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Photo courtesy of iStockphoto.com.<\/em><\/b><\/p>\n Editors Note: This article is part of a four-part package that addresses state-of-the-art fleet technology. Read related articles that offer an in-depth look at fuel<\/a>, safety<\/a>, and on-the-horizon techology<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n Once used exclusively to track the position of vehicles, telematics\/GPS technology now allows fleets to monitor vehicle health, driver behavior, and much more along with its traditional role of positioning and routing.<\/p>\n Today\u2019s state-of-the-art telematics technology has evolved into a powerful tool to aid fleet managers in overseeing their fleets and keeping operations running smoothly and safely.<\/p>\n Today\u2019s state-of-the-art technology takes many shapes, but the experts note that \u201cBig Data,\u201d video, the integration of telematics technology into vehicles from the OEMs, and the increasing expansion of safety technology, among others are going to be the most important state-of-the-art features for 2017.<\/p>\n Bernie Kavanagh, senior vice president of Large Fleet for WEX noted that state-of-the-art technology exists in a tension of being simultaneously of its time and a little ahead of it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s anticipating the needs down the road and developing products and functionality to anticipate and meet those needs now,\u201d he said. \u201cAnybody can look and see what\u2019s happening and try to solve a problem today. But if we can see what has been happening, see what\u2019s happening today, and use the technologies in place to prevent things from happening down the road, I think that\u2019s more state of the art.\u201d<\/p>\n Fundamentally, it\u2019s perhaps not the technology that has become state of the art but how it\u2019s used.<\/p>\n \u201cThe \u2014 mostly hidden \u2014 blackbox, Big Brother approach is dead,\u201d said Torsten Grunzig, director of sales for TomTom Telematics North America. \u201cState-of-the-art telematics technology delivers real-time data and driver support, for instance, providing driver behavior training and traffic avoidance.\u201d<\/p>\n Grunzig of TomTom sees integration and Big Data as the driving forces in today\u2019s telematics.<\/p>\n What makes this development particularly important is that the delivery and integration of data can happen automatically, Grunzig added.<\/p>\n This increased level of integration will have a number of practical benefits for fleets.<\/p>\n \u201cOne example of this integration is real-time fleet optimization using Big Data and cloud computing to help fleets become more efficient and revenue focused as things change throughout the day,\u201d said Rob Donat, founder and CEO of GPS Insight. \u201cIf you have a list of orders and determine that 25% of the remaining work for the day could be reallocated to different drivers based on the number of drivers that have fallen behind and those that are ahead, that will help the business maximize efficiency and therefore profit on a day-to-day basis.\u201d<\/p>\n Pete Allen, executive vice president of sales for MiX Telematics North America, also sees data integration as a key part of today\u2019s state-of-the-art telematics technology.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom my perspective, the most exciting fleet telematics technology coming down the road is the ability to integrate additional safety technologies with traditional telematics. This would include in-cab video monitoring, collision avoidance, and fatigue detection technologies,\u201d he said. \u201cIntegrated in-cab video provides the fleet with a single solution which triggers short video clips based on the same driver behavior alerts from the traditional fleet management telematics solution. Previously, many fleets were purchasing standalone video solutions and installing them next to their fleet management solution requiring them to manage two systems.\u201d<\/p>\n Surprisingly, video may be one of the biggest developments in transforming traditional telematics into its next iteration: video telematics. But simply adding a camera to the mix isn\u2019t creating this new form of telematics cautioned Kara Kerker, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Lytx.<\/p>\n \u201cVideo telematics integrates data from both the telematics sensors and the video, analyzes the integrated data, and delivers effective insights that can be used in coaching drivers. It\u2019s a powerful and precise solution for safety,\u201d she said. \u201cIn today\u2019s world, telematics technologies cannot be considered state of the art without video and the integration of the video-related data. It\u2019s simply not possible to optimize your business and measurably lower claims costs with data alone. When you need to know exactly what happened and why, video adds truth and certainty to data. Video telematics is the most valuable way to understand the truth about fleet operations; it provides increased visibility into what\u2019s happening on the road and inside the cab, including further insight into fuel efficiency, fleet tracking, risky driving behaviors, why they\u2019re happening, and more.