In this week’s Brief: Progressive, Google, Verizon, Quartix, Google Maps, Scope Technologies, iQ-Telematics, MiX Telematics, and Strategy Analytics

TU talks to Semen Fokin, business development director for Cesar Satellite, about the growing telematics market in Russia.

Susan Kuchinskas explores why the market for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) may finally be ready for prime time.

TU speaks to Rick Burtner, senior vice president and general manager of the Location-Based Services Group at Numerex, about the future of insurance telematics

TU speaks to Stuart Berman, executive director, technologies with Trafficmaster Plc, on the future of the insurance telematics market.

TU talks to Robin Harbage, c-counsel business consultant with EMB, about the impact of telematics on the auto insurance industry

Andrew Tolve reports on the challenges and opportunities of building a ‘pay-how-you-drive’ car insurance model.

We’ve all experienced the frustration before: An auto insurer asks for some basic information—age, sex, credit score, and driving record—plugs that information into an equation, and voila! Out pops a premium that only vaguely represents how you as a driver really drive.

Industry leaders and automotive enthusiasts gathered for the start of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Mich., which runs until January 24.

 

China is warming up to telematics, promising a hot market ahead.

Software giant Google has unveiled a visual search application for smartphones called Google Goggles. When users with the new mobile application take a picture, Google launches a search for information associated with that image, whether it is a bottle of wine at a vineyard, the façade of a restaurant in Manhattan, or a street sign in the backwoods of West Virginia. Once the search is complete, users receive a list of links on their smartphones just as they would on their computer after a conventional Google word search.