Video telematics offer the next step

Telematics, like many other areas in the transport and logistics industry, is grappling with the emergence of AI and how it can best utilise it.

It is a segment that stands to benefit highly from its implementation, dealing primarily with data and the insights it can draw from those figures. AI can help to package that data uniformly and deliver it in an easy-to-understand way for transport operators and fleet managers, saving time and valuable resources on what can otherwise be a tedious part of the job.

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How that AI is used alongside more specific solutions like video telematics is something which is still being explored and developed by experts in the area.

AVP of Heavy Transport for Geotab ANZ Andrew Hintz oversees the telematics solution provider’s operations within the heavy transport sector, and has seen first-hand how these issues have arisen.

He arrives at Geotab from a background in the oil and gas industry, spending nearly six years in the UAE before returning to Australia at Teletrac Navman in his previous role.

Comparing where the transport sector is currently in regards to safety using technology, Andrew says that other industries which employ telematics are more advanced.

“I’ve seen that from a telematics aspect in the oil and gas sector, it’s leading from a safety aspect,” he explains.

“When I say leading, that’s sometimes up to five to six years ahead of other sectors, especially mining. Then typically there’s a flow on down to things like a transport sector and other areas lagging behind.

“They’re well advanced in using technology to help them and their business. Getting that data off the vehicles, understanding what that means, how they’ve been driven and ultimately taking that data and using it to help coach their drivers.

“There’s data showing at risk behaviours and so forth.”

As the technology continues to advance, customers continue to expect more from what they can do with their telematics.

Video telematics have gone beyond simple solutions like dash cams or rear facing cameras – we are now seeing the technology used for monitoring fatigue, drivers and keeping records of on road incidents when they happen.

This can be vital for fleet operators to not only track their drivers, but also how they drive under various conditions in order to improve their operations and efficiency.

Andrew says he has noticed these trends in video technology to help align with truck safety systems over the past six months.

“If you think of video telematics type of technology, we’re seeing customers now which are hungry for better information,” he says.

“They’re looking, for the next year, at video imagery to back data points which have a lot more meaning when you can see what triggered it by requesting imagery.

“You can get a full view of what’s going on onboard the vehicle through real time video capture, which certainly adds more value. It can help to respond to incidents faster and coach drivers better.

“They can help operators to achieve efficiencies within their fleet using technology that can provide safer following distances behind other vehicles.

“That flows through to a smoother operation of the vehicle which then flows onto to visible fuel savings.

“From customer sessions, we hear things like ‘I’m a transport operator and I want only forward facing camera imagery’. Using AI technology through systems like ADAS you’re looking at warnings if pedestrian walk out in front of you, following distances, lane departures, things like that.

“Not everyone has drivers who are comfortable with a driver facing camera.”

Some driver facing cameras can now use AI to detect fatigue or distraction by monitoring driver’s eyes and head movements to judge if they focused on the road, and warn them if they aren’t.

Others can see if the driver is properly wearing their seatbelt. All these things can then be converted into data and alerted to transport operators to review their driver performance.

“Some organisations are seeing significant push back in those areas,” Andrew says.

“Other operators want camera systems that are four channel systems, it has to be forward facing, driver facing and I need side load facing or a camera mounted off each mirror facing down the side of the load on the side of the truck. Trailers then become a problem there too.

“There’s also a big question around using imagery to help solve incidents right to the point of insurance claims.”

The other important side of advancing telematics on the video side is through how you can integrate it with the other areas of your transport safety operations.

For Geotab, this is done through its MyGeotab platform, which can link to the telematics within the vehicle to give the clearest picture of all of the data available in one place.

“Integration is probably the keyword there,” Andrew says.

“Something which we’ve heard again and again when you combine that video imagery with the traditional telematics events in the MyGeotab platform, it gives that richer data set which can help to both improve the driver safety and ultimately offer a better customer experience.

“What we hear again and again is we want to work in one software platform and we want a single pane of glass view.

“If you can give us the telemetry data and if you can give us the video imagery, that’s going to help us better manage our fleet and make those informed decisions.”