A small package meeting big expectations

German firm Telemotive AG has come a long way from its inception over a decade ago in a small Munich apartment. Today, the company is a leader in the area of complex networked bus systems for the automotive industry, such as LIN, CAN, FlexRay, MOST, Ethernet and Bluetooth. Since the beginning of 2010, Telemotive has been a core member of the GENIVI Alliance. The company is also an associate member of the FlexRay consortium as well as the MOST cooperation. Telemotive offers Intel Atom based GENIVI compliant development boards and will soon offer an ARM-based development board as well. Both boards will provide the newest vehicle bus systems, like MOST150.
For the testing and diagnostics of GENIVI IVI compliant electronic control units (ECUs), Telemotive offers the logging of AUTOSAR DLT using its multi-data logger blue PiraT.  The company has many years of experience in the development of embedded systems like the multi-data logger blue PiraT, as well as OEM-specific ECUs. “GENIVI will completely change the play rules in the infotainment sector. As a developing service provider with extensive expert assessment in Linux as well as infotainment, we see ourselves as a possible partner for this segment,” says Markus Stolz, marketing and distribution director of Telemotive.
Peter Kersten, director of development and human resources at Telemotive AG, adds: “When we led the first talks with the GENIVI alliance, the synergies immediately struck us: in hardware – ARM and INTEL controller – as well as in the area of software. Telemotive disposes of long-standing experience with own automotive capable hardware based on embedded Linux. Our participation in a project like GENIVI is very motivating for our teams.”
Telemotive’s bluePiraT data logger is capable of logging MOST150 control-status, MDP and MEP (MOST Ethernet Packets) messages. Selective logging is possible due to the integrated filter mechanisms. The blue PiraT MOST150 logger provides one MOST150, 2 CAN as well as 4 serial ports (RS232, RS422). All other well-proven features like synchronous timestamps, power management and full automotive compliance remain in place, as well as the possibility to cascade multiple loggers and expand the functionality through licensing.
An example for a client-specific solution is the ‘MOST150_INCAR’ project for Audi. A MOST150 reference system, developed by Telemotive for the car, verified the MOST150 bus system under vehicle-like conditions, like voltage drops, temperature stress and wakeup/sleep cycles. Using the new MOST150 vehicle bus, the ECUs communicated with each other in a real vehicle environment. Every ECU has a customizable use case and can be used to verify the MOST communication. Telemotive says that despite its minimal size and very easy operation, the blue PiraT still meets the ever increasing requirements of the market.
“Since we have extensive expertise on how a Tier 1 company works and how an OEM works, we can provide the link between these two worlds. The Tier 1 executive is mainly focused on his product and the cost of it. The OEM executive has to look at the total car and the field quality for the end user,” explained Markus Fischer, project management & engineering consulting, South West at Telemotive AG in an earlier interview to AI.
Telemotive feels that the MOST50 technology used for the transmission of multimedia data in the vehicle enjoys a growing demand from car manufacturers. Beside the bandwidth of 50 MBit/s, one advantage of MOST50 is also the transfer option over unshielded twisted pair wires. MOST50 offers the option of retaining the existing wiring and assembly processes and eliminating the need to switch to fiber optics.
The blue PiraT detects even persistent sporadic errors in the test vehicle as well as in the laboratory and to provide the data necessary for the error analysis. Since 2009, the product range of the Telemotive blue PiraT also contains a multi bus data logger for MOST150 beside the MOST25 loggers. The assortment of MOST50 variants is now completed. The blue PiraT is available in different variants with up to 10 CAN, 4 LIN, 2 FlexRay, 4 serial and 4 Ethernet interfaces. All models offer a power management, simple operation and an automotive-suitability in addition to minimum product size.
From the initial four people who set up Telemotive (Peter Kersten, Markus Fischer, Franz Diller and Markus Stolz), the company currently has 280 highly qualified employees which Telemotive says gives it its competitive edge. It is a great source of pride to the company that it has been recognized as one of the best employers in Germany for three years running by the Great Place to Work® Institute. According to the 2010 survey, the company stood at 15th place among the best 100 employers in Germany.
“Our biggest challenge will be to develop the company so that our customers still get a Telemotive service. Not a ‘rental’ engineer who doesn’t identify with his work, customer and Telemotive. Many OEMs ask us how we cultivated our spirit. This is the biggest challenge. When you look at the frustrations people have at their work, you can see how much potential you have for motivation and innovation,” explained Markus Stolz to AI in an earlier interview.
Telemotive’s customer base includes the world’s leading names among domestic and international automotive manufacturers and suppliers. The company’s products are represented not only in Europe, but also in the USA, Japan, South Africa, Brazil, and other countries. The company ensures proximity to their customers via their offices in Mühlhausen in Täle, München, Stuttgart/Sindelfingen and Ingolstadt.