telematics

thumb|A vehicle telematics device, with its internal electronics visible through a transparent case. Telematics is an interdisciplinary field encompassing telecommunications, vehicular technologies (road transport, road safety, etc., as part of Intelligent transportation systems), electrical engineering (sensors, instrumentation, wireless communications, etc.), and computer science (multimedia, Internet, etc.). Telematics can involve any of the following: The technology of sending, receiving, and storing information using telecommunication devices, such as a Telematic control unit, to control remote objects The integrated use of telecommunications and informatics for application in vehicles and to control vehicles on the move Global navigation satellite system technology (most commonly GPS) integrated with computers and mobile communications technology in automotive navigation systems, often using a GPS tracking unit (Most narrowly) The use of such systems within road vehicles (also called vehicle telematics)

== Origins and usage == The term telematics is a translation of the French word télématique, which was first coined by Simon Nora and Alain Minc in a 1978 report to the French government on the computerization of society. It referred to the transfer of information over telecommunications and was a portmanteau blending the French words télécommunications ("telecommunications") and informatique ("computing science").