\u201d<\/p>\n Allen of MiX continued that video is only one part of the transformative changes that are giving birth to the next generation of state-of-the-art telematics technology. Safety technology is also playing its part in the telematics equation.<\/p>\n \u201cLike standalone video solutions, collision avoidance systems have been around for a while. Fleets are now asking for these systems to be integrated into their fleet management system,\u201d he observed.<\/p>\n For 2017, state-of-the-art telematics technology will likely be ubiquitous since a number of the OEMs will be equipping their vehicles with telematics technology at the factory.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe 2017 has the potential to be one of the first years where there is wider adoption of telematics connectivity via OEM-installed technology,\u201d said Todd Ewing, Director of Product Management, Fleetmatics. \u201cMany vehicles produced over the last two to four years have been embedded with the technology, and the partnerships between OEMs and telematics software providers are really starting to bear fruit for customers.\u201d<\/p>\n Building on this observation, Kelly Frey, vice president of product marketing for Telogis, added that the built-in 4G modem or Wi-Fi hotspot is another transformative state-of-the-art technology that will be increasingly available.<\/p>\n \u201cSo that\u2019s opening up a lot of opportunities, not only for the consumer of the vehicle, the driver, or the technician that\u2019s in the vehicle,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it\u2019s also opening up an opportunity to include Wi-Fi-enabled sensors. So you could consider those to be IoT sensors; things like a door sensor, a cargo sensor, an onboard weigh-scale system, camera, and vision system. Increasingly, we\u2019re seeing this push towards a 4G Wi-Fi hotspot in the vehicle that\u2019s allowing for this increased connectivity of peripheral devices and technology solutions around the vehicle.\u201d<\/p>\n As much as data integration and safety systems are crucial in keeping telematics state of the art, perhaps even more important for commercial fleets is that telematics continues to help fleets serve the bottom line by decreasing costs and increasing business efficiency, according to Scott Sutarik, business development, OEM sales manager for Geotab.<\/p>\n \u201cThrough gathering and analyzing vehicle diagnostic data, fleet managers have full insight into the health of the vehicles within their fleet,\u201d he said. \u201cWith this information, fleet managers can directly contribute to the overall profitability of their business by optimizing their fleet operating budget with proactive scheduling of preventive maintenance. This avoids costly repairs and improves driver safety, taking your fleet from a \u2018cost to the business\u2019 to a \u2018profit driver.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Donat of GPS Insight sees route optimization as a means to impact the bottom line directly.<\/p>\n \u201cAny fleet willing to take the time and effort to integrate their work order management system with a telematics provider that offers real-time route optimization in order to provide optimized plans for the day, as well as re-optimized plans, and adapt the daily schedules of their drivers will be more efficient and see a big savings spanning across many metrics to include customer satisfaction since they will be taking care of their customers on a more timely basis. This applies to most fleets in the service industry,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Invariably, the subject matter experts looked over the next horizon to discuss what state-of-the-art telematics technology may look like in the future, particularly with the advent of autonomous technology. According to the experts, telematics will definitely have a part to play in the age of the autonomous vehicle.<\/p>\n \u201cAutonomous driving and emerging connected car technologies have dominated headlines for what to look for in 2017,\u201d said Greg Hill, senior director of product management for CalAmp.<\/p>\n For Hill, it\u2019s aftermarket technology that will continue to impact and evolve the telematics market in relation to connected car technologies, which will impact a number of segments of the market beyond traditional fleet users, particularly the growing insurance telematics market.<\/p>\n \u201cDealers benefit as new aftermarket connected car applications are developed to improve inventory management and improve productivity on the lot as they can be notified of low battery, tire pressure or other vehicle diagnostic information,\u201d he said. \u201cFor the consumer, these applications are tightly integrating their vehicles with their connected life and provide an array of safety features. Finally, for insurers, fleet telematics enhancements in 2017 include the ability to automate first notice of loss and first notice of injury through applications like instant crash notification as well as the ability to automatically generate damage and bodily injury estimates to streamline the claims process and increase policyholder retention rates.\u201d<\/p>\n Kerker of Lytx made the case that telematics makes as much sense for the autonomous vehicles of the future as the driven vehicles of today, and offered a vision of what this future might look like.