Telematics is a concept originating from France in the late seventies, originally designating the technology aspect of communication networks and networked services. The name “telematics” is made up of “tele” (from telecommunications) and “matics” (from “informatics”). The fact that telematics represented the intersection of telecommunication and informatics/computer science gave rise to the name. The concept telematics is well known and widely used in Europe, but is still relatively unknown in the US. In Japan, telematics is mostly used as a broad concept covering the use of information and communication technology in cars.