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Platform Overview
Asset Tracking
Vehicle Telematics
Video Telematics
OEM Integrations
KPI Management
Driver AppsFor far too long, fleet owners and operators were forced to blindly track valuable assets. If you wanted to monitor a vehicle’s current location, you’d be on the phone for hours. If you preferred to track deliveries in real-time, it was simply impossible. Fortunately, that has all changed with the introduction of GPS and telematics technology. Now, the latest video telematics capabilities are transporting fleet tracking into the future.
Once considered a commodity, video telematics are becoming the gold standard of modern fleet tracking. With cutting-edge integrated technology, managers can optimize vehicle routes, monitor driving safety, and stay on the pulse of location data, all in real-time. However, we all know that a tech revolution such as this one didn’t happen overnight.
Rather, video telematics as we know it today has been a process several decades in the making. Take a look at the history of video telematics and learn how its new features not only improve fleet efficiency but also advance fleet owners into the future.
What is Video Telematics?
Simply put, video telematics is a type of technology that gathers a wide array of sensory data from a connected vehicle. A video telematics system combines internal vehicle data, such as vehicle location, speed, and idling time, with video data and computer technology to provide a full picture of everything happening in and around a fleet vehicle.
Video telematics harnesses trusted vehicle analytics to transmit data such as fuel efficiency, engine diagnostics, odometer readings, harsh acceleration, and even brake usage over a cellular network. Then, road-facing, in-cab facing, and driver-facing cameras monitor driver behavior, neighboring vehicles, and the environment in real-time.
This data is typically all visualized on a central software platform that fleet operators can use to efficiently manage their resources. By marrying video equipment with vehicle analytics, video telematics provides a holistic view of driver performance and current road conditions, all while minimizing the risk of accident and theft.
The History of Video Telematics
Though telematics for fleet management has become standard within the shipping industry since 2010, video telematics has not always been so advanced. In fact, the first generation was quite simple. Originally, it consisted of a passive video recording system powered by a connected digital video recorder (DVR).
In the early days of video telematics, a fleet manager had minimal engagement with day-to-day operations. Instead, managers could manually request snippets of video before, during, and after an accident or other incident, primarily to exonerate a driver and accelerate the insurance claim process. However, the sheer amount of video — often Terabytes (TB) of data — meant that the effort that went into finding isolated clips was exhausting.
In the years that followed, video telematics systems became more precise, automatically curating video clips for review based on specific triggers, such as a driver braking harder than a pre-set threshold. Today, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has advanced innovation in the space, leaping from basic dash cams to powerful sensors that not only process video in real-time but also provide Driver Monitoring System (DMS) Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) alerts.
Benefits of Video Telematics Technology for Fleet Management
As telematics technology has advanced, it’s ushered in a new era of machine vision AI for fleet management. New and improved telematics technology now offers a plethora of benefits for fleet owners and operators, as well as the fleet drivers behind the wheel. Where previous iterations of video technology could prove beneficial after an accident, using AI can now prevent an accident before it starts.
For one, real-time driving alerts sent over a telematics network inform fleet managers of dangerous driving behavior, such as rapid acceleration or driver fatigue, the moment it happens. This software then allows for video-led driver coaching and training, to adjust risky driver behavior before an accident occurs.
Secondly, in the event of an accident, fleet managers can instantly receive video evidence. Referred to as the first notification of loss (FNOL) by insurers, this timely evidence can dramatically expedite an insurance claim and even help to keep rising insurance costs down after an accident. Plus, video telematics can help protect fleet managers against false claims made by other drivers on the road.
How Video Telematics Can Keep Fleet Costs Down
While asset and driver safety are key selling points for video telematics software, there are several other cost-effective benefits of telematics technology. Most prominently, fleet managers can harness the real-time data of video telematics to drive down operational costs, including fuel. Consider the additional ways it can help fleets improve costs.
- Monitor and reduce theft and damage, both of the vehicle and fuel. Advanced video telematics systems can be installed above a gas tank to prevent siphoning or inappropriate spending at the gas station.
- Optimize fleet efficiency. Fleet managers can view road and weather conditions in real-time to plan more efficient routes for drivers and waste less fuel and manpower.
- Enhance customer satisfaction with real-time location. By understanding exactly where a vehicle is and how fast it’s traveling, fleet managers can more accurately inform customers or suppliers about arrival times.
- Adhere to necessary maintenance schedules. Video telematics software syncs with vehicle analytics to keep engine diagnostics and odometer readings front of mind for required maintenance updates.
Of course, the monitoring of driver environment and vehicle breakdowns can also minimize the risk of an accident, driving down insurance and repair costs.
