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OnStar is a subscription-based communications, monitoring, and tracking service provided by General Motors. As of 2005, it is a standard feature for many General Motors vehicles, and it will be standard on all new GM vehicles sold in North America by 2007 *. It is also currently available on the Acura RL and MDX. Other manufacturers to offer Onstar in the past include Audi, Subaru and Volkswagen. The service is available for all vehicles that have the factory-installed OnStar hardware. It consists of both communication, through mobile phone networks, and tracking by GPS technology. Drivers and passengers can use its audio interface to contact OnStar representatives for concierge-like and emergency services; representatives, based out of Troy, MI and Charlotte, NC, can also initiate contact when vehicle telemetry indicates an emergency (for instance airbag deployment). When a driver presses the Red Onstar Emergency button or Blue OnStar button, current vehicle data and the user's GPS location are immediately gathered. This information is then sent to OnStar. OnStar Emergency calls are routed to the OnStar Center with highest priority. Three centers exist, located in Michigan, North Carolina and Toronto, and are open 24 hours a day.
History OnStar was originally developed from the work of Blue Octane, an IBM ExtremeBlue internship team. OnStar was first introduced in 1997 at the Chicago Auto Show. Advocacy OnStar advocates tout it as an essential safety tool. GM commercials have compared it to seatbelts and airbags, as the next major technology for safe driving. The benefits, they say, include its ability to aid police in tracking down stolen vehicles; contacting emergency medical services in case of an accident (should the driver request this or be non-responsive); notifying drivers of potentially dangerous mechanical problems; and unlocking doors for drivers (after verifying authorization over the phone) should their keys be misplaced or locked inside their car. Advertising Campaign GM promoted the service with radio commercials demonstrating how it would work. It provided the recording of someone interacting with OnStar in various scenarios that attempted to shows its utility. Scenarios included: someone whose airbag had deployed receiving a "check-in" call from OnStar, someone contacting OnStar to have his car unlocked when the keys were inside, and someone in an accident receiving help through OnStar in contacting emergency services that may presumably have otherwise taken longer to summon. The commercials stated that these were recordings of actual instances of customers using the services, and gave the date on which they occurred. Criticism Critics are wary of the possible privacy implications of using a vehicle equipped with OnStar and other similar devices. They draw a comparison between the capabilities of OnStar and "Big Brother," from George Orwell's ''1984''. They raise questions about whether police or others could make use of OnStar's tracking, whether legally or illegally, for surveillance or stalking. Privacy advocates worry that innocent citizens may be hassled by the authorities due to false alarms. At least one group, OnStar Privacy, has dedicated a website to privacy concerns of the service. Concerns have also been raised about what could be done with the data collected and stored by the vehicles' event data recorders, which are analogous to those on airplanes but not as sophisticated and do not currently function as voice recorders. For example, privacy advocates worry that auto dealers could use data to suggest that the user engaged in reckless driving and therefore violated the terms of the vehicle’s warranty, or insurance companies could use said data as the basis for denying claims. Voice monitoring capability is marketed as OnStar Hands-Free Calling *. The use of this type of capability by law enforcement is subject to legal debate and some technical impediments *. Onstar maintains that it is unable to "listen to, view, or record the content of calls"*. U.S. law (CALEA) requires that telecommunications providers create infrastructure allowing authorities to easily monitor and record telephone calls. OnStar maintains that it is committed to maintaining the privacy of its customers.* Onstar is only aware of the present (and previous) position of the vehicle when its Onstar equipment calls Onstar with data updates (or certain other circumstances). Onstar will release information about a vehicle only for marketing research, to protect the rights, property, of safety of any person, in exigent circumstances, to prevent misuse of their service, when legally required to do so or when subject to a valid court order, or in various other circumstances. Hardware GM is currently deploying OnStar Generation 7 hardware that includes enhanced services and diagnostics. OnStar hardware is currently manufactured by Continental AG, although early models were made by Delphi. See also | ||||||||
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