Taiwan is among a select list of leaders that are set to join the Vehicle Infrastructure Transportation Affiliates Laboratory (VITAL), a worldwide organization led by the University of California, Berkeley, to dedicate resources to research and development for intelligent transportation systems (ITS) used in automobiles.
A memorandum of understanding was signed between the Taiwan Telematics Industry Alliance (TTIA, 台灣車載資通訊產業聯盟) and VITAL in Taipei yesterday, paving the way for local tech firms to play a role in the emerging ITS technology.
ITS, or telematics, refers to an integrated application combining IT, communications and auto electronics that can make cars “smarter, greener and safer” by talking to each other on the roads.
“We hope VITAL will open opportunities for Taiwan’s telematics industry in the European, US and Japanese markets and help establish the presence of our telematics technologies and products on the global market,” said Wu Ming-ji (吳明機), director-general of the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ department of industrial technology.
The TTIA is an alliance representing some 100 tech companies including Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), Advantech Co (研華科技) and Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信). VITAL is a consortium created by the transportation research institute at UC Berkeley.
Senior executives from Ford Motor Co and Nissan Motor Co, who attended the signing ceremony, are visiting Taipei to attend the Telematics Industry International Exchange Forum and meet key Taiwanese players in the field.
Masao Fukushima, engineering director at Nissan’s ITS department, told the Taipei Times the company could sign up for VITAL membership.
Nissan, which has been working with the Yulon Group (裕隆集團)-led Hua-chuang Automobile Information Technical Center Co (華創車電), didn’t rule out working with more Taiwanese partners if the opportunities arise.
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