Hirschmann Car Communication has added embedded antennas to its portfolio. These miniature GSM or GSM/GPS devices enable concealed installation in vehicles such as trucks. They have been fitted in an on-board unit that is used by Continental AG for recording truck tolls.

The solution for Continental sees the GPS and GSM antennas required for the application move to the telematic box. This development, which employs new generation of GPS chipsets, removes the need to have a line-of-sight to the satellites in order to receive a measurable GPS signal. This means that installation in the telematic box no longer poses an obstacle.

In addition, integrated antennas for telematic applications facilitate stolen vehicle tracking, i.e. concealed installation of the antennas in the vehicle means that they cannot be spotted or removed.

The GSM antenna developed for Continental operates in the 900 to 1800 MHz frequency range and it is installed inside an on-board unit (OBU). OBUs are installed in trucks to enable automatic billing in conjunction with an automatic fee or toll collection system. In this case, the OBU is used to record truck tolls in Slovakia.