ETRI actively participating in OSGi's global initiatives As a leading R&D institute in Korea, the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) has been actively pushing ahead with telematics-related global standardization, according to a top manager of the state-funded institute. "All of the three Requests for Proposal (RFP) on new standardization items submitted by ETRI were approved at the Vehicle Expert Group of the Open Service Gateway Initiative Alliance (OSGi) held at Boeblingen in Germany on Nov. 15," said Yim Chu-hwan, president of the ETRI. OSGi is an international standardization organization, which was established in 1999 with an aim to offer an open-type service platform available in various environments. It consists of some 40 world-famous companies and organizations, including IBM and Sun. In an interview with the Korea IT Times, Yim said, "Since the end of last year, ETRI has directly participated in OSGi and staged active contribution activities for standardization. As a result, we succeeded in getting approval for the three RFPs from OSGi. In addition, we received the editorial rights for Request for Comments (RFC), a technology standardization." Yim, a graduate of Seoul National University, earned a Ph.D. in communications systems at the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany. In February 2001, he received the Iron Tower Industrial Award from the government in recognition of his great contributions to the development of the domestic information and communications industry. In the past, ETRI engaged in contribution activities in Vehicle Expert Group (VEG), led by BMW, Siemens and IBM. "With the RFP approval this time, however, ETRI has been certified as Korea's representative institution leading the development of telematics standardization. Moreover, ETRI can now wield stronger influence on the global stage," he said. The three RFPs approved this time are RFP 69-Device Management for Vehicle Device, RFP 70-Persistent Storage Management for Vehicle Device, and RFP 71-Payments and Billing for Vehicle Devices. "In addition to OSGi, ETRI will push for telematics-related global standardization in such standardization organizations as Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) and Java Community Process (JCP)," said Yim. Since 2004, ETRI has staged activities both at home and abroad for standardization of ITS, GIS, LBS and telematics. It has also served as a member of the chairmen's group and as an editor of the Korea Telematics Standardization Forum and the Telematics/ITS Project Group (PG) of Telecommunications Technology Association. Asked about the contribution of telematics to the IT 839 strategy and the growth engine industries, the president said that telematics has contributed greatly in the three fields of standardization, technology development and promotion of relevant businesses. Firstly, telematics has led the standardization both at home and abroad and created the foundation for activation of industries. Secondly, we have secured excellent study results and intellectual property rights (IPR) related to servers, terminals, communications and other basic core technologies of telematics, he said. We also advanced the timing of activation of the telematics industry by actively promoting commercialization through technology transfer, said Yim . Thirdly, we have been successfully pushing ahead with businesses for activation of telematics. For instance, we merged private traffic information providers such as SK, ROTIS and Realtelecom through the project to build a telematics information center. Through the project to build a system to combine and distribute traffic information to the country, we established a system to effectively manage traffic information, which was dispersed through the National Police Agency and the Ministry of Construction and Transportation. During the period from September 2004 to July 2006, we are also pushing for the project to build a telematics model city on Jeju Island, which provides tourists visiting the southern island with a chance to experience telematics service. Besides, we have developed -- or are developing -- such strategic technologies as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB), Wireless Broadband Internet (WiBro) and Embedded S/W, he explained. On the 2005 International Telematics Conference and Exhibition, Yim said, "ETRI will display its study results on telematics that it has propelled in the IT 839 strategy and new growth engine industry fields at the international exhibition." Among the telematics terminal technologies are the open-type terminal middleware technology for terminal application of mobile office car control and emergency rescue; the video-based real navigation technology, called the next-generation navigation service technology; and the telmetics application streaming technology. As terminal/server interworking technology, ETRI will demonstrate the open-type application protocol disposal technology, which includes gateway and framework for development of open-type telematics service. Finally, it will exhibit Location-Based Service (LBS) technologies, including polling and tracking technology for acquisition and tracing of location by making the use of open-type LBS platform, at the exhibition. "Through these events, ETRI plans to demonstrate and publicize its study results, while providing those engaged in the academic, industrial and research sectors with places for technology consultation and technology transfer," said Yim. Asked about the future direction toward the development of the telematics industry, the ETRI president said that in the initial stage of telematics, its services were confined to emergency rescue, traffic information and offering of supporting information for drivers. "However," he continued to say, "It has developed into mobile office service, which enables users to utilize services at office, home, or moving car without service interruption. Through telematics, we will realize mobile digital life eventually and experience ubiquitous society by grafting it on various communication and broadcasting services." In keeping with the paradigm change of the times such as emergence of ubiquitous and convergence, telematics is also introducing new concepts through convergence of related technology and services. For example, the telematics industry will develop into the industry converging or combining DMB, WiBro, home network, and RFID/USN. Telematics will provide car drivers with mass storage multimedia services such as movie, music and game smoothly, offering mobile office environment, where customers can make high-quality entertainment and groupware-based electronics settlement and electronics payments. It will also strengthen the dynamic navigation function by converging terrestrial/satellite DMB and dual DMB and offering real time traffic information through data channel of DMB. By grafting RFID/USN technology on the future-oriented automobile technology, telematics will provide state-of-the-art car safety driving service. Through application of sound recognition, voice synthesis, nextgeneration display and wireless equipment control technologies, it will guarantee convenience and safety of driving. In the future, people are expected to receive telematics services through AnyTime, AnyWhere, AnyDevice, AnyNetwork, and AnyOne, the top manager of ETRI said. On the changes in people's lifestyles stemming from the emergence of telematics, he said that once the telematics service becomes available in earnest, a car will be the third digital life space, enabling drivers to use seamless information service at office, home or traveling spot without interruption. A car will change from a driveroriented space to a space for all passengers as they can engage in financing, leisure, shopping and entertainment activities. Drivers are able to enjoy safer and more convenient driving through telematics, which offers such functions as preventing sleepiness, collisions and crossing of a traffic line. A telematics vehicle will develop into a connected car where information flows freely and a core space of the ubiquitous society, making our lives safer and more convenient, he said. Established in 1976, ETRI is a non-profit government-funded research organization that has been at the forefront of technological excellence for nearly 30 years.