Together with countries like Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Luxembourg and Turkey, Spain is taking part in the second phase of the HeERO project (Harmonised ecall European Pilot), which sets out to prepare for deployment of “eCall”, the new pan-European road-safety service based on the single European emergency number 112.

The project, co-funded by the European Union (EU), aims to help EU member states prepare deployment of this system by 2015. The first phase was implemented back in 2011 with the participation of countries like Croatia, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania and Sweden, where the pre-deployment eCall tests were carried out.

In Spain the project is being led by the Spanish Road-Traffic Authority (Dirección General de Tráfico: DGT). GMV is one of the companies participating in the pilot to be carried out in Spain. This will involve a series of developments to adapt three basic segments to the defined European standards. These three segments are the Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs), the mobile telephony network and the in-vehicle eCall system (IVS).

GMV will carry out activities in two of these segments, providing some functions of the system that will equip the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP). In Spain this will be housed in the Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT), from where the call will be forwarded to the corresponding regional 112 emergency attention point depending on the geographical location in each case. GMV will also supply a set of pilot-vehicle onboard devices capable of sending eCalls manually or automatically.

GMV will likewise be playing an important role in running one of the four demonstrators forming part of the Spanish pilot. This demonstrator is deployed in the Comunidad de Madrid (Madrid Regional Authority), coordinating the various test-vehicle equipping tasks (four vehicles), recording all test-campaign information and analyzing it within a previously defined performance framework.

This project cements GMV’s standing as a key player in telematic vehicle services, both in the in-vehicle segment and in the service-enabling platforms. It also reaffirms its ongoing support for the development of applications designed to improve road safety.