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An in-vehicle human-machine interface module: a new approach leveraging XML. (VUML).

Article Excerpt
Infotronics is a term used to describe in-vehicle multimedia, telematics, and infotainment technologies, which can be divided into a number of functional areas, such as vehicle integration, remote vehicle services, and near-vehicle interaction.

Integration involves better control and integration of a myriad of in-vehicle devices, including factory installed, dealer installed, after market, and third party. The advantage of Infotronics is the late binding of vehicle technology to take advantage of the most recent consumer/vehicle devices in a safe and secure manner. Remote services include Internet-based services commonly available to desktop computer users, such as e-mail, calendaring, e-commerce, and streaming media via cell-based network protocols such as CDMA, GSM, GPRS, and WCDMA. Near-vehicle interaction includes smart highways, tolls, gas pump-based services, and vehicle-to-vehicle safety systems such as collision detection and avoidance.

The typical vehicle design cycle takes a few years, and it's becoming increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to design an HMI (user interface) module that's flexible enough to address all needs, not only after the vehicle is delivered, but also at the time of design/production. In addition, the vehicle may have a few HMI devices operating simultaneously, further complicating the task of writing HMI applications. Taking into account the integration of consumer devices into the vehicle (as part of the convergence strategy being pursued by car manufacturers) makes everything even more complicated. Many consumer devices, such as PDAs, are HMI devices from the vehicle point of view.

With such a panoply of architectural diversity, creation of these systems is fraught with difficulty. Most vendors have chosen to simplify their solution offerings. Devices that perform these functions are sometimes called Telematics Control Units (TCU), and these solutions tend to fit in two groups.

The first group is a sort of auto personal computer- a "one box fits all" that has a graphical user interface and some reasonable voice recognition capability. This solution has radio/CD/tuner integration, climate control, e-mail, and navigation capabilities.

The second is a vehicle service provider model with a TCU that's securely connected to a remote service provider. The driver signs up for a service account that allows services (in the form of software packages) to be deployed to the TCU. These services include off-board navigation, driver assistance, e-mail, and media capabilities, to name a few.

The...