Integration of an advanced emergency call subsystem into a car-gateway platform

Several European research projects in the vehicular area address the enhancement of vehicular safety. In the frame of the Caring Cars project, an on-board car-gateway embedded architecture for safety and wellness applications has been designed. This paper puts forward the essentials of this modular, dynamic and robust architecture and defines in detail the advanced emergency call (eCall+), one of the most innovative applications in the project. By mean of the eCall+, the emergency services will always be able to track the affected vehicle and monitor the state of the car. The driver may also contact them through videoconference in a critical situation. Thus, the system can either prevent an accident or help the vehicle occupants and the emergency services to safe the occupants' lives after an accident occurred.