- Massive growth in home automation over next four years
- Gerard Lighting get SIDE distributorship
- Oracle opens Sydney digital hub – says 200 jobs will be created
- VR app sends users to exotic locales to meditate
LTE possesses the speed, low latency and IP-connectivity (voice, video and data are all transmitted over IP), to enable a new generation of high quality in-vehicle applications supporting attractive video-rich communication, navigation, information, entertainment and location-based services for driver and passengers.
Perhaps the most visible innovation is seamless, high definition, low-latency, multi-channel video streaming, just like that experienced at home on a large HD television. For the automobile industry where profit margins on vehicles are low – typically much less than 10% of the retail price of the car, LTE provides a clear and compelling way for automakers to add new services and revenue models to their new LTE-equipped models.
Next generation “infotainment”
The enhanced performance of 4G LTE networks enables HD movie streaming without buffering or waiting, as well as support for multiple simultaneous users (everyone gets to watch their own on-demand movie!). Many cars, especially premium models, now offer TV screens for passenger use on long journeys, and also for driver use when the vehicle is stationary.
It is easy to see how adoption of in-car TV might mirror the evolution of in-car audio – albeit more rapidly – from FM radio in the 1960s to the currently popular on-demand music streaming services such as Pandora and Spotify.
In addition, a 4G / Wi-Fi router supporting up to eight other passenger devices turns the car into a mobile internet hotspot!
Augmented Reality
LTE takes this car navigation to a new level by leveraging the information content and power of the internet. Upcoming traffic hazards may be monitored by cameras and road-sensors in real-time, and then combined with data from surrounding vehicles. The ‘fused’ data is processed in the cloud and then relayed to heads-up display of all cars. Thanks to the low transmission latency of LTE, this is possible in real-time with respect to the relative velocities of surrounding vehicles.
u-blox’ approach to in-car LTE
u-blox has developed a range of both cellular modules and satellite positioning components that provide plug and play compatibility and a range of options from 2G to 3G to 4G LTE multimode (which includes both 2G and 3G HSPA+). In addition, these modules are available in AEC-Q100 automotive qualified solder-down form for stringent requirements of the automotive industry.
The LTE multimode modules TOBY-L200 and TOBY-L210 are available to cover the radio spectrums deployed in America and Europe respectively, offering performance at LTE Release 9, Cat. 4 (150Mbps downlink / 50Mbps uplink). The devices support both circuit switched speech and Voice over LTE together with fall-back for both data and voice traffic to 2G / 3G. This enables support for all potential system architectures from fully integrated to functionally independent, as discussed above.
For more information about u-blox’ LTE modem modules for automotive applications, visit
www.u-blox.com/lte.html