Hyundai Motor Company Teams With IBM To Launch World's Most Advanced Telematics Services

Hyundai Motor Company (HMC) and IBM have announced that they are developing what will be the broadest and most advanced suite of interactive communications services available for automobiles.

The development will offer interactive wireless telecom services for Hyundai car drivers and passengers, from email and internet access to vehicle theft tracking, route guidance and more. Expected to debut in production vehicles next June in the Korean market, the new, open-standards-based services will mark a major step forward in the development of automotive telematics, or interactive wireless communications, for delivering information to and from cars.

Among the new services for drivers and passengers, and powered by IBM technology are:

• An information "portal" that would deliver news, weather reports – as well as email and Internet access – via text or interactive voice response
• Data synchronisation for personal digital assistants, mobile telephones and other devices
• 24-hour assistance via on-call representatives
• Potential expansions of these services in the future include advanced vehicle diagnostics that could provide detailed information to mechanics for more precise pinpointing of problems
• Also, vehicle prognostics services could sense a potential mechanical failure before it occurs – alerting drivers to schedule maintenance visits