A Boulder, Colo.-based company has teamed up with several North American cellular operators to develop standards that could lead to the development of so-called intelligent vehicle products.
CellPort Labs Inc. plans to create, develop and license technology and products to expand wireless voice and data capabilities within vehicles, as well as in offices and homes. The company is working with GTE Mobilnet, Contel Cellular, Ameritech Cellular Services, AirTouch Cellular and Toronto-based Bell Mobility Cellular to devise common interfaces for applications for the car of the future.
While many people use portable cellular phones in their vehicles, the car kits made by manufacturers that allow handsets to be used with the higher-power, car-mounted transceivers, are not compatible, according to CellPort. This can create problems when multiple cellular users share a car, or if a customer upgrades to a newer phone.
In that case, the original car kit must be removed and replaced with one compatible with the new phone, or more than one car kit must be installed in the vehicle.
CellPort, along with the five cellular operators, is working to develop a standard interface that will let handsets from multiple manufacturers be used with one transceiver. Not only does a common handset port make the kits more appealing to customers, it also opens the door for automobile manufacturers to put them in cars at the factory, and for car rental companies to use them to attract customers.
“Auto manufacturers have not done very well in trying to push their own brands of phones,” said Les Hatcher, CellPort executive vice president.
Other factors, including safety aspects and new technology put into cars, make car kits essential, Hatcher contended.
Changes to air-conditioning systems in cars have forced manufacturers to use less efficient cooling systems. “What they have had to do is insulate cars better to compensate,” said Hatcher. Metaled glass was the solution to help keep out heat, but the insulator also interferes with cellular signals. By using CellPort’s CellBase universal transceiver, portable phones can be connected to an external antenna and avoid interference, noted Hatcher.
Safety is also an issue, noted CellPort. “Using a portable phone in a car is not safe; in fact, in many countries hands-free car kits are required,” Hatcher said. The company’s CellBase product will be available later this year and has been licensed to a Korean manufacturer. Hello Direct, a nationwide marketing company, is also part of the venture.
A later-generation universal handset port also is being developed by CellPort. The C/P Connect device is an intelligent transceiver that not only can connect various handsets to voice and data communications, but the unit can act as an internal local area network within a car, allowing different internal automobile systems to talk to each other.
For example, upon impact during a crash, and the subsequent release of the vehicle’s air bag, the network could automatically trigger a call to 911. Burglar alarms also could be linked to the device, and satellite-based location signals could be added to tell emergency officials where to go, noted Hatcher.
The product is expected to be ready for market in 1995.