racing to rescue

Posts Tagged ‘Brave’

It’s Saturday, which means you have chores to do. You jump in your minivan and turn the ignition. Without being told, your favorite song is cued, your seat is automatically heated to your preferred temperature, and you are reminded of about how many miles you can drive until you need gas. “Oh,” you think, “I’ll get gas first.” With the touch of a button, your navigation system shows your current location and the price of gas at the five nearest gas stations.

Welcome to the world of telematics and the new wave of automotive in-car technology that’s quickly finding its way into our vehicles.

Telematics is deeply embedded hardware, software and telecommunications systems that provide an increasingly wide range of applications that serve our vehicles. These applications can enable safety, security, monitoring of vehicle health and remote diagnostics services. For the driver and passengers, telematics systems can provide dynamic location-based services such as navigation, traffic information, emergency assistance and a suite of other driver services based on two-way connectivity.

The icing on the cake is the idea of bringing the Internet to your vehicle. Automakers are working with Web companies to devise ways of connecting this technology intelligently, and advertisers are ready to jump on board and make it cost-effective, all to integrate your vehicle into the connected world.

Today’s vehicles are already providing a glimpse of what lies ahead. Many already have their own personal computer, their own cell phone and a display monitor. Add a keyboard or touch pad in-dash and the possibilities are endless. It all depends on how much information about yourself you are willing to provide. Data such as your blood type, favorite restaurants and even the stocks you own can prove useful. Ultimately, you will be able to tell your vehicle what you want it to do and when. Want an alert sent to your cell phone if your vehicle alarm goes off? Want to let your significant other know if your airbag has been deployed? Want to know when you’re driving by your favorite coffee shop? Easy to do; your vehicle will be as smart as you let it be.

Global automakers are working toward making telematics the core of the connected vehicle, and they have a strong incentive to integrate this technology as quickly as possible. The competition from connected mobile devices has clearly acted as a very powerful stimulant. Personal Navigation Devices (PNDs) and smart phones are grabbing the consumer’s fancy, and navigation systems are on a lot of wish lists.

PND manufacturers are heavily reliant on sales and are aiming their brand of navigation as a service product. As more devices have navigation capabilities, it won’t be about the hardware but about the service – something that provides two-way communication and lends itself to the consumer’s lifestyle.

Even automakers are realizing that it’s the suite of services that will help them achieve success. The wireless mobile and wireless automotive communities are fighting tooth and nail to win consumers’ hearts and minds.

One industry that is highly interested in telematics is the insurance industry. As more in-car technologies become available, automotive insurers have the opportunity to collect driver data with as much or as little granularity as they desire. They can monitor vehicle location, speed and driving times, or they can collect data on specific, narrowly defined events, such as hard braking. With better underlying data and the accompanying ability to price risk more accurately, insurers can roll out new types of products, often targeted at customers previously considered uninsurable. Information collected in the vehicle can also be used during the claims process. The overwhelming obstacle is the business issue of cost.

This is where advertisers are chomping at the bit to jump on board. Enabling these systems in your vehicle carries a cost, whether it’s a monthly subscription based on usage or a flat fee, and bringing advertisers into your vehicle can lower the cost considerably. So whenever you download a movie into your vehicle for the kids to watch on the next trip, it’s likely to be sponsored by an online movie provider. A major quick lube company will gladly make arrangements for your next scheduled oil change.

Advertisers also see the value of “knowing where you’re going” as a valuable customer relationship management tool. Remember those Saturday chores? Heading to a home improvement store? A telematics- equipped vehicle offers advertisers sophisticated, location-based options never before available. It’s all about capturing a consumer when they’re ready to make a decision. Let your system know you’re going to a home improvement store, and you get a quick glimpse at a discount being offered by one of the major chains. Once your vehicle is detected going to that location, the incentive is activated. You get something in return for sharing your data. Advertisers love that.

My brother and his Grandson hit the back roads every afternoon they can sneak away for a little fun and recreation on their ATVs. In back of my brother’s house is an old railway bed that runs for miles. Tracks are long gone and bed is pretty overgrown, but is still a viable riding road. My Brother says it is a great starting place for ATV Riders in the area.  

The bed follows the winding valley and the hilly terrain. Only now can you start to see what the men working to lay these tracks back in the 1920′s faced with picks and shovels. The earth is packed with hard red clay and iron ore. Bits and pieces of it fly up and hit you as you ride when the dry hot summers set in. In the spring the mud from rain runoff soaks the clay and you find yourself digging out your tires more than you are riding. It was one such afternoon when I ventured out with them.

