Telematics Box
A T-Box (Telematics Box) is a telematics control unit designed to provide various connected car services. T-Boxes are integral components of a vehicle’s telematics system. It functions as a communication module that connects the car to the internet and various external services.
Here are the key features and functions of a T-Box in a car:
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- Vehicle Tracking and Navigation
The T-Box can provide real-time tracking of the vehicle’s location, helping with navigation and providing data for fleet management systems.
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- Emergency Assistance
In the event of an accident, the T-Box can automatically alert emergency services and provide them with the vehicle’s location and other critical data.
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- Remote Diagnostics and Maintenance
The T-Box can monitor the vehicle’s systems and alert the driver or the service centre about maintenance needs or potential issues, allowing for remote diagnostics and proactive maintenance.
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- Remote Control Functions
Through a smartphone app or web interface, users can remotely control certain aspects of their vehicle, such as locking / unlocking doors, starting the engine or adjusting climate controls.
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- Infotainment and Connectivity
The T-Box can provide connectivity features such as Wi-Fi hotspots, internet access for passengers and integration with infotainment systems for streaming media or other online services.
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- Telematics Data Collection
The T-Box collects various data from the vehicle, such as speed, fuel consumption, driving behaviour and other metrics. This data can be used for insurance purposes, fleet management or by the car manufacturer for product development and improvement.
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- Integration with Smart Home Systems
In some advanced systems, the T-Box can integrate with smart home devices, allowing users to control home appliances or receive notifications from their smart home systems while in the car.
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- OTA (Over-the-Air) Updates
The T-Box allows the vehicle’s software to be updated remotely, ensuring that the car’s systems are always up to date with the latest features and security patches.
For this type of application, FTDI’s FT4232HA is an ideal candidate.
FT4232HA is a USB 2.0 Hi-Speed (480Mb/s) to multi-purpose UART / MPSSE IC that is automotive qualified for AEC temperature grade 2. It has the capability of being configured in a variety of industry standard serial or parallel interfaces.
FT4232HA features 4 UARTs. Two of these have the option to independently configure an MPSSE engine, which allows the FT4232HA to operate as two UART / Bitbang Ports plus two MPSSE engines used to emulate JTAG, SPI, I2C, Bit-bang or other synchronous serial mode.
Below is a block diagram of an application example using FT4232HA in a TBOX system.
In this example, the ZTE chip might be responsible for managing some of the wireless telematics or communication functions, while the FT4232HA acts as a bridge between the ZTE chip and a host computer for configuration, diagnostics or data transfer. FT4232HA receives SPI data from the ZTE chip and then converts it to USB to communicate with the host unit.
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