Imagine a car talking to the surrounding parking lots to check out the availability of space, enabling easy parking of the car. Or for that matter, an umbrella that provides weather updates via SMS so that you can decide whether you should carry the rain protection tool or not. It might be early days but definitely not science fiction?all of this is made possible using wireless machine-to-machine (M2M) technology.
Today M2M communication technologies are fast gaining acceptance in the Indian market and have significant applications in many customer segments. But first, let us demystify the tech jargon for a layman. Put simply, M2M refers to technologies that allow both wireless and wired systems to communicate with other devices of the same ability. This is accomplished through the use of telemetry, which is the language machines use when communicating with each other. Such communication was originally accomplished by having a remote network of machines relay information back to a central hub for analysis, which would then be rerouted into a system like a personal computer.
Cut to present. There are many popular M2M applications. A utility meter is one of them. Some of the benefits to this type of meter over a traditional one are: Immediate operational efficiencies from reading and programming meters remotely. This also offers the potential to significantly reduce the cost of implementing new rate designs. Elimination of visits for the purpose of transferring services, name changes, meter exchanges, rate changes or read verifications.
Another application becoming more popular with M2M technology is car navigation. With it, consumers now have a complete car navigation system in their cars. The M2M technology can be used to track the driver?s current
location, or provide a map to show directions. Also, with M2M technology the consumer can call during an emergency from the same device that is doing the tracking. Businesses could also use this technology for parking lots, to know how long a vehicle has been parked, and charge it accordingly.
The connected car is becoming less of a concept and more of a reality. A recent example in in-vehicle entertainment
includes Ford Motor Company, which has teamed with AT&T to wirelessly connect Ford Focus Electric with an embedded wireless connection and dedicated app that includes the ability for the owner to monitor and control vehicle charge settings, plan single or multiple stop journeys, locate charging stations, pre-heat or cool the car.
While the developed markets are fairly matured, India is an emerging market for M2M applications, says Ashish Gulati, country manager (India), Telit Wireless Solutions. Headquartered in London, the company develops, manufactures and markets M2M modules which enable machines, devices and vehicles to communicate via wireless networks.
?In India, M2M applications have started gaining acceptance over the last 5 years,? says Ashish. ?We are seeing a lot of thrust coming from both the government and private sector. People are keen to implement M2M technology into their existing deployments and applications to enhance their performance using wireless technologies as it makes them more viable and efficient.?
Last year, Telit acquired the M2M division of Motorola. The latter specialises in the design, development, integration, evaluation and deployment of M2M applications worldwide, serving large scale customers such as Continental, BMW, Harman-Becker Automotive, Tyco Safety Products, Essence Security and SmartSync Smart Grid Intelligence.
In India, Telit is seeing business prospects in automated meter reading (AMR) market. ?We are seeing a lot
of upgradation that has been happening in existing deployments wherein, AMR modems are being interfaced with the existing meters. This indicates an emerging market and going forward, there will be fresh full fledged deployments of AMRs which will be integrated into the meters. This is a focus market for us and we have products that are suitable for the Indian AMR market,? he adds.
The hand-held terminal or point-of-sale terminals market is another focus area for Telit. This segment has applications in micro-finance and ticketing. ?Since there are vast rural areas that are not connected to the banking networks, micro-finance institutions will require wireless hand-held terminals to carry out financial transactions. These hand-held terminals, apart from having things like thermal printers, will be GSM-enabled helping them to wirelessly connect to the core banking system,? he says, adding, ?our modules enable wireless connectivity to the hand-held terminals and help them
carry out financial transactions in a secure manner.?
Telematics and in-vehicle entertainment is an area of focus for M2M developers. ?We have recently heard that autos in Delhi are to be installed with GPS devices. While this is just one application, the government is coming up with many such initiatives which require telematics applications. For example, applications for round-the-clock power supply monitoring of telecom base stations. Another example could be monitoring of high end generators that are deployed in remote locations. Telemetry applications can help monitor fuel levels, performance, etc of the generators remotely,? he informs.
M2M is an approach to wireless communications that relies on cellular technology. M2M is becoming more and more popular as cellphones become more popular. Enterprises are realising that cellular technology can be used for more than just making a phone call.
