Introduction

With the quick growth of GPS (Global Positioning System), and furthermore, mature technology of wireless/GSM/GPRS /3G, more and more vehicle applications are being adapted, not only the personal car PC but also the enterprise grade applications such as GPS Fleet Management Systems for logistics, mass transit and cargo shipping.

One of Axiomtek's customers could be a good reference. This customer is a software company which has a good capability in GPS, GIS and GSM/GPRS communication. The customer would like to adopt an x86 architecture system with various I/O. Beside internal pre-installed modules, they also need a LCD power-out connector, GSM/GPRS antenna, WIFI antenna, SIM card slot, CompactFlash™ slot, audio, video, customized LED display I/O, and more.

Customer Requirements

1. System Hardware: Car PC- embedded system (build-in GPS module and GSM/GPRS 　module), antenna and LCD panel
2. Navigation Software: GIS, GPS
3. Communication Software: GSM/GPRS for telemetric

How the system works?

When Car PC in the bus is power-on, the system receives the GPS signal immediately. After compare with internal data, it displays current position of bus on LED display, and broadcast to passengers when parking or leaving. The Car PC also uploads information to control center via GSM/GPRS, and then, control center could position the bus location and display onto the map to estimate vehicle arrivals, which enhance whole bus management performance. Furthermore, predictions are also made available on the World Wide Web and to wireless devices including signs at bus stops, internet capable cell phones, and other Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs).

Our Solution

The challenge is how to shorten the sample lead time, and to offer a compact size embedded system with advantages like low power, fanless, rich I/O, full function, anti-vibration, wide range power-in. Axiomtek provides a customized eBOX745-FL500 as a Car PC solution. This customized Car PC includes a made to order wide range vehicle power, pre-installed WIFI card, antennas, GPS module (customer designated), and wide range temperature support. To improve MTBF, Axiomtek adopts low power consumption and fanless design to prevent from any damage of heat and dust. The Car PC also has past wide range of simulated temperature test to provide well quality when system being placed in a sealed car and exposed to the sun or operated in low temperature environments.

Application Diagram