Published on 12/02/2016 | Use Cases
This is my first article in the series that I am planning to write. The aim is to focus on Use Cases and Application points of Internet of Things in niche areas, particularly to highlight the advantage and disadvantage of possessing things that share enormous data over the internet. Being working on Connected Devices and IoT, it has come to my notice that the world is aware of this term, but many lack education regarding its application points and benefits.
Just the way, computers have now become a part of life. Be it any profession, lawyers, teachers, bankers, marketing, entrepreneur etc. Computers have penetrated our life. Similar is the scenario with cellphones and now in the coming decade or more, IoT or connected devices will be possessed by everyone, and it is necessary to be educated about what you live with.
This article will be focused on correlation of Telematics and IoT, which is being used in many countries and is a part of connected cars solution.
Once upon a time, you could define “the internet” as something you used to send email - it kept your computer busy and your phone line tied up. But as phone lines gave way to cable, wireless, 3G, 4G, and whatever’s next, it’s time to think about the internet using a sort of Murphy’s Law of connectivity: whatever can be connected to it, will be.
Welcome to the Internet of Things — and as a fleet operator, you’re going to start hearing from your trucks more often. They’ll be checking in to tell you where they are, how fast they’re going, whether they’re low on fuel, need air in the tires, or are just passing through particularly cold or hot weather. Thanks to the emerging field of fleet telematics, managers and drivers get feedback that allows them to change their practices for the better: improve route planning, change resting points for better driver alertness, even suss out the most fuel-efficient speed for specific loads on specific road surfaces.
Imagine predictive maintenance schedules, with trucks rolling into shops where the mechanics have known what work would be needed before the engine was even purchased — based on usage data mined from the rest of your fleet and updated as the truck in question moved through its service life.
If it all sounds like science fiction (and perhaps a great way to save money), it’s a bit of both; adoption hurdles remain, not the least of which is building (and supporting) the infrastructure that will allow an exponentially-growing number of machines to talk to each other.
But improved knowledge about your assets will make your fleet work better. That’s the promise of widespread telematics, a future where collecting and analyzing fleet data is more than just a competitive edge — it’s practically compulsory.
Telematics insurance is car insurance where a telematics box is fitted to your car. The telematics box (also commonly known as a black box) then measures various aspects of how, when and where you drive.
When you buy a particular car insurance, a black box is fitted in the asset. Information is collected from this clever little telematics box . The SIM card inside the telematics box means it works rather like your mobile phone - it sends the company the information and they analyse that telematics data to find out how safely you drive.
This data is taken with the help of a number of sensors fitted along with the box, and data can be pulled using On Board Diagnostics. This OBD system, can provide a real time tracking of the parameters of your car. This is the same system that is used of alerting the driver about any preventive and predictive maintenance issues as well as breakdowns during or before a journey. This is like a real time safety system that helps the driver as well as the mechanics for pin-point diagnostics.
All this information that is collected is directly accessible over cloud, and can be used to monitor your driving quality.
Usually a telematics box contains
- SIM Card
- Motion or G Force Sensors
- Wireless communication (being introduced recently like bluetooth and wifi)
- And a computer software hosting algorithms, data and to perform number crunching.
Some telematic devices are being equipped with cameras for live streaming
The data from a telematics box tells us:
- the time of day or night you drive
- the speed you drive at on different sorts of roads
- if you brake or accelerate sharply
- if you take breaks on long journeys
- your motorway miles
- your total mileage
- the total number of journeys you make.
Where is this data used?
- Help in case of accident
- Access driver safety
- Remote monitoring of your assets (for fleet owners)
- Access risk insurance
- Monitor health of vehicle and driver
- Have better review of the accident
Telematics falls in another category of application of Internet of Things and can also be considered in the domain of Connected Cars.
There are many companies working on Telematic solutions across the globe. And there are predictions stating that by the year 2025 almost 85% of the global cars will be uploading data using telematics. Apart from insurers, police, government and fleet owners, this information can also help people track their loved one, track data of stolen cars and the future can allow immobilisation using remote access to stop a theft car.
Along with growth of telematic devices, there is a necessity to work on the security of the data being uploaded on the internet as well as storage. Telematic systems should be made tamper proof, and continuous security updated need to be provided to ensure the interest of the customer. In all this idealistic conditions, telematics can help towards benefit of automobile and associated industries.
This article was originally posted on LinkedIn.
