TIS Press Release October 2018

Bocholt, October 15, 2018

A comprehensive telematics interface with an open-source license is now available under the addresses www.telematik-schnittstelle.de and www.telematics-interface.com. The free offer is already being used by several manufacturers to ensure trouble-free data flow between transport management and telematics systems. By accessing a common interface, software and system houses save their own programming, which reduces project run times and costs. The now published XML interface contains the experience of around 20 years of development work and numerous IT projects in the logistics industry.

"An interface standard results in interoperability, which ultimately benefits the entire logistics industry," says Professor Heinz-Leo Dudek of Baden-Wuerttemberg Dual State University. If an interface definition, such as the now offered XML interface, prevails as a standard, this would be "a major breakthrough for the entire telematics industry," Dudek points out.

Interfaces describe necessary data fields with unique names, field lengths and properties. The uniform definition of data fields enables trouble-free data exchange between different applications. For example, the current vehicle positions can be transferred from a telematics system to the freight forwarding software and be displayed there on a map.

The originator of the telematics interface is TIS GmbH, which specializes in mobile telematics solutions for warehousing and transport. "The industry-wide sharing of knowledge and experience is more important than ever to better meet the increasing demands on IT projects," says TIS Managing Director Markus Vinke. Independently programming and maintaining interfaces with competing software and systems houses would waste valuable developer resources. The result is a "fragmented solution landscape, for which ultimately the customer pays the bill," says Vinke. After all, the additional effort does not only arise when programming the interface, but also with every subsequent adaptation in the course of release changes.

In order to be able to use the telematics interface for own software projects, only registration on the website www.telematik-interface.de is required. In addition to agreeing to the license terms, this ensures that all users are informed about new versions of the interface.

Fear of competitive disadvantages caused by joint interface development is considered unfounded by Prof. Dudek and Vinke. "New ideas and functions that emerge as part of a customer project do not have to be published without delay," explains Dudek. However, it would be in the interest of all companies involved that the interface, when supplemented with new data fields and definitions, is played back on the platform, so that the innovations can also become the standard. Whether this standard establishes ”top-down by definition through a standardization committee or de facto results from the multiple use of a meaningful proposal from the ranks of market participants, ultimately plays no role," said Dudek.

Find further information at www.telematik-schnittstelle.de and www.telematics-interface.com.