Dashtop mobile equipment refers to wireless mobile devices mounted on the vehicle dashboard. Dashtop mobile equipment (DME) includes satellite radios, GPS navigation,

OnStar OnStar Corporation is a subsidiary of General Motors that provides subscription-based telecommunication, communications, in-vehicle security, emergency services, turn-by-turn navigation, and remote diagnostics systems throughout the United States, ...

, mobile TV,

HD radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. HD radio generally simulcast, simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD R ...

vehicle tracking system A vehicle tracking system combines the use of automatic vehicle location in individual vehicles with software that collects these fleet data for a comprehensive picture of vehicle locations. Modern vehicle tracking systems commonly use GPS or ...

, MVEDR and

Broadband Wireless Access Wireless broadband is a telecommunications technology that provides high-speed wireless Internet access or computer networking access over a wide area. The term encompasses both Fixed wireless, fixed and mobile broadband. The term broadband O ...

(BWA) devices. Currently, the dashtop mobile devices are mostly satellite-based wireless technology. Except for OnStar and BWA devices, most of them are in the stage of passive one-way communications equipment. However, fast-evolving mobile technology is on the threshold of turning dashtop mobile equipment into

full-duplex A duplex communication system is a point-to-point system composed of two or more connected parties or devices that can communicate with one another in both directions. Duplex systems are employed in many communications networks, either to allow ...

multimedia gadgetry on the strength of fast-growing broadband infrastructure, including expanding

WiMAX Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) is a family of wireless broadband communication standards based on the IEEE 802.16 set of standards, which provide physical layer (PHY) and media access control (MAC) options. The WiMA ...

networks worldwide. of electronic vehicle gadgetry, with growing indications that convergence into an all-in-one dashtop mobile device is an ultimate destination.

History

Since the commercial debut of cellular phones in the early 1990s,

Palm Inc Palm, Inc., was an American company that specialized in manufacturing personal digital assistants (PDAs) and developing software. Palm designed the PalmPilot, the first PDA successfully marketed worldwide, and was known for the Treo 600, one ...

took the lead in developing a generation of

palmtop A handheld computer, also called a palmtop computer, is a term that has variously been used to describe a small-sized personal computer (PC) typically built around a clamshell design, clamshell form factor and a laptop-like Computer keyboard, keyb ...

handheld personal computers that worked like an electronic personal organizer. Palmtops turned into

Personal Digital Assistant A personal digital assistant (PDA) is a multi-purpose mobile device which functions as a personal information manager. Following a boom in the 1990s and 2000s, PDAs were mostly displaced by the widespread adoption of more highly capable smar ...

s (PDAs) with mobile phone functions. As of 2007, PDA phones are preferred by some, due mainly to wider screens and easier texting plus mobile multimedia functions, such as audio video playback, mobile web and mobile TV. Apple's

iPhone The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...

made a debut in late June 2007, featuring keypadless touchscreens with

multi-touch In computing, multi-touch is technology that enables a surface (a touchpad or touchscreen) to recognize the presence of more than one somatosensory system, point of contact with the surface at the same time. The origins of multitouch began at CE ...

Mobile issues

Mobile technology is evolving fast, and in the 2007 NEXTcomm opening keynote in Chicago, Ed Zander, then CEO of Motorola, noted "Today it's about fast, affordable broadband Internet. Tomorrow I believe it's about wireless and broadband media platforms. And we as an industry have to work together, software and platforms, the content players and the carriers, as well as the equipment suppliers like ourselves, to bring this vision of this broadband media platform to a reality." At the same NXTcomm conference, Verizon Chairman and CEO Ivan Seidenberg also proclaimed, "We have barely begun to imagine all the ways that rich graphics, two-way broadband and virtual reality will transform medicine, education and creative industries. This surge in visual, interactive content – delivered to any screen, anytime, anywhere – has changed our industry forever." The recall of lithium-ion battery for laptops in 2006, and the emerging safety issue concerning portable handheld devices, like iPOD.

Harnessing vehicle traffic

* Freedom from battery life concerns due to a possible shift to

car battery An automotive battery, or car battery, is a usually 12 Volt lead-acid rechargeable battery that is used to start a motor vehicle, and to power lights, screen wiper etc. while the engine is off. Its main purpose is to provide an electric current ...

