What is meant by the term vehicle telematics, where did it originate, and how does it work? Join us as we answer these and other questions about telematics and the essential management tool it has become for many small and large fleet operations.
Three decades ago, South Africa was faced with the challenge of increasing vehicle theft and other vehicle-related crimes such as hijacking. Factory-fitted car security systems were quite rudimentary, and this created a gap for after-market technology and service providers to step in to provide solutions that will enable the tracking and recovery of stolen vehicles. Most of the early systems were based on simple radio frequency (RF) technology that requires national proprietary RF networks and did not make use of the cellular networks. These basic devices were predominantly dormant and only activated once a vehicle was reported stolen. Recovery then took place using direction finding antennas deployed by ground or air recovery teams. Although the technology was quite crude, it was effective and was actively embraced by the insurance industry through premium discounts or mandated fitments to high-risk vehicles.
One could hardly refer to these early systems as Vehicle Telematics as it served a simple, singular but important purpose… the recovery of stolen vehicles. The game changer occurred when the cellular networks started to roll out ubiquitous mobile data networks (GSM). Almost at the same time, we saw global positioning satellite (GPS) technology becoming more accessible and affordable in consumer devices. This combination of GSM and GPS technologies, coupled with the introduction of various other sensors such as accelerometers to measure harsh events and detect potential crashes, has opened the door for some really useful vehicle telematics services. These services are rendered to the various stakeholders involved in the ownership and operations of vehicles, including not only the end-user, but also the insurance companies, banks, and more recently even the automotive manufacturers or OEMs.
Vehicle telematics technology is already quite entrenched in all the segments in the SA vehicle market, largely driven by the safety and security benefits of the technology. For years, large fleet operators have been deriving the commercial benefits of these systems such as route planning, fuel management, driver management and managing the efficient use of the fleet. Today, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are fast adopting such technology for easy fleet visibility, increased efficiencies and cost savings.
A telematics device is a highly intelligent computer consisting of a GPS tracking unit and various other on-board sensors that work together to monitor and report on the overall status and activities of the vehicle, including speed, idling time, fuel usage and more.
The purpose of a vehicle telematics system is to measure various parameters relating to the operation of a vehicle and then to transmit this data to a backend for analysis or use in application such as fleet management systems.
The new buzzword in the industry is ‘Internet of Things or IoT’ and this term usually applies to systems that allow ‘machines’ to communicate with other ‘machines’ or humans. Although the term IoT only recently came about, Vehicle Telematics can be considered as the early forerunner of this.
Looking at the various components required, we see that a typical Vehicle Telematic System can be divided into three groups:
VBUs come in many forms. In essence, they all comprise of a GPS module for positioning, a data modem, and sensors & sensor inputs such as accelerometers to measure harsh events and ignition inputs to detect start and end of trips.
More advanced VBU, especially those used in larger fleets may include a multitude of additional sensors such as:
For an effective telematic system, a reliable and pervasive real-time data network is an essential requirement. In South Africa, the most commonly used data networks are:
The most advanced systems also measure vehicle data directly from vehicle systems such as the Engine Control Units (ECUs) and other vehicle sensors such as throttle controllers.
Although strictly not a VBU or black box, some basic telematic applications have been developed for Smart Phones. In these cases, the sensors in the Smart Phone is used to determine harsh events as well as the GPS in the phone for positioning. Smart Phone telematics have limited applications in any serious telematics application and currently limited to the use by insurance companies to do risk assessment on car insurance policy holders.
A typical vehicle telematics backend consists of the following:
As explained above, a GPS unit is simply one part of a telematics system. While the GPS unit is responsible for tracking the location of the vehicle using satellite technology, the telematics devices will transmit that location data to the cloud in real time, together with various other sensor details.
One of the major considerations during an installation of a telematics device is to ensure that it does not invalidate the vehicle warranty or interfere with any of the vehicle systems. In the early generation of devices, this was a problem as it was required to cut and splice into the vehicle harnesses, especially to find the ignition wire.
The good news is that most modern devices are ‘two-wire’ installations that only require access to a permanently ‘on’ supply from the vehicle battery, and most car manufacturers provide such access for aftermarket accessories. The telematics system then monitors the car battery voltage and some systems have intelligence to then ‘self-learn’ the alternator behaviour within the first few trips following the initial installation. Based on this ‘learned’ behaviour, the telematics device can then sense whether the engine is running or not and even sense if you left your lights on while the vehicle is parked.