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe AVs on the roads will increase the need for \u2014 and value of \u2014 telematics data, especially as humans are asked to go from active drivers to \u2018pilots\u2019 called on to make quick decisions,\u201d she said. \u201cLooking ahead to the transition period of AV adoption, our video telematics platforms can take in as much relevant information from as many sources as possible, analyze that data and use the insights to improve driver performance to be relevant to the technology environment in which they operate.\u201d<\/p>\n Frey of Telogis believes the next five years or so will see the continued integration of vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure connectivity, aided by telematics.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think in five years, we\u2019ll see a lot autonomous vehicles on the road. But all of the infrastructure needed for autonomous vehicles will start to be there; meaning things like advance routing and navigation, advanced collision avoidance, lane departure capability, so ADAS is speeding the autonomous vehicle revolution,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat we absolutely will see, within five years, is the vehicle-to-vehicle connectivity,\u201d he said. \u201cSo vehicle-to-vehicle infrastructure will be there and also vehicle-to-infrastructure. Within five years, if I\u2019m coming up to an intersection and there\u2019s nobody else at that intersection, there\u2019s no reason that my vehicle won\u2019t be able to communicate to that stoplight. And that stoplight will give the green, so I can go through and then someone else will be coming the other way and it\u2019ll go back red, because it knows there\u2019s no other vehicle and that vehicle will go through.\u201d<\/p>\n This \u201csmart\u201d infrastructure will affect all aspects of the cityscape, including neighborhood lighting that will be activated when a vehicle or pedestrian passes by.<\/p>\n \u201cSo you\u2019ll see that vehicle-to-infrastructure, I think, be a big area of improvement because it satisfies the needs of society at large,\u201d said Frey.<\/p>\n Sutarik of Geotab sees the future of telematics as both pivotal in the connected future, but also continuing to serve the bottom line in a safer environment.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe that the telematics device will be a conduit to a variety of mobile apps, software add-ins and hardware add-ons that build a safer, personalized connected-car experience for fleets and their drivers,\u201d he said. \u201cAdditionally, telematics solutions will offer invaluable data that businesses can use to benchmark against industry standards to further improve processes and their bottom line, while aiding the betterment of roads and society for all. We\u2019ll understand more about traffic congestion patterns, potential road hazards, and real-time weather information, and relay that back to cities, building a safer transportation system for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n But the future may already be here in a sense. Ewing of Fleetmatics noted that the telematics technology that will be available within the next five years will be individualized to the user experience, a demand already put on much of the technology we use in our daily lives.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the next five years will bring more focus on design and user experience, to ensure the customer has the solutions they need to solve problems where and when they need them \u2014 but not features they don\u2019t ever use,\u201d he said. \u201cSolutions will also eventually become more predictive of trends in a fleet or driver workforce, rather than just relaying historical data. This will involve research, machine learning and business intelligence tools that are coming online as we speak across the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n Donat of GPS Insight sees mobile apps as a big part of the future of telematics.<\/p>\n \u201cFleet management will continue to become more decentralized, which means that mobile apps will become more and more critical for fleet management, ultimately being the primary tool,\u201d predicted Donat.<\/p>\n Chris Wolski is the former managing editor of\u00a0Automotive Fleet<\/em>, Fleet Financials<\/em>, and Green Fleet<\/em>. He has a particular interest in telematics, fleet safety, remarketing, and global fleet management.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n Source: Fleet Financials<\/a><\/p>\nState-of-the-Art Fleet Technology: Telematics<\/h3>\n
State-of-the-Art Technology<\/h4>\n
Integrating Data<\/h4>\n
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\u201cThis year will be the year of integration and Big Data usage to improve overall fleet performance,\u201d he predicted. \u201cThe time of standalone solutions is gone. Fleet management will serve as a data source not only to help improve driver performance and vehicle utilization, but also to facilitate the delivery of data for insurance savings, ERP, and CRM systems.\u201d<\/p>\nAdding Video<\/h4>\n
Coming as Standard Equipment<\/h4>\n
Impacting the Bottom Line<\/h4>\n
Becoming Autonomous<\/h4>\n
\nWhile Frey doesn\u2019t foresee autonomous vehicles on the highways anytime soon, he does see another element of the high-tech mobility future sooner rather than later.<\/p>\nThe Future is Now<\/h4>\n
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