Sprint CEO Dan Hesse, at the Detroit Economic Club, today unveiled the company’s M2M Connected Transportation initiative and shared examples of M2M solutions reducing environmental impacts, increasing public safety, and supporting the energy/smart grid.

“At Sprint, our vision goes beyond connecting millions of cars. We want to provide ‘Connected Transportation’ to trucks, buses, subways, taxis, planes, police cars and ambulances so that they can be instantly linked through voice, data and images,” said Hesse.

Connected Transportation helps companies optimize, schedule, monitor and track deliveries, personnel and vehicles and enables drivers to waste less fuel looking for delivery destinations, gas stations and other locales. Some of Sprint’s partners include:

• Aeris Communications, a Sprint partner, will leverage Sprint’s national network to provide cellular connectivity to Hyundai Motor America’s Blue Link connected vehicle program launching in 2011. Hyundai worked closely with ATX, a telematics service provider, and Aeris to build Blue Link to incorporate safety and security, entertainment, productivity and convenience features.
• PACCAR, parent company of Peterbilt and Kenworth Class 5-8 commercial vehicles, is working with Sprint to introduce a new integrated mobile computing, telematics, navigation and business system, branded as SmartNav for Peterbilt and NavPlus for Kenworth. It provides diagnostics/logistics, back-office, GPS/location-based services and other functionality to truck operators.
• Sprint is also working with ECOtality, to provide comprehensive wireless connectivity to more than 15,000 residential and commercial electric vehicle (EV) charging stations throughout ECOtality’s nationwide Blink Network. ECOtality has begun installing the first of nearly 15,000 Level 2 EV charging stations along with more than 300 DC Fast Chargers at public and commercial sites throughout 2011.
• Police cars in San Jose, CA and ambulances across the United States are using technology from Feeney Wireless to create increased access and GPS/location-based connections to facilities, databases, dispatchers and fellow staff members for enhanced public safety, communications and reporting capabilities. Feeney Wireless helps companies and public agencies develop M2M and connected transportation solutions such as the mobile WiFi in Portland’s WES commuter rail.
• DriveCam developed a device which turns on a camera when g-forces indicate a driver is driving dangerously. The camera records the dangerous action and notifies the parents or fleet manager.
• Continental Airlines and Amtrak are already working with Sprint to install Wi-Fi, as well as digital signage and other applications.

Sprint’s Emerging Solutions Group develops M2M and embedded solutions. Sprint helps partners through their Sprint M2M Collaboration Center and the Sprint Command Center.

Meanwhile, SoloPower, announced yesterday that they will build a CIGS thin film factory in Wilsonville, Oregon, about 15 miles south of Portland. The factory will have a capacity of 300MW and employ approximately 500 people. A SoloPower panel weights 13 pounds and can produce 260 watts.

The efficiency, flexibility and ruggedness of CIGS technology might be ideal for solar-powered femtocells and WiFi hotspots on bus stops. San Francisco rolled out their first solar-powered bus stop in the summer of 2009. If you can generate 1000 watts a day, then powering a femto/WiFi hotspot using just 15-25 watts, would seem to leave plenty of power left over for lighting and even power electronic ETA maps (and ads) using color Nooks, ruggedized tablets or micro-projectors.

Related Dailywireless solar articles include; Facebook Gets Coal-Fired Blast, Solar Powered WiMAX & WiFi, Touch Screen Transit, SF Gets Solar Wi-Fi Bus Shelters , Open Transit Apps Compared, How to Create Transit Applications, Social Bicycles: Cheaper Bike Sharing, Bike Sharing Gets an App, Apps for The City, Augmented History, SOLARBrella Powers Laptops & Hotspots, Solar-powered WiFi Flowers, Solar WiFi Park Bench, Meraki: Wall Warts and Solar Power, Cell Towers Go Green with Renewables and Emergency Communications Applications.

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The World Congress on ITS, which wrapped up last month in the port city of Busan, Korea, is the world’s largest and most influential ITS-related international conference. Held annually in Europe, the Asia-Pacific and the Americas on a rotating basis, the congress the 17th Intelligent Transport Systems World Congress attracted over 30,000 government, business and research personnel

First held in France in 1994, the congress has served as a window to the development of smart transport systems, including today’s widely used navigation and hi-pass systems on expressways.

This year’s congress, the largest yet, offers a glimpse of some of the most advanced transport system technologies from around the world.

• STMicroelectronics showed its latest products for automotive safety, infotainment, and navigation including the EyeQ2 processor, designed for automotive vision; a new automotive CMOS camera module for vision-based advanced driver-assistance systems); a multi-standard digital radio receiver chipset (RF + base band); the Cartesio+ application processor with embedded GPS; and the latest generation of ST’s single-chip stand-alone positioning receiver, Teseo II, for portable and in-car telematic applications.
• Streetline is working with municipal governments to deploy low-power wireless sensor networks to help provide parking availability. The sensors will transmit real-time data, such as whether or not a meter is engaged. From the driver’s perspective, this would save time driving down a street that is obviously completed full up.
• An international consortium backed by the Singapore government launched ten research projects to develop technology for “next-generation” vehicles. They will work on will work on areas such as anti-collision steering systems and wireless charging of electronic cars.
  
• Deutsche Telekom says In-car Internet and online services are becoming a reality. Some researchers believe the new HTML5 standard could offer new opportunities for in-car app developers and the telematics industry.
• Commuters in Albany, NY are testing a Bar Code Technology for Smartphones. The 2-D bar code technology is being tested by the Lamar Advertising Company, one of the country’s largest outdoor advertising businesses.

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