For more advanced installation where vehicle bus data such as CAN data is required, the manufacturers of large trucks provide an FMS (Fleet Management System) interface where such vehicle CAN bus data can be safely harvested. Similarly, such data on smaller vehicles and passenger cars can be obtained by plugging into the OBD II (On-board diagnostics) port of the vehicle. Usually a ‘Y-harness’ is added if the OBD port is used so that repair centres can still plug in their diagnostic machines without having to unplug the telematics device.
For Stolen Vehicle Recovery services to be effective, it is also important that the device must be installed in an obscure position in the vehicle to ensure that the thieves cannot disable it easily.
It depends on the level of functionality required. Small or Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) that simply want a GPS tracking solution with basic fleet management functionality, can get it at an affordable price.
For larger fleets that require a fully integrated fleet management solution with route planning, advanced driver management, dashcams and more – the upfront costs can be expensive, but it also provides a much bigger return on investment.
In this tough economic climate with record-high fuel prices coupled with our stretched economy, consumers are continuously looking at ways to reduce vehicle operating costs. Fuel, insurance and repairs & maintenance are probably the three most significant cost drivers in owning a vehicle.
Many motor car manufacturers are now fitting vehicle telematics to all their vehicles. Amongst the many other benefits described above, the data from these systems are also used to assist the vehicle owner to schedule preventative maintenance that will save expensive repairs in the long run. An exciting new development that is still in its infancy, but is already in use in specialised cases, is the concept of ‘on condition’ maintenance schedules. In other words, your service intervals are not fixed, but based on the way you are using your vehicle as measured by the vehicle telematics system. This saves the owners that drive their vehicles responsibly significant amounts of money by preventing unnecessary maintenance.
There is probably no single silver bullet that will keep all the rising vehicle operating costs fully in check. As a relatively affordable investment, having your car or light delivery van fitted with a telematics system and making sure you put it to good use, should and will yield a healthy return on your investment. Apart from the savings benefits, you will also get all the other useful features that such systems provide such as peace of mind for your fleet or better customer services for your small business fleet.
One of the areas of rapid growth in vehicle telematics is in the field of video analytics. Dashcams have been around for a while and has largely remained a novelty and not seriously considered as a fleet management tool. With the rapid advances in technology, especially edge-based Artificial Intelligence (AI), we are seeing more and more use of AI-driven video analytics that can monitor the drivers in real time for fatigue or distractions such as cell phone usage. It currently has an increasing adoption rate in larger commercial fleets, but we do believe that over time more SMEs and private drivers will also start adopting this technology or variations thereof to manage their drivers, or in the case of private vehicle owners to manage their own safety and that of their loved ones. It is a known fact that driver fatigue or distraction are large contributors to accidents.
Electric vehicles, or EVs, are also becoming a rapid reality worldwide. We are often jokingly asked if this will be the case for SA too, given our current power generation challenges. It is interesting to note that several large fleet operators have done studies and have determined that they can erect their own solar-based charging infrastructure along their frequently used routes and that the fuel saving payback can be achieved within a few years. Private vehicle owners in SA may have to wait a bit longer, but there’s no doubt that EVs are going to play a significant role in the future… even in SA! From a telematics perspective, the requirements remain similar, as theft and hijacking will also apply to these vehicles. In fact, all the benefits and value of telematics to the other stakeholders we described earlier will still be relevant.
And just as a last word on the future of telematics technology… We all know that technology giants are investing huge amounts into the development of autonomously driven vehicles. Very advanced, accurate and reliable vehicle telematics will be required as an essential component of such systems. Not only will these vehicles have the need to have reliable data communication with central control systems, it will also be required that vehicle-to-vehicle data links will have to be in place. Such inter-vehicle communication will enable automated accident-avoidance systems to be deployed… and perhaps this is where we should start?
Vehicle telematics has evolved into a technology that creates as symbiotic value proposition for all the stakeholders in the vehicle ownership and fleet management value chain. The telematics penetration in SA is already showing acceptance of the usefulness of this technology. We predict that it will probably go exponentially higher, especially with the increasing momentum from the car manufacturers to pre-fit such technology. This will provide many opportunities for all to continue to innovate on the services that we can provide to our respective customers, thereby creating the means to manage fleets more efficiently whilst also creating a safer and more affordable driving experience for all.