Pasadena, CA — (press release excerpt) — the Research and Development Team at EarthLink, one of the largest Internet service providers in the U.S., has extended the submission deadline and increased the prize winnings for its open source application development competition (which was initially announced July 13, 2001… at LinuxDevices.com). In related news, EarthLink R&D has also has now tapped the expertise of Space Machine to provide the digital mapping and tracking technologies powering EarthLink's prototype, open standards-based Automotive Vehicle Location (AVL) telematics platform — the focal point of the competition.

EarthLink R&D's AVL Developer Contest encourages developers to submit the best in-vehicle computing applications to work with EarthLink's new open standards-based AVL telematics platform. Open to Linux, XML, Java, wireless, and Web application developers, EarthLink R&D's AVL Developer Contest will honor winners in a total of six categories: navigation, directory, entertainment, security, and m-commerce, including an overall, grand prize-winning application. Prizes include AVL Developer Kits, up to one year of free EarthLink broadband or dial-up Internet access, RIM Blackberry wireless handhelds, cash, and more.

EarthLink's R&D is hosting this contest to heighten awareness of the emerging automotive telematics market and foster development of the best business and consumer applications. Contest entries, submitted via email, are now welcome through December 31, 2001.

“With more than 200 million automobiles in the U.S. and an increase in the amount of time drivers spend on the road, there is tremendous demand for automotive communications technology to help drivers stay connected while en route,” says Dr. Mark Petrovic, EarthLink's vice president of research and development. “Yet automotive computing platforms for application development are almost non-existent, or they are cost prohibitive to independent application developers. EarthLink R&D's open-source AVL telematics platform breaks down these programming barriers by allowing developers to easily test, evaluate, and develop new automotive telematics applications for consumers and businesses.”

EarthLink R&D's AVL Developer Kit is a prototype telematics platform designed to demonstrate automotive software applications, study how Linux and Internet technologies can be applied to the automotive environment, and test the feasibility and effectiveness of various systems such as remote diagnostics, m-commerce, and location sensitive applications. It features a location-based services (LBS) server infrastructure and is an open standards-based device that can be installed in any vehicle to facilitate a broad range of Internet-based vehicle security, monitoring and personalized information features. It can be used for WAP/WML, Web, Palm, enterprise and custom applications. AVL technical specifications are available at the AVL website.

EarthLink is collaborating with Space Machine on technological development of the platform, tapping them to provide the digital mapping technologies behind the tracking of AVL units across the U.S. Space Machine delivers the leading software platform and application framework, enabling enterprise-class “location-smart” applications that leverage the power of wireless location technologies.

Prizes

The overall favorite applications winner will receive a free EarthLink AVL unit with one full year of free AVL service, plus their choice of either one year of EarthLink DSL or cable access (where service is available), a RIM 957 wireless handheld and six months service, or $500 cash. Winners in the five contest categories will receive an AVL Developer's Kit with three months of free AVL service, plus their choice of either one free year of EarthLink dial-up access, a RIM 950 wireless handheld and three months service, or $250 cash.

No purchase is required for contest entries. Additional contest information is available online at the contest website.

 
This article was originally published on LinuxDevices.com and has been donated to the open source community by QuinStreet Inc. Please visit LinuxToday.com for up-to-date news and articles about Linux and open source.