions for our customers. BMW EfficientDynamics is a set of measures to maximize the driving experience while lowering energy consumption. It is therefore a necessary step to integrate the navigation system into this philosophy. The research project works on a navigation system which learns its drivers’ habits and therefore can provide input to energy management about the upcoming route even when no destination is entered.

K.G.: What partnerships is BMW currently forging or aiming to forge to offer next-generation telematics services to consumers?

R.J: BMW Group is always looking at best practices across the industry and will establish working relationships with leaders in technology and customer experience.

K.G.: After several years of discussion, eCall is still one of the hottest topics for the European market. How do BMW plan to integrate e-Call services into their future offerings?

R.J: BMW has an e-Call solution available for more than 10 years now. The solution is the technologically most advanced system available today. It not only offers a manual as well as an automatic emergency call including the exact position and data about the car but furthermore transmits data about the severity of injuries and the kind of accident (e.g. rollover, side or front impact). We are actively working to bring in our experience in all major initiatives currently under way.

K.G.: We have been hearing more and more about insurance telematics, how do you think OEMs will leverage this service?

R.J: The use of telematics for insurance applications currently needs a further market pull. As soon as market demand is foreseeable, BMW Group will consider an offering. Another point is the need for standardization, since customers want to have continued freedom of choice for their insurance.

K.G.: The telematics market has witnessed several OEM and PND partnerships. How will this impact market dynamics?

R.J: We observe an increasing market dynamic for telematics and navigation related functions also in the lower price segment. This will in the long term increase the customer’s awareness for this kind of functionality and will improve the differentiation possibilities in the information and communication functional domain for automakers.

K.G.: Could you give us an insight into what you will be discussing at our European flagship show Telematics Munich 2009? What cutting-edge techniques and strategies will our audience take away from your speaking engagement?

R.J: Since I appreciate the personal discussion with all participants to the Telematics Update conference, I do not want to discourage participation at the conference by giving away the insights in advance. However, I will surely let you know about the latest features of BMW ConnectedDrive in detail.

Mr. Reinhard Jurk has held various positions in IT architecture and in-car information and communications systems development at BMW Group. He is currently Head of Product Management for BMW Group’s telematics program BMW ConnectedDrive

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