DB Systel collaborates on development of optiSMS

27 Oct 2008

DB Systel's ICT Innovation & Evaluation Centre, Switzerland's Fela Management and France's Saphymo have collaborated to launch the Open Telematics Interface (opti) project in 2007.

Aiming at defining a generic standard protocol to support data exchange between telematics servers and remote equipment, optiSMS is the first concrete result of an international research program.

The technology will train operators and infrastructure managers to source their IT systems from different suppliers, and will allow the suppliers to invest in developing further products around a high degree of compatibility.

The following technical challenges to interoperability have to be faced: different traction power supplies, gauges, signalling systems and national regulations. The situation in the IT sector is less widely reported, but the lack of compatibility between national systems makes the tracking of cross-border movements either difficult or impossible.

Railion Germany and T-Systems Enterprise Services have agreed to adopt the new open-standards messaging protocol for all future telematics applications.