Winners of AutoTronics Taipei 2008 Innovation Award Announced

The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), organizer of the 3rd Taipei International Automobile Electronics Show (AutoTronics Taipei 2008), recently announced the winners of the AutoTronics Innovation Awards 2008, held on April 9-12.

The AutoTronics Innovation Award is co-organized by TAITRA and Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (TEEMA) to encourage innovative R&D and boost output value, revenue and the international reputation of related industries.

After a series of fierce competitions, prizes for the AutoTronics Innovation Awards 2008 were presented for five products from four manufacturers. The winner in the Auto Electronics Parts & Components Category was the IDB-1394 Controller - MB88388A, MB88389 from Fujitsu. As for the Auto Electronics End Products Category, the winners were the BR6870 Fleet Manager and BR6828 Digital Vehicle Data Recorder from Baoruh Electronic Co., Ltd.; Voice Interactive Carputer from AiBelieve Co., Ltd.; and IntelliTrac X1 Pro from Systems & Technology Corp.

Now in its second year, the AutoTronics Innovation Awards brings together many manufacturers with excellent hardware/software R&D capabilities, TAITRA said. The award presentation was held on April 9, the opening day of the show, and the winners announced their award-winning products during the New Product Launch in the afternoon. The five award-winning products were also displayed in the "AutoTronics Innovation Awards" section set up by the organizers during the show period.

Winners of Autotronics Taipei Innovation Award 2008
Category	Company	Product
Automotive Electronic products	Baoruh Electronic Co., Ltd.	BR6828 Trip Recorder and Fleet Management Platform
		BR6870 Intelligent Fleet Management Platform
	Systems & Technology Corp.	IntelliTrac X1 PRO
	Aibelieve Co., Ltd.	VIC- Voice Interactive Carputer
Automotive Electronic Components	Fujitsu Microelectronics Pacific Asia Ltd. Taiwan Branch	Fujitsu IDB-1394 Controller MB88388A & MB88389

　

MB88388A & MB88389 IDB-1394 Controller ICs

The MB88388A and MB88389 are new controller ICs launched by Fujitsu at the end of 2007. The ICs support the IDB-1394 standard for in-vehicle multimedia networks.

The MB88388A is the industry's first device supporting vehicle navigation imaging under the IDB-1394 standard. It implements Fujitsu's proprietary SmartCODEC for in-vehicle video transmission, which is able to transmit high-resolution video without perceptible latencies. The MB88389 is an audio transmission controller. Both the MB88388A and the MB88389 ICs incorporate the physical layer (PHY) link layer functions specified in the IDB-1394 standard, with support for 100/200/400 Mbps data transmission speeds. This single-chip implementation reduces the number of parts required. Both devices implement digital transmission content protection (DTCP) to prevent unauthorized duplication of digital content. Two streams can be simultaneously encrypted and decrypted. With market demand for rear-seat entertainment systems soaring, Fujitsu anticipates the new controllers ICs' breakthroughs will help businesses implement high quality and cost-efficient rear-seat entertainment products.

BR6870 Fleet Manager

Baoruh Electronic Co., Ltd., a first-time exhibitor at AutoTronics Taipei, won two prizes with its BR6870 fleet management product and BR6828 digital vehicle data recorder.

The BR6870 is an integrated device and system platform for business fleet management. It incorporates the functions of digital data recording, fleet monitoring, job assignments and fare calculation, and is suited for information-based management of staff (drivers), vehicles (data recording, tracking, job assignments, alarms) and merchandise.

The taxi fare calculator bundled with BR6870 complies with regulations set by the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection (BSMI) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs. With the easy operation interface, driver IC card management function and compatibility with on-board unit, communication, system and far-end services, the product is designed as an in-vehicle device for the taxi fleet job assignment and safety management at the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung.

BR6828 Digital Vehicle Data Recorder

Another award-winning product of Baoruh is the BR6828 Digital Vehicle Data Recorder. In many countries, laws require the installment of digital data recorders in commercial vehicles. This huge business opportunity has been tapped by producers of compatible devices in mainland China, India, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Brunei, and Egypt.

The BR6828 provides comprehensive or itemized functions for both real-time job assignments and digital data recording for business vehicles. The in-vehicle platform modules include vehicle data recording, satellite positioning, wireless communications, printing, IC card log-on, text-to-speech, low-speed warning, vehicle condition sensors, merchandise data collection and transmission as well as over-the-air program downloading. The concept of modularized design provides customers with diversified options for single-purpose or integrated functions. It meets the needs of business fleet managers for low performance/low price, high performance/high price products and for different vehicle environments. The upgradeability and extendibility of the in-vehicle management device and system platform also offer a cost-saving solution to customers.

Voice Interactive Carputer

Founded in 2001 by an R&D team at Academia Sinica, AiBelieve develops daily life, business, commercial and personal entertainment applications using artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

One such application is the Voice Interactive Carputer, the world's first intelligent voice interactive on-board system. Users are able to interact with the virtual car assistant with voice commands and "ask" her to activate dozens of functions like news, traffic, stock, music, and movie information, internet data, and satellite navigation to name a few. The device is based on AiBelieve's Hyper Perception Logic Engine.

The product supports more than 20 languages and can operate on Linux, Win CE and PC platforms. Without pre-recording or changing user habits, drivers can operate the product simply by talking. The user-friendly, safe and convenient mechanism allows drivers to concentrate on the road and enjoy the safest possible driving experience.

IntelliTrac X1 PRO

Founded 20 years ago, Systems & Technology Corp. is a reputable provider of global vehicle GPS and highly quality Taiwan e-maps. Last July, the company and Tele Atlas, a leading global e-map manufacturer, jointly established the Tele Atlas Taiwan Co., Ltd.

Following the success of its IntelliTrac X1, a winner of the 2007 AutoTronics Innovation Awards, System & Technology won the award again this year with the new version, IntelliTrac X1 PRO. In addition to the original functions of its predecessor, such as instant tracking, power management and incident reporting, IntelliTrac X1 PRO supports Cell-ID positioning, charge coupling device (CCD) image capture and CAN-Bus solutions.

The product is light and handy, measuring only 90mm x 66mm x 30mm and weighing just 130 grams. It can be used for real-time vehicle tracking, security/emergency rescue, fleet management and location-based information services. The IntelliTrac series has been marketed around the globe for years. Representative customers in Taiwan include Honda Taiwan Motor Co. (for vehicle security systems), the Environmental Protection Administration (fleet monitoring) and security service providers (armored vehicle monitoring systems).