On November 10, NXP and partners will hit the road from Helsinki, Athens, and Madrid for a two-week "European eCall Trial" (eCall: emergency call) across Europe. Partners are BMW, IBM, Allianz OrtungsServices, Dekra, and three Automobile Clubs in Europe including AvD, Touring, and UAMK. During the tour, a compact telematics box, based on NXP technology, will send test eCalls to IBM servers as well as Allianz and BMW call centers at regular intervals, proving that eCall technology is ready to save 2,500 lives in Europe every year: it works across borders, no matter which e-Call standard is being used or whether pan-European or proprietary

The eCall will be sent to a public safety answering point (PASP), along with important information referred to as the MSD (minimum set of data), containing details of the exact time of the call, GPS coordinates and vehicle identification number (VIN). The VIN can be decoded and will provide information about the brand of the car, the colour and additional details. The MSD also contains optional fields which can be filled with data like number of passengers as detected by closed seatbelt systems, and other sensor data from the car.

If the PSAP receives such a call, the dispatcher will be able to talk to the people inside the car to obtain further information and offer reassurance. Even if there is no response, the operator can dispatch rescue services to the scene using the information provided in the MSD

Saving 2,500 lives a year

The objective of eCall is it to significantly reduce the time, it takes for medical assistance to be given to accident victims - it's estimated that the system can reduce this time by 40-50%. These faster response times are critical to saving lives and treating injuries more successfully.

Across Europe this could save about 2,500 lives per year and help to significantly reduce the severity of injuries. In studies the European Union has determined that this would save about €26 million annually.

The NXP field trial, carried out in cooperation with BMW, IBM, Allianz Ortungs Services, Dekra, Deutsche Telekom AG (M2M Competence Center), AvD, Touring und UAMK and represents a significant portion of the rescue chain usually employed in emergency situations.

Proving eCall's capability across Europe

The European eCall field trial, which begins on November 10th, will see three BMW cars converging on Brussels, arriving on November 25th for the final Event of the ERTICO eSafety Forums, from different starting points around Europe: Athens, Helsinki and Madrid.

On the 10,000km trip the cars will carry a small telematic box based on NXP technology. This box will send regular test eCall calls to the servers of IBM and Allianz Ortungs Services, and occasionally to the BMW call center.

The telematic boxes, based on NXP technology, will send sequentially calls based on the pan European eCall standard, and an eCall utilizing SMS to transmit the MSD followed by a voice connection . The pan European eCall standard uses an inband modem to transmit the MSD to the PSAP during the very first few seconds in the call. The inband modem can be thought of a kind of very fast fax like transmission.

The trail should show that eCall works independently of the selected data transmission standard, even across national boundaries, and that the telematic solution is compliant with EU regulations.

ATOP, NXP's solution for eCall functionality

By participating in this trial NXP and partners hopes to show the world that eCall onboard technology is ready and working in Europe today, and that thousands of lives can be saved by implementing eCall as soon as possible. The technology used in the onboard units is based on NXP - ATOP (Automotive Telematics On-Board Unit Platform) technology which is qualified for use in automotive applications.

ATOP is slightly larger than a 2 Euro coin and can be flexibly integrated in automotive electronics, for example in the dashboard, roof top, or rear-view mirror. While being a cost efficient solution, ATOP also allows for additional services to be implemented in vehicles next to the eCall service offering the customer btter drive experience.

For example, remote start ,remote unlock doors for example via smart-phone or computer, TCP based traffic news, could be implemented. Car manufacturers can also deliver enhanced servicing by remotely reading diagnostic data from the vehicle, and NXP has designed ATOP to ensure a high degree of privacy and data protection for the owners.

Working with industry leading partners

At present only 3% of all cars globally are equipped with a telematic solution, but this trend is increasing. BMW is a pioneer in vehicle telematics and is leading the industry by implementing the technology across all of its products. The BMW solution already in operation is called Connected Drive. The company has recently received a EURO NCAP award at the Mondial de L'Automobile 2010 in Paris for the extended eCall 'Assist Advanced eCall' feature of the Connected Drive system.

This system delivers even more vital data in the MSD to the BMW rescue center. With this solution BMW has introduced technology that provides even greater security on top of traditional crash saftey, and the company regularly receives very positive feedback from people who have been saved by the system.

During the field trial ATOP based onboard units will send test data via the networks of Deutsche Telecom AG and its roaming partners to servers of IBM and Allianz OrtungsServices. For the PSAPs, IBM is offering hardware and software as well as messaging and visualization services which will be used during the field trial.

Allianz OrtungsServices is already offering location services to the PSAP operators at no cost, enabling precise positioning and support allocation to the responsible PSAP to enable emergency services to reach the location of the accident in less time. In the rescue chain the PSAP can also dispatch the support services of automobile clubs like the AvD, Belgium Touring or Czech UAMK in order to clear the accident scene and minimize disruption to the flow of traffic.

The eCall technology regardless the transmission standard employed is already today available for broad deployment in automotive telematic onboard units. NXP has developed a cost efficient technology which can run eCall alongside other services that deliver greater value to customers.

Related links

• Read more about this trial

Regular updates

To keep current with our latest announcements, be sure to sign up for eNews, our customizable electronic newsletter that saves you time by sending you only the information you want.