Nomadic Device Forum sets out roadmap for safe integration of portable devices

Creation date: 19 June 2006

The European Nomadic Device Forum workshop on 15-16 May 2006 made good progress in defining the requirements and identifying a positive business case for a harmonised in-vehicle portable device gateway. Such a smart vehicle-device gateway would make it possible to dock any standard portable device, like an iPod, mobile phone or portable navigation device, in the car and operate it in a safe manner.

Two working groups met on the first day and on the second day a plenary session was organised, summing up the main findings of the two groups.

Setting out the requirements
The “Smart-vehicle device gateway” Working Group refined the vision for safe nomadic device integration in the vehicle, defining general use-cases for a portable device gateway, providing a first definition of requirements and setting out a work plan for next steps.

According to the Working Group conclusions, the gateway should provide battery charging for nomadic devices, offer access to multiple devices at once and be able to discriminate between driver and passenger applications. Carmakers should be able to configure the gateway so that it only supports certified devices and applications. Based on these general requirements, the Working Group will go on to define a functional description of the gateway that will later be turned into a technical architecture and functional definition of standards.

The car industry is prepared to define the vehicle side of the specifications, but wants to see a corresponding willingness by the nomadic device industry to adapt portable devices to enable safe integration and use within the vehicle. The Forum will therefore organise a set of high-level talks between the two groups to agree the objectives and means of collaboration for defining the common gateway.

Identifying the commercial incentives
The Working Group on “Commercial issues for vehicle-device integration” examined the business drivers and requirements for a portable device gateway, looking at how barriers to closer integration could be lifted. The working group pointed to the need to find a win-win business approach for the development of the gateway, as there is currently no clear business case for the automotive industry to implement such a gateway in their vehicles.

The automotive context and its requirements must therefore be promoted to a greater extent to both the consumer electronics industry and standardisation bodies. Safe integration of portable devices within the vehicle should also be promoted to the consumer, preferably in a ‘story’ format that makes the benefits of such integration immediately clear. It was agreed that customers’ needs and expectations needed to be more clearly defined.

For more information, please visit the Aide Project and Nomadic Device Forum website.