Delphi Fights Terror

A truck filled with hazardous waste could be inviting to terrorists. So Delphi Corp. introduces its Truck Productivity Computer, a new product that uses a Global Positioning System receiver and allows a fleet administrator to make sure a truck stays on its intended route.

If a truck has been highjacked and taken off course, the fleet administrator can immobilize the truck by remotely shutting it off. A PC card inside allows the computer to receive e-mail, interface with the vehicle's electrical system and gather diagnostic data.

Delphi was in Washington, D.C., recently to market the technology at the Homeland Security Technology Expo.

Every day, trucks are used for 500,000 shipments of hazardous chemicals and petroleum in the U.S., says Robert Schumacher, Delphi Delco's director of Mobile Multimedia.

“The next huge terrorist threat will come through ground transportation,” Schumacher predicts. He says Delphi has gained valuable experience supplying telematics modules for General Motors Corp.'s OnStar unit.