* Driving safety associated with driver focus and driver distraction * Transition from voice-intensive cellular technology to media-intensive broadband technology *

Open access Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which nominally copyrightable publications are delivered to readers free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 de ...

plans adopted for the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

's 700 MHz Airwave Auctions held for early 2008 in USA and the subsequent openness of the controversial C Block to be realized by Verizon Wireless, the successful bidder

Academic research

Scientific research and market-based R&D endeavors are focused on harnessing vehicle traffic and wireless connections.

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

embarked on

Real Time Rome Real Time Rome is a 2006 exhibit by the MIT Senseable City Lab, directed by professor Richard Burdett. The project used anonymized cell-phone data from sponsor Telecom Italia's Lochness platform about telecom traffic and signal strength, as well ...

, a project that is designed to create real-time maps of people moving around a city through mobile phone networks with the aim of beating traffic congestion. "Real Time Rome might also help with the better allocation of transport resources."

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

researchers are working on a project to encourage installation of vehicle-to-vehicle mobile computer networks to ensure driving safety and deal with congestions.

Challenges for automakers

Automakers challenges include: *how to improve fuel efficiency in keeping with green technology *how to enhance driving safety, mainly based on electronic gadgets *how to adapt to fast-evolving mobile broadband technology to stay ahead of competition. Topping the list of dashtop gadgetry issues are MP3 players, video streaming and playback, mega-bit-per-second downloads of multimedia, mobile TV formats, dashtop interfaces either for mobile phones or

smartphones A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as mult ...

, choices of 4G technologies between

LTE LTE may refer to: Science and technology * LTE (telecommunication) (Long-Term Evolution), a mobile telephony standard ** LTE Advanced, an enhancement ** LTE Advanced Pro, a further enhancement * Compaq LTE, a line of laptop computers * Leukotrie ...

, UMB and mobile WiMAX.

Scope of applications

Vehicular mobility to lure more BWA equipment and applications

Scope of applications, either on lab benches or in implementation stages, can be summarized as below: * Just In Time (JIT) eCommerce on the go * mobile banking * mobile advertising * mobile marketing *

location-based service Location-based service (LBS) is a general term denoting software service (economics), services which use geographic data and information to provide services or information to users. LBS can be used in a variety of contexts, such as health, indoor ...

s (LBS) * mobile ticketing & remote check-in processes for transport hubs, ballparks and expos (Compare with "cellphone use as paperless boarding pass") *

mass surveillance Mass surveillance is the intricate surveillance of an entire or a substantial fraction of a population in order to monitor that group of citizens. The surveillance is often carried out by Local government, local and federal governments or intell ...

at transportation hubs, targeted at both passengers and motorists * distance

mobile payment Mobile payment, also referred to as mobile money, mobile money transfer and mobile wallet, is any of various payment processing services operated under financial regulations and performed from or via a mobile device. Instead of paying with cas ...

of parking fees, tolls, bills ( in terms of range and real-time sync, it differs from proximity-based mobile payments, such as

contactless payment Contactless payment systems are credit cards and debit cards, key fobs, smart cards, or other devices, including smartphones and other mobile devices, that use radio-frequency identification (RFID) or near-field communication (NFC) for making sec ...

Near Field Communication Near-field communication (NFC) is a set of communication protocols that enables communication between two electronic devices over a distance of or less. NFC offers a low-speed connection through a simple setup that can be used for the boots ...

(NFC),

smartcards A smart card (SC), chip card, or integrated circuit card (ICC or IC card), is a card used to control access to a resource. It is typically a plastic credit card-sized card with an Embedded system, embedded integrated circuit (IC) chip. Many smart ...

RFID Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder called a tag, a radio receiver, and a transmitter. When tri ...

tags, and online payments like

PayPal PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American multinational financial technology company operating an online payments system in the majority of countries that support E-commerce payment system, online money transfers; it serves as an electronic alter ...

and Google Checkout ) * mobile entertainment, including paid downloading of music, movies, video games and playback functions. Microsoft is showcasing such features in its Windows Mobile for Automotive. * Mobile vehicle-to-vehicle driving safety monitoring

References

External links

MIT Real Time Rome project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dashtop Mobile Automotive accessories