VANCOUVER, Canada /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sierra Wireless (NASDAQ: SWIR; TSX: SW) is helping PFK of South Africa and inthinc of Salt Lake City, enhance road safety by ensuring their devices can reliably connect to central systems in real time. This is made possible with Sierra Wireless AirPrime WMP100 Intelligent Embedded Modules.
PFK's Autowatch Wireless Alcohol Breathalyzer (WAB) system prevents alcohol-impaired drivers from circulating on public roads and endangering the safety of others. Before starting a vehicle equipped with the Autowatch system, the driver must breathe into a breathalyzer which will analyze the sample, determine whether the driver's alcohol concentration is above the specified legal limit, and transmit the result to a vehicle blocking system (VBS). If the alcohol concentration is below the legal limit, the VBS will disarm the immobilizer and allow the vehicle to start, but if not, the vehicle will remain in the immobilized state. By adding a cellular connection to the Autowatch WAB, the system can immediately communicate exceptional events, such as an attempt to push start the vehicle, to a control station or a fleet manager.
"As a leader in the vehicle immobilization market, continually adding new features and ensuring product reliability are critical to our success," said Manuel Ferreira, Business Development Manager for PFK. "The Sierra Wireless AirPrime modules and their easy-to-use development environment allowed us to rapidly design and deploy this new communication feature, and deliver reliable communication for critical events."
Driving safety is also a primary concern for Utah-based inthinc. inthinc is using the AirPrime WMP100 Embedded Module in its driving safety technology that mentors teen drivers as well as commercial operators in real-time by comparing driver behavior to preprogrammed conditions and notifying the driver when it senses unsafe driving events including speeding, aggressiveness and more. Simultaneously, thanks to the cellular connection provided by the AirPrime WMP100 Embedded Module, parents and fleet owners can be notified of the driver's current location, actions and driving performance through text, voicemail or email. All driving information is reported and stored on a web portal for later review.
"inthinc technology has been proven to reduce driving risks and to establish and maintain better driving habits," said Todd Follmer, CEO of inthinc. "While the in-vehicle mentoring functionality helps foster safe driving, the reliable two-way data communication provided by the Sierra Wireless module enables us to bring peace of mind to parents and important business information to fleet owners."
"We are very proud to be a part of these powerful customer products," said Dan Schieler, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Sales for Sierra Wireless. "We believe that by enabling these truly innovative devices with reliable and affordable cellular technology we may have a hand in making the roads safer for everyone."
About the AirPrime WMP100
The Sierra Wireless AirPrime WMP100 Intelligent Embedded Module is a feature-enhanced GSM/GPRS microprocessor for applications requiring mid-range performance. The BGA form factor and dedicated IOs are suited for automated component placement and enables developers to optimize their total system cost. Application developers using the AirPrime WMP series modules can use the Open AT Operating System and its integrated development environment built on Eclipse to develop, compile, download, test and debug applications, reducing cost and time-to-market.
About Sierra Wireless
Sierra Wireless (NASDAQ:SWIR) (NASDAQ:-) (NASDAQ:TSX:) (NASDAQ:SW) is expanding the wireless world with a comprehensive offering of hardware, software, and connected services for mobile lifestyles and machine-to-machine communications. Our customers count on us to help them succeed with early access to new wireless technologies and innovative, reliable, high-performing solutions for a broad range of applications. For more information about Sierra Wireless, visit www.sierrawireless.com.