Mercedes scores with Tele Aid

By: Drivers.com staff

Date: Monday, 07. April 2008

Telematics services have been available in cars for more than 10 years now, but finally they're taking off, says Mercedes Benz telematics project manager, Sascha Simon.

Simon was addressing Telematics Detroit 2007, an annual conference on automotive telematics held on May 22-23. Mercedes Benz Tele Aid driver assistance system has about 430,000 active subscribers. There's a better then 75% activation rate on new vehicles sold, Simon told conference attendees, and over 70% of subscribers renew after the first year.

Simon described Telematics as "the science of connecting location information with 2-way machine-to-machine communication." In the last decade, he told the conference, Telematics suffered from technological and cost barriers. Manufacturers had difficulty deciding what to design and how to design it and, more importantly, how would it pay off.

Business models based on paying consumers didn't pay off because there wasn't enough money in it to justify original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) putting up enough money to develop the in-vehicle hardware.

However, things have changed, Simon pointed out. Communication technology has improved. Hardware costs have gone down, low-cost high-speed wireless communication is now available in-car, and now manufacturers are finally able to come up with "value propositions" that appeal to consumers.

Mercedes Benz Tele Aid service is similar to GMs Onstar in many ways. Based on cell phone and GPS technology, a touch of a button puts the driver in touch with voice-based assistance. An SOS button located on a console near the inside rear-view mirror puts you in touch with emergency services. An information button near the arm rest calls up navigation and concierge services, and another button calls up roadside assistance.

Voice-delivered traffic information can be called up if subscribers log in at the "Owners Online" section of the Mercedes Benz web site and provide information about the route they require assistance with.

There's a video demo of the Tele Aid system at www.teleaid.com .