Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) is once again partnering with Volvo, this time with its Latin American business unit that sells buses for public transit. The two companies plan to customize Volvo's ITS4Mobility intelligent transport system to improve transportation in Latin American cities.
Ericsson will be responsible for development, implementation, support and maintenance of the traffic management and passenger information system, which will be offered commercially by both companies in Latin America. The solution will be developed by Ericsson research and development professionals at the Ericsson Innovation Center located in the city of Indaiatuba, Brazil.
"This partnership is evidence of the transformation that is making so many aspects of daily life easier as we move into the Networked Society," said Sergio Quiroga, president of Ericsson Latin America, in a press release. "Both transport operators and their users will receive benefits from the increased deployment of technology and, together with Volvo Bus Latin America, we are enabling this."
Besides addressing the needs of cities in Latin America, customization of the system will ensure more agility in supporting transport fleet operators and public administration agencies.
Bus operators will be able to track their fleets in real time, gaining access to information about travel time, punctuality and number of buses on each route. That information will enable the bus operators to distribute their vehicles in an optimal manner to address changing passenger flows.
Passengers also will have access to real-time information about bus arrival times; that information will be available via the Internet, smartphone applications, text messaging or call centers.
Ericsson and Volvo previously teamed up on smart transportation projects. Last year, Volvo said it was planning to unleash 100 autonomous driven cars on the streets of Gothenburg, Sweden, in 2017. Volvo will use sensors as well as the city's wireless network infrastructure to provide the underlying connectivity. It also will use Ericsson's Connected Vehicle Cloud system.
Ericsson's 5G for Sweden initiative is designed to strengthen industry competitiveness through research, innovation and industrial pilot projects. Besides the Royal Institute of Technology and Scania, partners in that project include Volvo Construction Equipment, Chalmers University of Technology, Lund University, the Institute of Technology, Linköping University and Swedish ICT--Part of RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden).
Volvo was Ericsson's first customer to use the Connected Vehicle Cloud platform in a deal announced back in 2012.
For more:
- see this RCR Wireless News story
- see this release
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