Infineon supports Commission over the launch of the eCall emergency system

Creation date: 09 April 2008

Infineon Technologies is the first semiconductor maker to sign an MoU with the European Commission to advance the development of intelligent emergency call systems.

The move adds momentum to eCall, a pan-European proposal launched by the Commission with the goal of encouraging EU member states as well as automakers, mobile operators, service businesses and automotive supply businesses to collaborate on the development of an integrated, automatic accident alert system for automobiles. The European Commission hopes that eCall will radically lower the number of accident victims in Europe and help to bring down accident-related costs.

The eCall system uses the CAN interface (Controller Area Network) to collect data from safety components in cars – airbags, rollover sensors, etc. If there is an accident, the data are sent to an emergency call centre via a cell phone module along with location data from a GPS navigation module. The information is automatically converted into plain text, which is displayed on the screen in the emergency call centre.

Dr. Wolfgang Ziebart, President and CEO of Infineon Technologies, commented as follows on the signing of the MOU: “With our competency in semiconductor solutions for automobiles as well as communications, I believe that Infineon is in an outstanding position to be ready to begin volume production for Europe’s eCall emergency call system according to plan, within the two-year timeframe. We’re already shipping initial samples to partners in the automotive industry for large-scale field testing.”

Starting in September of 2010, eCall is expected to be a standard part of every new car sold within the EU.

Further information is available at www.infineon.com