Toyota Reveals Connected Car Technology Initiatives and New Telematics System at the Consumer Electronics Show

• Toyota reveals future plans in connected car technology and telematics at the CES in Las Vegas
• Greater vehicle connectivity through expanded installation of Data Communication Module
• Data-intensive connected services to be supported by Toyota Big Data Center
• Better quality and more secure vehicle-based communications, safeguarding user privacy
• Business collaboration with UIEvolution to deliver and safer and more secure services
• Toyota to commercialise new telematics system using SmartDeviceLink, supported through business agreement with Ford and Livio

Toyota has broken news of new connected car and telematics projects at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Toyota Connected Car initiatives
Toyota is accelerating its initiatives to provide customers with greater convenience and data security in its telematics systems, announcing a next-generation connected vehicle framework. This builds on the advances that have been made in vehicle, IT and communications systems to add the benefit of connected technologies to Toyota models.

Toyota’s framework is anchored by the installation of a Data Communication Module (DCM) in more of its vehicles, beginning with the roll-out of 2017 models in the USA. Availability will then expand to other regions and countries. Adding DCM will connect Toyota vehicles to mobile telecommunications networks, expanding the ability to transmit data for products and services.

Toyota will also provide an emergency notification as a standard feature on vehicles equipped with DCM. This is activated when airbags are deployed during a traffic accident, helping secure prompt first-response assistance in an emergency.

To build the IT infrastructure needed to support this significant expansion of vehicle data processing, a Toyota Big Data Center is being created. This will analyse and process data collected by DCM and use it to deploy services under high-level information security and privacy controls.

Currently DCMs vary between countries and regions, but a standardised architecture will be developed for a uniform Toyota global DCM by 2019. Toyota will also create a function in the Smart Center to consolidate its worldwide DCM communications.

When customers are using their smartphone in connection with an in-car device, it is important to promote safe driving and the secure transmission of vehicle and customer information. To ensure these qualities, Toyota will work jointly with UIEvolution to develop standard middleware for use with Toyota’s in-car devices globally.

Through this business collaboration, UIE will be able to develop a smartphone app which can provide vehicle data securely to third party service and app providers approved by Toyota. This means a customer can use their smartphone to access vehicle data in a highly secure environment through the Toyota Big Data Center, and Toyota can offer its customers safe and secure smartphone – car connection services.

Toyota announces new telematics system using SmartDeviceLink
Toyota has entered into an agreement with Ford and Livio to establish an industry development and operation framework to deploy Livio’s SmartDeviceLink (SDL). Other car makers and app developers are welcome to join the collaboration and Toyota will be commercialising its own new telematics system using SDL.

SDL is an open source platform for smartphone apps and car connectivity which enables customers to access apps in their vehicle using voice recognition and/or a control panel.

Shigeki Terashi, Toyota Motor Corporation Executive Vice President, said: “Developing a safer and more secure in-car smartphone connectivity service which better matches individual vehicle features is exactly the kind of value and advantage a carmaker can offer its customers. We expect that many companies share our view and will participate in the industry SDL collaboration.”

Toyota and Ford entered a collaboration agreement to work on next-generation in-car telematics system standardisation in August 2011. Subsequently, in June 2015, Toyota began working with Ford and Livio to explore how SDL might be introduced in its vehicles. This investigation has been completed successfully and Toyota considers SLD to be suitable for its in-car app connectivity requirements.

Using SDL, carmarkers can offer smartphone apps which match their in-car system characteristics and interface, so customers can use the apps they want more safely and comfortably. At the same time, if more carmakers use SDL, app designers can develop products that are compatible with multiple vehicle telematics systems, which means more apps can be offered to customers within a shorter development time.