Taiwan’s car makers may consider collaborating with smartphone makers to develop vehicle telemetric systems that enable car owners to access smartphone applications remotely via mobile telecommunication networks, Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC, 產業情報研究所) senior analyst Chris Hung (洪春暉) said at a forum yesterday.
“We have seen an explosion in smartphone ownership worldwide. Smartphones have become part of everyone’s life,” Hung said at the Telematics Taiwan Forum.
He said it would be much better if car makers could cooperate with smartphone manufacturers to develop brand-new telemetric systems to keep drivers connected to the Internet.
In his speech, Hung took the car rental business as an example, saying that car rental agents and customers can now use their smartphones with the latest telemetry technology to turn on and off cars’ engines, lock and unlock car doors, detect cars’ locations and obtain information on a car’s tires, temperature and fuel status via wireless mobile broadband networks.
“It’s basically an upgraded version of global positioning systems. With diverse applications installed in their cars, drivers can access their personal data, listen to online music, read maps, or even make emergency phone calls if necessary,” Hung said.
According to MIC, major carmakers such as Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp, Ford Motor Co and General Motors Co from the US, as well as Taiwan’s Yulon Motor Co (裕隆) have developed their own software for their vehicles, in addition to Microsoft Corp’s Windows and Google Inc’s Android operating systems.
In Taiwan, HTC Corp (宏達電) and Luxgen Motor Co (納智捷) have been collaborating in developing telemetric systems for years, Hung said.
“Though telemetric systems can increase driver convenience, businesses have to think about how to improve their products to prevent traffic accidents,” he said.
“The government will act as a consultant for businesses to help them get rid of obstacles in developing useful telemetric systems, and continue to promote the technology to domestic carmakers and other sectors like travel agencies and security firms,” he said.
The total output value of the telemetrics market worldwide is likely to reach US$211.5 billion in 2015, with a compound annual growth rate of 26.7 percent, according to MIC’s estimate.
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