My brother had been trying to coax me to go out with them for sometime. Now I am a dyed in the wool motorcycle, 2 wheeler .I like the long stretches of highway and the wind rippling through your shirt. I like the power of the machine as it glides in and out of traffic. I enjoy the companionship of my fellow riders, whether I am riding with them or just standing around and talking. I love the Poker Runs, the rallies, and most of all, the absolute joy of girl and machine against the world. I know a lot of guys and girls who love their ATV  feel the same way I do about the motorcycle. A few of them also may truly believe that riding on the highways is pure sissy stuff!  One of those people is my brother. So… I convinced myself I’d go and see what all the hoopla was all about.

Riding behind my brother, I thought I was doing great. After all he caught all the branches and swiped them out of my way. The bugs were just beginning to hatch out this late spring day and flew around us with a constant buzz.  At least with helmets on they were not in our nose, eyes and hair. Of course that all changed when we hit the mud bath.

I want to go out on a limb here and make a statement for which I am probably going to get beat over the head for. Being a girl, I am squeamish about mud. You won’t me catch me at a spa paying for the stuff to be rubbed in my skin or anywhere else. Mud makes me think of snakes, bugs and God knows what other creepy crawly thing that loves mud. No telling what has been there and is still in it.

The mud bath was a dip in the railway bed, which had at one time hosted a railway bridge for the train to go over. Old Cross ties still hovered around, and parts of the bridge structure were still visible. As a rule the dip was just a little fun jump on the ATV. This time it had filled with rainwater and looked like a small creek. We jumped right in the middle of the darn thing.

The machine sat there sinking. My brother raised his helmet to talk to me. I raised mine. Both of us got a mouth full of lovebugs that apparently love mud, In just minutes I felt like a bug. They were in my nostrils and felt like they were trying to climb in my brain. Lowering the helmet shield didn’t help. I now had a head full of bugs inside with me. One thing we knew for sure was we had to get off  to stop some of the sinking.

 With both of us off the machine we could stand in the mud bath, which I guess is some consolation. It could have been deep. That would have been really bad, seeing as I can’t swim. My new leather chaps and leather jacket were weighted down with mud and grime. I was so mad I would have kicked the tires if they hadn’t been buried in about 12 inches of red mud. My brother, who is a much better sport than me, seemed to take all of this in stride with a grin which made me even madder. I was pretty sure he had planned the whole thing. Later I recounted that thought when I saw how hard he worked to dig us out.

 My job was to haul in some rocks to fill in the mud holes he was making around each tire to keep the mud from oozing right back. After about an hour of this futile effort, he sent his grandson to get his wife and the truck to pull us out.  I now had ruined gloves to go with my mud-caked chaps, jacket and jeans. Good thing is we sell leather riding gear  on line www.agelessparlor.com and I was pretty sure I could talk Jerry, my husband into giving me a discount on on new pair.

.By that time help arrived it was dark. Night creatures had come out. I am and have always been afraid of the dark. Who knows what ghouls the dark covers. The woods had looked so pretty in the light of the day with their new blooms and leaves.  Now  they had become a place of deep shadows and sounds. My brother, who knows what a scaredy cat I am, I suspect, was thoroughly enjoying my discomfort.  He kept up a constant chatter about the old grave yard we had passed about a mile back. He had all kinds of ghost sightings to share with me. I kept moving the mud around with my foot just to make sure it was still deep enough to hide me if needed. Hey,I watch TV, it worked in Terminator for Arnold.

Rescue arrived none too soon.  Chains were brought out, hooked to the back of the ATV and the back of the truck. The trick was to get the thing out without pulling the truck in the slippery bed. Slowly and surely my brother worked the gears. After a good bit of grinding and swearing it began to move. The front of the ATV was buried up to its neck, so to say, and when it came out reminded me of a Swamp monster on one of those old black and white sci fic shows, It was covered in mud and smelled really bad. 

Mud dripped and ooze from every inch. I wondered if it would ever crank again. If they were naming a movie from the looks of my brother and me, they would call it ”Mar’s Creatures of the Red Swamp” With our helmets still on, covered in red mud, sweat and blood, we looked pretty fearsome ourselves.  

My brother loves to tell this story. Looking back, it looks and sounds like a fun adventure. Living it was something else. I am glad we had on good full face helmets. For His birthday I had sent him a new Full Face Modular from the helmet shop. www.helmetsforfun.com  He normally wore a motocross helmet and while we sell them, I wanted him to have what I consider the best protection for his head.

