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LogicaCMG develops an intelligent transport system

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CIOL Bureau
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BANGALORE, INDIA: The Bangalore-based LogicaCMG in association with the leading European companies has developed eCall, a software solutions for the intelligent transport system. As per the European Commission mandate, all vehicles running on European roads by 2010 need to install this intelligent system.

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eCall also referred to as `Emergency Call’, is a pan-European initiatives designed and developed entirely by several companies in the European consortium. It is a combination of an In Vehicle System (IVS) - a device with a GSM cell phone and GPS location capability - and a corresponding infrastructure of Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs).

publive-imageTalking to CIOL Bureau, G.B.S. Bindra, Product Engineering Director, LogicaCMG India says, “eCall was developed as part of the intelligent transport systems initiative and will be the first fully automated public safety system to be installed across the European Union by 2010. In fact some of the European public safety standards are far more advanced than other countries.” 

“In Europe, hundreds of serious accidents occur each day and due to poor response time, many lives are lost. “The response time during an accident is very critical. Once the eCall system is in place, it will help reduce the response time considerably thus saving several lives,” reacts Bindra.

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Studies show that the emergency response time could be reduced by about 50 percent in rural areas and 40 percent in urban areas. Due to the reduction in emergency response time, the report says that the system will also ensure a corresponding reduction in the number of traffic jams attributable to road accidents. It is estimated that the system would result in annual savings of about 26 billion (savings on accident and congestion costs).

The software has two components. One is the software that runs inside the car called the In Vehicle System (IVS) and the other is the back office that collects the data and sends the rescue service immediately to thepublive-image accident spot. The back office collects all the information and data from the car, converts it into data that can be read and tabulated in the map. So the back office team can visualize where the accident has occurred and the present status of the accident and sends the nearest rescue team to the point of the accident. “The mapping helps not only pin point the exact location but also helps the rescue team reach the spot through the shortest distance, says Bindra.

Besides the back office also collects all the details of the car, driver and his personal records like the blood group and the medical history for urgent medical aid.  When the device is activated, the in-vehicle eCall system will establish a voice connection directly with the relevant PSAP. At the same time, a minimum set of incident data (MSD) will be sent to the PSAP operator receiving the voice call. The reliability of the eCall chain should be nearly 100 percent and already several PSAP are being set up across the European union countries.

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While LogicaCMG has developer the software, companies including Volvo, BMG, Daimler Chrysler, Bosch, publive-imageSiemens and Navteq have also contributed towards eCall. The product has been undergoing extensive field trails in Netherlands and Belgium on high-speed roads and in tunnels and has been proven successful by various European agencies.

“It has taken LogicaCMG’s Bangalore unit about one year to develop the software and the hardware unit will be manufactured by the car manufacturers themselves besides vendors like Bosch and Siemens,” says Bindra. Navteq has mapped all the roads across the Europe union countries that will help pinpoint the exact location (longitude and latitude) of the accident. Once the alert is sent out, the nearest ambulance is alerted that can reduce the response time to a great extent.

In case of any shortcomings, it will be improvised and also once it becomes operational it gets trailed further and improvements will happen, Bindra adds.