Developer Relations – Doing Great Things with Telematics

by David I | Oct 26, 2016 | Developer Outreach, Developer Relations, DevRelate, Logistics, Transportation |

Telematics, the marriage between telecommunications and informatics, marks the information technology branch that sees the transmission of digital information over distances in real time. In today’s connected world, one use case for telematics is where the Internet of Things meets mobile meets big data meets transportation. There are, for sure, many other use cases. Developers are right in the middle of what’s happening in our connected world. Developer Relations programs provide the APIs, documentation, tutorials and best practices for the integration of transportation systems, electrical engineering, mobility, sensors, data acquisition, storage, cloud computing, real time systems and software engineering.

For a recent example of how transportation, big data, cognitive analytics, payment processing, cloud computing and telematics can be engineered together, read the announcements by General Motors (GM) and IBM: “Hello, OnStar – Meet Watson” and Mastercard: “Mastercard Joins Onstar Go, the Auto Industry’s First Cognitive Mobility Platform Delivered by IBM and General Motors“. In the press releases, “General Motors and IBM today announced a partnership to bring the power of OnStar and IBM Watson together to create OnStar Go, the auto industry’s first cognitive mobility platform” and “By embedding Masterpass within OnStar Go, Mastercard will enable drivers and passengers to safely make secure and seamless payments for goods and services using credit or debit cards stored within their Masterpass wallet.”.

Developer Relations Programs and Telematics

Let’s take a look at a few of the developer relations programs that are helping developers take advantage of new telematics business opportunities.

• Ford – The Ford Developer Program opened its doors at CES in 2013, commemorating the 150th anniversary of Henry Ford’s birth, celebrating his innovative spirit and his belief that to create something truly great, he needed to surround himself with other like minded individuals. By opening the doors to the automotive industry’s first end-to-end developer ecosystem, Ford invites developers to integrate innovative solutions with Ford’s cars and trucks. AppLink is a suite of APIs that provide the ability for mobile developers to extend the command and control of a mobile application to the in-vehicle Human Machine Interface (HMI). Additional Ford telematics information can be found on the Ford Telematics powered by Telogis page.
• John Deere – APIs that enable your agriculture and construction industry software to securely access the robust data from John Deere machines. mobile applications and more. For agriculture, MyJohnDeere, Field Connect™, & AgLogic™ APIs allow developers to access data to assist with logistics management and agronomic solutions. For construction developers can get machine data with the AEMP API and access AEMP standard fleet management data from John Deere machines.You can find additional information on the John Deere Telematics page.
• GM – General Motors provides APIs that surface vehicle related features and the OnStar service. The GM Developer Network provides tools, documentation, and samples showing developers how to permit an application to gain access, get OnStar subscriber information, request vehicle actions, access automobile telemetry, report driver performance, receive malfunction alerts, retrieve diagnostics and more. You can check out the application gallery and explore the APIs.
• Uber – with several APIs, developers can integrate trips, experiences and logistics into custom applications for their business and themselves. For rides, developers can add an Uber Ride Request Button or deep link into the Uber app, embed the entire Uber ride flow into apps using a widget and build a custom integrations with Uber client libraries or ride requests APIs. To enhance the trip experience developers can take advantage of contextual information like the rider’s destination, pickup location, and travel time to power local recommendations, improve content relevance, and much more. Developers can also leverage the convenience of on-demand delivery with the Deliveries API to integrate same-day delivery into your checkout flow or build the next big thing using Uber’s world-class logistics platform. Read how Uber engineering increases safe driving with telematics.
• FedEx – Developers can save time and costs using free tools, sample code, documentation, resources and more that make it easy to integrate applications with FedEx® solutions. FedEx® services provides the integration into your website or business applications. Using the APIs you can integrate FedEx functionality into your existing order-entry, logistics, warehouse management and other business software systems. You can also integrate FedEx Office document printing and finishing functionality into your content creation, document management, and procurement applications.
• Google’s Android Auto – Android developers can create apps with the Android APIs you’re familiar with and extend them to cars. Developers can build without having to worry about vehicle-specific hardware differences like screen resolution, software interfaces, knobs, and touch controls. Users of your apps will have the same UX on any compatible vehicle including application launch and system notifications. Developer’s can find additional information on the Android Auto developer page.
• Apple’s iOS CarPlay – the iOS CarPlay API for devlopers allows you to build smarter, safer apps for the integration of the iPhone and the car. CarPlay allows developers to integrate telematics based iOS features into your applications including support for audio, GPS/maps, infotainment, instrument clusters, sensors and more. Developers interested in developing a CarPlay application will need to apply for an MFi (Made for iPhone/iPod/iPad) license.

Telematics Use Cases – an Evans Data White Paper

The Evans Data Telematics whitepaper touches on the origins of telematics, looks at its practical uses today by leading industry solutions providers, explores its role in the businesses of the future, and looks into telematics from the developer’s point of view. Telematics routinely extends to fleet management and automotive insurance industries; however other verticals are yielding precious data that present companies the opportunity to provide unique solutions to industry problems.

Explore the world of telematics research and development opportunities by Downloading the WhitePaper.