Our Modular Full Face motorcycle helmets come ready to fit for microphones. If you have a regular back rider, mikes are nice. The face shield opens or the whole helmet raises up.  Inside the padding is thick and can be removed and washed, which with regular mud riding needs to a priority. The helmets are DOT approved which is always a plus to me.

If you are not riding with a helmet on your ATV, rethink that. The next branch you do not dodge low enough, the next gravel hill you slide through and over, the next roadway you are riding on with cars, the next accident is just waiting. Be prepared.

You can view our MX or Full face helmets at http://www.helmetsforfun.com  We have some great ones. As far as my ATV riding, I am going to leave it to you. To be honest if I want mud under my nails for a month I will just dig in the garden on the next rainy days. You guys and girls go on and have fun. I’ll wait on the stories.

It’s Saturday, which means you have chores to do. You jump in your minivan and turn the ignition. Without being told, your favorite song is cued, your seat is automatically heated to your preferred temperature, and you are reminded of about how many miles you can drive until you need gas. “Oh,” you think, “I’ll get gas first.” With the touch of a button, your navigation system shows your current location and the price of gas at the five nearest gas stations.

Welcome to the world of telematics and the new wave of automotive in-car technology that’s quickly finding its way into our vehicles.

Telematics is deeply embedded hardware, software and telecommunications systems that provide an increasingly wide range of applications that serve our vehicles. These applications can enable safety, security, monitoring of vehicle health and remote diagnostics services. For the driver and passengers, telematics systems can provide dynamic location-based services such as navigation, traffic information, emergency assistance and a suite of other driver services based on two-way connectivity.

The icing on the cake is the idea of bringing the Internet to your vehicle. Automakers are working with Web companies to devise ways of connecting this technology intelligently, and advertisers are ready to jump on board and make it cost-effective, all to integrate your vehicle into the connected world.

Today’s vehicles are already providing a glimpse of what lies ahead. Many already have their own personal computer, their own cell phone and a display monitor. Add a keyboard or touch pad in-dash and the possibilities are endless. It all depends on how much information about yourself you are willing to provide. Data such as your blood type, favorite restaurants and even the stocks you own can prove useful. Ultimately, you will be able to tell your vehicle what you want it to do and when. Want an alert sent to your cell phone if your vehicle alarm goes off? Want to let your significant other know if your airbag has been deployed? Want to know when you’re driving by your favorite coffee shop? Easy to do; your vehicle will be as smart as you let it be.

Global automakers are working toward making telematics the core of the connected vehicle, and they have a strong incentive to integrate this technology as quickly as possible. The competition from connected mobile devices has clearly acted as a very powerful stimulant. Personal Navigation Devices (PNDs) and smart phones are grabbing the consumer’s fancy, and navigation systems are on a lot of wish lists.

PND manufacturers are heavily reliant on sales and are aiming their brand of navigation as a service product. As more devices have navigation capabilities, it won’t be about the hardware but about the service – something that provides two-way communication and lends itself to the consumer’s lifestyle.

Even automakers are realizing that it’s the suite of services that will help them achieve success. The wireless mobile and wireless automotive communities are fighting tooth and nail to win consumers’ hearts and minds.

One industry that is highly interested in telematics is the insurance industry. As more in-car technologies become available, automotive insurers have the opportunity to collect driver data with as much or as little granularity as they desire. They can monitor vehicle location, speed and driving times, or they can collect data on specific, narrowly defined events, such as hard braking. With better underlying data and the accompanying ability to price risk more accurately, insurers can roll out new types of products, often targeted at customers previously considered uninsurable. Information collected in the vehicle can also be used during the claims process. The overwhelming obstacle is the business issue of cost.

This is where advertisers are chomping at the bit to jump on board. Enabling these systems in your vehicle carries a cost, whether it’s a monthly subscription based on usage or a flat fee, and bringing advertisers into your vehicle can lower the cost considerably. So whenever you download a movie into your vehicle for the kids to watch on the next trip, it’s likely to be sponsored by an online movie provider. A major quick lube company will gladly make arrangements for your next scheduled oil change.

Advertisers also see the value of “knowing where you’re going” as a valuable customer relationship management tool. Remember those Saturday chores? Heading to a home improvement store? A telematics- equipped vehicle offers advertisers sophisticated, location-based options never before available. It’s all about capturing a consumer when they’re ready to make a decision. Let your system know you’re going to a home improvement store, and you get a quick glimpse at a discount being offered by one of the major chains. Once your vehicle is detected going to that location, the incentive is activated. You get something in return for sharing your data. Advertisers love that.