The Automotive Business Unit of Microsoft Corp., Redmond WA, is collaborating with programmable semiconductor device manufacturer Xilinx Inc., San Jose CA, as well as Samsung Electronics, ScanSoft, Siemens, SiRF, and Magneti Marelli, to develop a flexible, low-cost telematics system to be integrated into every new car from Italian auto maker Fiat.

Based on a reference design defined by Microsoft and Fiat, systems will incorporate key aspects from each collaborator, including chip sets, processors, telecommunications modules, speech engines and hardware development.

All applications and services for the system will be based on Microsoft's telematics platform for smooth integration of hardware and software and will provide drivers with easy access to applications for talking on the phone, enjoying personal music and looking for addresses.

The system will allow diagnostic data to be transferred to and analyzed by manufacturers and dealers.

In July 2004 Microsoft's formed a long-term strategic partnership with Fiat to develop an entry-level, low-cost telematics solution for all Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo brands. Later this year, Fiat customers will be able to purchase vehicles with new telematics systems that offer several levels of connectivity.

They will provide seamless integration with customer devices such as cellular phones and Windows Mobile based Pocket PCs or other devices that use Bluetooth connectivity.

In addition to having hands-free capabilities, motorists will be able to access Web services for off-board navigation and real-time traffic information. Drivers and passengers also will be able to enjoy digital music in the car through a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port on the dashboard that will enable easy connectivity to personal electronic devices.

All systems will include high-quality speech recognition. Hardware for the project will be built by Magneti Marelli, Fiat's automotive components arm.

Samsung will provide its S3C2440 400MHz ARM920T-core application processor and a rich set of peripherals including USB, IIC, IIS, liquid crystal display (LCD) and memory controller.

The processor is supported by the Xilinx Spartan-3 field programmable gate array (FPGA). It implements two universal asynchronous receiver/transmitters (UARTS), volume control, noise suppression filter, echo cancellation, decimeters and scalers.

Because the FGPAs are fully programmable, updates can be made to the hardware even after field deployment. In the automotive industry, where cars have a life span of 10 years or more, this is an especially critical feature, Microsoft says.