EUROPEAN Telecom and Racal have joined forces to launch a new all-in-one vehicle tracking, navigation and information service. The Orchid system, which uses the Vodafone network, combines mobile telephony, vehicle positioning, navigation, vehicle security, on-line information services and emergency assistance in a single product.

Services include a bureau run by the AA providing round the clock monitoring and information, vehicle tracking, route planning and traffic updates, roadside assistance and emergency service call-outs, local information such as details of hotels and petrol stations, and fleet management packages with mapping and reporting facilities. In future the voice-based system will offer added services such as security vehicle tracking, remote vehicle diagnostics and remote lock/unlock capabilities.