NXP and Siemens Mobility jointly announced the signing of a technical collaboration agreement to develop NXP’s new ATOP (Automotive Telematics On Board Unit Platform) into the 'single chip on-board unit' system based on GPS and GSMATOP, if launched successfully into the market, can be used in private vehicles and can be easily deployed in a very economic way. This telematics platform exploits existing GPS/GSM mobile networks.
 
NXP is a semiconductor company that produces system solutions and software that enhances sensory perception in the use of cell phones, personal media players, TVs, set-top boxes, ID applications, vehicles and a wide range of other electronic devices.

Siemens Mobility Division provides transportation and logistics solutions. The company deals with railways and road traffic control systems, airport logistics, postal automation, traction power supplies and rolling stock for mass transit, regional and mainline services, as well as forward-looking service concepts.

The easy installation of ATOP facilitates private car drivers to collect toll fees with ease along with security option as well. The installation procedure is in-expensive and fast. The commercial version of ATOP is said to be rolled out by 2010. Siemens Mobility and NXP are putting their sincere effort to develop this viable, practical solution for the market.

According to the technical collaboration, NXP will provide a chip and basic software that packs all the functions for toll collection such as GPS (Global Positioning System), GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) and NFC (Near Field Communication) modules.

The interfaces required to develop the flexible Telematics applications will be provided on a fully automotive-grade single-chip platform. The Telematics applications include additional traffic information with Smart X high-safety application.

Siemens will be developing the on-board unit (OBU) that is integrated with the single chip and software provided by NXP. The OBU is being developed taking into account of the conditions inside the vehicle. This is necessary in order to enable the OBU to withstand even extreme temperatures.

With increased demands in flexible road pricing solutions, all car drivers can automatically calculate and charge their customers for a journey- accordingly with the help of ATOP. The solution also ensures that flow of traffic is not spoiled and makes sure that number of vehicles on the roads is kept within reasonable limits. Most interested in ATOP installation are governments, authorities and institutions.

ATOP-based OBU receives GPS satellite signals. The system uses GSM-based standard radio technology for transmitting data to the central system for toll calculation.

There are a number of ways to calculate the journey price. The distance traveled, the time of day chosen for the trip, type of vehicle and its fuel consumption or CO2 emissions are also possible references and factors taken into account for calculation.

The system is incorporated with a non-removable adhesive vignette with a radio chip (RFID) in it. This is attached to the windscreen. The RFID chip facilitates communication with the on-board unit and also ensures that the OBU is actually present in the vehicle and is being operated in accordance with the use for which it is intended.

The RFID vignette incorporated into the ATOP system can also be used for other applications such as parking space management.

Toll charging is done by monthly invoices or by a prepaid card. The system ensures charging is done in a secured manner by not disclosing any details of the driver.

The OBU that displays journey details with fees helps police or authorized to monitor the proper usage of the system during checks and thereby enables easy enforcement. The device uses Near Field Communication technology (NFC) to read out the information from the vignette on the windscreen.

The systems vignette along with the OBU makes sure that the OBU specifically assigned to one vehicle cannot be used and not exchanged with another vehicle.