The etymology of telematics, as determined by Automotive Telematics author and academic Dennis Foy, is from the Greek "tele" ('far away', especially in relation to the process of producing or recording) and ~Matos (a derivative of the Greek machinari, or contrivance, usually taken in this context to mean 'of its own accord'). As combined, the term "telematics" describes the process of long-distance transmission of computer-based information. It was first introduced in French by Simon Nora and Alain Minc in L'informatisation de la Société (La Documentation Française, 1978)
Telematics — 1. The convergence of telecommunications and information processing, the term later evolved to refer to automation in automobiles, such as the invention of the emergency warning system for vehicles. GPS navigation, integrated hands-free cell phones, wireless safety communications and automatic driving assistance systems all are covered under the telematics umbrella. 2. The science of Telecommunications and Informatics applied in wireless technologies and computational systems. 802.11p, the IEEE standard in the 802.11 family and also referred to as Wireless Access for the Vehicular Environment (WAVE), is the primary standard that addresses and enhances Intelligent Transportation System. 3. Emad Isaac, CTO of the Morey Corporation defines Telematics as "The potential for collection, aggregation, and storage of pertinent data that can be digested locally, or post-processed remotely." While it is applicable to the vehicle market, this definition suggests a more universally applicable technology as a superset of M2M (Machine to Machine) connectivity, and as part of an "intelligent network of connected things
