Partnership with Hughes (News - Alert) Telematics Inc., HTI has been announced by Location Labs. Location Labs Universal Location Service (ULS) will be offered as part of HTI's telematics service offering under this M2M partnership. Drivers will therefore be able to request the location of any contact in their mobile address book by using their smartphones.

Friends and family members will be requested to share their locations via their mobile phones. The phones will be located by HTI’s service regardless of the device type or wireless carrier after the request has been accepted. The location will be then sent to the in-vehicle navigation system wirelessly. Social networks can be therefore integrated and connected in a convenient manner.

In a press release, Mike Peterson, vice president for Product Development at HTI, said, "The Universal Location Service allows us to provide a unique and useful service to our automotive customers. Now drivers have the ability to remotely request the location of anyone in their smartphone contact list and once the request is approved, remotely send the location to their in-vehicle navigation system."

 Peterson added that the company is able to leverage Location Labs’ innovation in the location space through this collaboration. The company is therefore able to take significant steps in creating a true connected experience for drivers.

Location systems and services of leading tier 1 wireless carriers are able to introduce privacy-protected access with the developer platform, Location Lab’s ULS. Server software or a mobile download is not required by the 100% cloud-based web service to locate phones. Remote location access for all mobile devices on the AT&T (News - Alert), Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless networks is currently supported by ULS. More than 250MM locatable end users can be reached by ULS currently.

In a statement, Tasso Roumeliotis (News - Alert), CEO of Location Labs, said, "HTI has a proven history of innovation in the connected vehicle market, and we're excited to help them deliver this first-of-its-kind service combining smartphone capabilities and wireless network remote location. Offering drivers a simple and streamlined way to locate and navigate to anyone in their contact list helps families and friends communicate more efficiently and stay safe while on-the-go."