The increased use of artificial intelligence (AI) is proving to be somewhat of a crystal ball for companies in the telematics space, which are now able to turn millions of data messages into predictive analytics.
Speaking to ITWeb about the sector’s increasing use of this technology, Altron Netstar CTO Charl Harding says the industry has come a long way from when it just offered people a “dot on the map” view of their vehicle.
Harding says telematics is now increasingly about being “predictive in terms of what might happen”. This, he explains, could take the form of cameras in the cabin of a long-distance truck, which can alert the fleet manager to unusual behaviour, such as red or yellow line driving.
Rising demand for connected vehicles, AI-driven real-time analytics, fleet efficiency, predictive maintenance and use-based insurance will grow the global telematics sector to $234.96 billion by 2029, at a 16% CAGR, according to The Business Research Company.
Data deluge
Harding notes that telematics solutions generate a vast amount of data; around 9 000 tracking messages a second from across the company’s client base. “If you just look at how much data that is over an hour or even a year, it is billions and billions of messages that we process.”
As a result, the sector needs to ensure it generates the right insights from this information to make the right decisions, says Harding.
This volume of data is set to increase as vehicles become increasingly sophisticated. Harding hints at several projects with original equipment manufacturers to further expand industry-wide solutions, the exact details of which he can’t divulge because the information is confidential.
Industryresearch.biz notes that almost two-thirds of new vehicles now include built-in telematics systems, while more than 65% of global telematics solutions use real-time analytics.
“I think it is common knowledge that most owners of high-end cars know that, when you buy a BMW or a VW or a Ford, you get an application running on your phone where you can see where your car is.”
Harding notes that drivers can see where their cars are, unlock them, and then start them, which is becoming increasingly easy to do from smartphone apps. “These vehicles already transmit a lot of data that is then transmitted to the cloud.”
The company’s role is to then process that data, not just to recover vehicles, but also provide other services such as picking up when an airbag deploys. When this is transmitted by the vehicle, this event will trigger the control room to deploy an ambulance.
“It becomes this whole new ecosystem of how to process data; it is tons and tons of data, that comes from a vehicle and provides services to keep everybody safe.”
There are boundaries
Harding notes that, a bit further along the development pipeline, is convergence of services and data, such as driver behaviour and the use of services. This, he explains, is an area in which telematics is behind the curve.
For example, Harding says, information would be available to indicate when last a set of tyres was replaced and how long they typically last, such as 30 000km. Through using data, a push notification can be sent to the contact person offering to schedule an appointment.
“Basically, where the industry is going is around processing a lot of data and adding services. It’s about integrating all of these things over time. The data just becomes the enabler.”
This, however, does have to be done within the boundaries of the relevant law, says Harding.
As yet, he notes, barring aspects such as the clear use of the Protection of Personal Information Act, there is a lack of regulatory clarity, especially if someone were to geotag an item without the recipient’s knowledge, which “is intruding on somebody’s personal information”.
A research paper published on MDPI notes that “the pace of legislative progress on autonomous driving data security lags behind the advancement of technology”. It also points out that there is a “lack of internationally accepted standards for data classification and categorisation within the autonomous vehicle industry”.
“Because the technology is moving so quickly, it is very difficult for regulators to keep up with the pace. I think that becomes a problem, because you’re actually relying on value systems of people, rather than the regulator protecting you,” says Harding.
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