Embien has been helping customers across domains by solving their business challenges by leveraging technology effectively. Embien is making a unique mark in the automotive segment as well, by developing products such as two-wheeler automotive clusters, diagnostics units, automotive BLE module integration etc. This case study explores a case where we developed a telematics control unit for two-wheelers to address multiple business challenges. Our design positioned our client at an advantage in the automotive telematics market that is expected to reach over USD 2 billion by 2020.
Our client is an automotive telematics service provider already supporting Tier1’s with their vehicle tracking system capable of collecting location information of two-wheelers. The client wished to expand their telematics services to cover the insurance market as well and tap the growing Usage-based insurance(UBI) model. For this, their existing product has to be enhanced to collect a much larger set of telematics data.
Every driver has his own unique driving style. Hence it is not fair to have the same insurance premium for all drivers by considering only their age, location, and gender. A good driver has fewer chances of accidents compared to a rash driver and hence the premium could be lesser. To achieve their goal of replacing the current method of fixed insurance premium with dynamic premium based on the driver’s driving habit, they decided to implement an extensive vehicle telematics data analytics system. Besides, they wished to add more value to the product by increasing security features such as anti-theft GPS tracker, remote ignition control etc.
Embien proposed a solution based on cutting-edge technologies to closely monitor the driving behaviour of the driver. In modern vehicle telematics device, Controller area network (CAN) is the primary interface to get vehicle data such as engine condition, coolant state, break information etc. Along with CAN based vehicle data, our embedded telematics design included an array of sensors that can provide deep insights to the vehicle handling. With our extensive automotive telematics knowledge and domain experience, a sensor fusion based algorithm detects driving pattern and classifies the driving quality effectively.
While some part of functionality such as fall and collision detections are implemented in the telematics control unit itself, following data are sent instantly sent to the cloud for further processing.
In case of network connectivity issues, the data is logged internally and pushed once connectivity is restored. Using telematics data analytics, the driver driving behavior and pattern classification is done in the cloud back-end.
Our client also wished to address vehicle security issue in their telematics solution by providing vehicle theft alerts, remote tracking and disabling to the vehicle owner and OEM.
Embien implemented a 3-step process to implement the solution without increasing the manufacturing cost.
Since the theft alert is critical, it has to be identified and reported instantly with precise location. To achieve this key performance of tracking the vehicle in real-time, there are few challenges when using the GPRS network. Our expertise in cellular connectivity made tracking vehicle location possible within a 2m radius. We could log the data in the cloud at a 1Hz rate even with a very low-cost MCU based design by incorporating a minimal scheduler and event handler custom developed for this product.
In the cloud, recorded data has been processed using analytics algorithms. Once the theft condition is detected, the user will be alerted via SMS as well as data-based popup notifications. The user is provided with the privilege to kill the engine or raise alarm by activating the horn either by sending an SMS or message over GPRS. Finally, the telematics unit itself is protected by using a tamper detection system.
Our low-cost, feature-rich automotive IoT solution to client vaulted them to pole position in the UBI services market as it helped reduce insurance premium by about 30%. Reach out to us to help your existing, or upcoming product be a winning success!
Embien leverages its deep domain expertise cutting across technology in Automotive and Cellular radio access networks (2G/3G/LTE) to deliver reliable and highly-innovative services comprising of cellular modem integration, middleware customization and Vehicle Data Processing for Automotive industry, which helps automakers stay ahead of the competition and demonstrate leadership in new markets. We have a team with experienced engineers and domain specialists, who fully understand the needs of the automotive market. We are one of the choice for many leading Tier1 companies & semiconductor companies seeking a partner with end-to-end capabilities – from electronics, telematics, infotainment, and cluster.
