Making and modifying travel arrangements from our mobile devices
will soon become effortless. Travelers will be able to check
destination weather conditions, map and plan places to visit,
locate the nearest restaurant and even reserve a table, and arrange
flights and last minute hotel reservations.
There are many benefits the transportation industry will gain
from mobile automation, including improved customer satisfaction
due to greater efficiencies with existing business processes. For
example, printed delivery schedules, shipping manifests, customer
receipts, and other labor-intensive, paper-based distribution
systems can be replaced with automated, real-time wireless
technology. Drivers can be scheduled in real-time for maximum
efficiency. Quality can be improved and assured through tracking
worker performance and through accurate recording of delivery to
customers.
Alaska Airlines wanted to be the first airline
in North America to empower its customers with wireless check-in -
from anywhere - even en route to the airport. The company employed
Sun servers and the Solaris Operating Environment to create a
mobile customer service solution that is convenient, easy to use,
and allows the flexibility of device choice.
DaimlerChrysler enlisted the help of Sun's
Global Sales Organization, Sun Engineering and Sun Labs team to
consult in the design of the software architecture for a wireless,
in-vehicle computing system. The resulting solution not only
increased productivity for both the driver and passengers, but also
demonstrated the viability of Java technology and the Linux
platform for this wireless technology.
