Sophisticated Telematics Technology Could Save Lives

Newsletters

Content

- Articles
- Columns
- Training
- Library
- Glossary

Career Center

- Career Center Home
- View Jobs
- Post A Job
- Resumes/CVs
- Resource Center

Marketplace

- Marketplace Home
- Software Products
- Wireless Market Data
- Technical Books

News

- Daily News
- Submit News
- Events Calendar
- Unsubscribe
- Delivery Options

Community

- Discussion Boards
- Mailing List
- Mailing List Archives

About Us

- About WirelessDevNet
- Wireless Source Disks
- Partners
- About MindSites Group
- Advertising Information

Wireless Developer Network - Daily News

Sophisticated Telematics Technology Could Save Lives

ATX Supports Automaker Efforts to Add ACN Solution

DALLAS, Jul 31, 2002 - ATX Technologies, Inc., the leading independent telematics service provider to the automotive industry, supports automakers' efforts to provide increased safety value through the offering of advance automatic collision notification (ACN).

ACN technology automatically notifies medical personnel of a crash and its location, allowing the potential for response time to decrease and the rate of survival to increase. In addition, the service provides critical information to assist in dispatching the proper care. ATX, which is the telematics response center for Mercedes-Benz and BMW, noted that its telematics infrastructure is capable today of pulling sophisticated crash data from telematics-equipped vehicles and measuring crash severity levels. In addition, ATX today monitors beyond air bag deployments, including the activation of emergency tensioning restraints, and has the capability to monitor the number of occupants, vehicle rollover, and whether seat belts are engaged.

"Telematics-based, sophisticated ACN is something that ATX has been championing for over a year through our demonstrations with the Virginia Department of Transportation's field trial in the Shenandoah Valley last fall and through committees with the Washington-based ComCARE Alliance to identify what post-collision emergency medical data is required by emergency responders," said Steve Millstein, ATX president and CEO.

Millstein said ATX's telematics infrastructure is capable today of receiving sophisticated crash data from telematics-equipped vehicles and is working with emergency response and emergency medical response organizations throughout the U.S. and Canada in determining the quickest and most reliable avenues for transmitting that data to emergency responders.

"Telematics, through sophisticated automatic collision notification, holds the promise of significantly revolutionizing emergency medical response by giving emergency responders more reliable information in real-time from the crash scene that is critical to making decisions about the type of response dispatched to the scene and assembled in the emergency room," added Millstein.

Current automatic collision notification capabilities, available on the vehicles of such ATX customers as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Jaguar, and Lincoln automatically send to ATX's Response Center notification of a collision and the location of the vehicle anytime an air bag deploys or an emergency tensioning restraint in the seat belt harness is activated. Millstein said ATX's customers already have some sophisticated ACN technology built into their vehicles and are now waiting for the emergency medical community to determine what data is most critical for saving lives and reducing injuries. The next step will then be to identify specific protocols with emergency response regarding how that information is relayed to emergency rooms, ambulances, 9-1-1 centers, and emergency dispatchers.

"Consumers have been saying for a long time that the primary value of telematics is the enhanced safety and security it brings to their vehicle. At ATX, we've built our consumer-based telematics services around those core services," said Millstein.

ATX Technologies, Inc. is headquartered in Dallas-Fort Worth. ATX provides leading-edge telematics services for mobile applications including automatic collision notification, location-based emergency response and roadside assistance, stolen vehicle tracking, navigation and other location- based information services. The company pioneered in-vehicle and automotive aftermarket applications of telematics beginning in 1995. In 2002 ATX introduced vRM (vehicle relationship management), a unique program structured specifically for automakers and dealerships to generate new business, reduce costs and build customer retention through telematics. Strategic alliances include Siebel Systems. For more information, visit www.atxtechnologies.com .

Sponsors