Month: December 2015

What will the next services provide in the short and long-term?

Insurance telematics has already vastly redefined the automotive industry and business analysts agree that telematics is set to continue this trend, forecasting that the adoption of connectivity and telematics services and products will sky rocket by 2020. 

However, these projections are based on current technological know-how. The real turning point will be represented by the introduction of new products and services that are not even conceivable in terms of today’s technology and knowledge. And this point is not necessarily that far off into the future.

Futurologists, who refer to this turning point as the singularity, as the moment in time when artificial intelligence and other technologies will lead to innovation on a scale never seen before in human history, forecast that it will take place somewhere between 2030 and 2045.

Until then, however, let’s look at forecasts grounded in a more mundane, albeit interesting panorama of technological innovation and disruption. What are the trends that will characterize telematics in 2016 and beyond?

Faster and Greater Data Transmission

As we approach a scenario characterized by connected cars, multiple radio access technologies will come into play. Although, LTE connectivity (also known as 4G) is expected to grow the fastest, the increasing demand for real-time information transmission and exchange, as well as on-board infotainment services, will seek to fully exploit all existing technologies, including older 2G and 3G standards.

More Efficient Exploitation of Data

Big data collected by telematics systems will be mined and used for far more than the mere tracking and tracing of vehicles, or to understand how to get from one point to another. Telematics data can also be precious to other software systems, such as enterprise “just on time” mechanisms, thereby serving as a tool to optimize a wider range of business processes. 

Moreover, companies are going to seek to share both raw and processed data across a variety of software platforms. Indeed, allowing systems to share information across platforms will make the same data fare more powerful and valuable.

Increased Use of Video

While Octo Telematics has already introduced video recording features to its services with Octo Rider 2V, we will soon see a greater acquisition of video information to capture exactly what the driver was doing – or not – at the time of an accident or other driving event. Improved transmission rates and compression algorithms will allow constant video feeds that will be useful both to determine who caused an accident, was well as to help companies point drivers towards safer driver styles. 

Towards the Future

Each year, telematics services grow more powerful and automated. Every year, we move closer to the reality of self-driving cars. While 2016 will certainly not mark the commercialization of self-driving cars, further tests will be conducted on roads around the world to perfect a wide range of telematics systems. 

What will continue to evolve – and grow more popular – in the short-term are semi-autonomous features such as hazard lights which flash automatically under hard braking (or when a vehicle is following too closely at higher speeds), external air bags (for pedestrians), rain-sensing automatic wipers, lane-wander driver alerts, lane-wander auto-correction, automatic emergency proximity breaking (already reducing rear-end collisions), automatic road sign identification and similar technological features. 

For further information:

• Octo Telematics – What We Do
• Five Cutting Edge Telematics Trends

What factors are driving us towards a world of connected cars?

The increase in the adoption of telematics systems is on the rise worldwide, driven by convenience, greater safety and a vast range of attractive added value services. At present these services are either integrated through smartphones and tablets or embedded directly into cars. However, in the long run, embedded systems are expected to clinch the market. In the European Union, for example, all new cars sold as of October 1, 2017 will have to be mandatorily equipped with the e-Call emergency alert system.

Gartner Research has predicted that by 2020, in four years’ time, there will be one quarter billion connected vehicles on the road and that during the next five years, the proportion of new interconnected vehicles will increase dramatically, making connected cars one of the major nodes in the evolving Internet of Things.

McKinsey&Company estimates that the global market value for connectivity devices and services will rise from the current €30 billion to €170 billion by 2020. As a matter of fact, the report also indicates that 13% of buyers are no longer willing to purchase a new vehicle without Internet access and over 25% already prioritize connectivity over features such as engine power and fuel efficiency.

And while connected cars may still be viewed by many as a luxury feature, James F. Hines, Gartner Research Director, points out that “The connected car is already a reality, and in-vehicle wireless connectivity is rapidly expanding from luxury models and premium brands, to high-volume midmarket models.”

Added value services and driving analytics will be the key revenue sources for the connected car environment. Indeed, Infonetics Research predicts that this revenue stream will reach a value of $16.9 billion worldwide. “The connected car services market is growing at a 25% compound annual growth rate (2013–2018), nearly 21 times the growth rate expected for traditional mobile voice and data services during the same time period.”

Finally, a key factor in the evolving connected car environment will have to be played by a new mind-set: drivers who truly comprehend the advantages at hand and agree to release and share telematics information. As Business Insider reports, there will 220 million connected cars on the road by 2020, but only 88 million drivers will have activated connected services. Indeed, a car that connects to the Internet is not the same as a car connected to the Internet of Things.

For further information:

• The Promise of Insurance Telematics
• Are Drivers Ready for Connected Cars?
• Octo Telematics: What We Do

Octo participates in the IBM Exchange on big data and digital intelligence

Eighty per cent of the world’s data is currently unstructured and effectively invisible to computers. Imagine the possibilities for your business if you could not only peer into that 80% but make sense of it too. What if you could turn it into knowledge to enable you to foresee the future – and then change that future?
“Leading 
in the Era of Cognitive Business” Report, IBM

The present is about collecting, analysing and understanding data; the future is about instant pattern recognition. Indeed, Umberto Callegari, Global Head of Digital Octo Telematics, emphasised how “It only takes 1.5 seconds of advance warning to prevent cataclysmic collisions” at the IBM CIO Leadership Exchange (Paris, November 5-6, 2015).

Octo was invited to the IBM event as a trailblazer in the collection and mining of big data. In fact, as a global leader in insurance telematics services, Octo has collected telematics data for over 13 years, analysing over 191 billion data points and developing a 61-terabyte database. Octo currently connects ca. 4 million drivers around the world.

Octo has also recently presented a new app – Octo U – that integrates big data collection with the “forensic analysis” of driver behaviour. This new service, developed in partnership with IBM and The Weather Company, allows drivers to understand their driving habits and encourages safer driving. Moreover, as Umberto Callegari points out, “checking driving data will eventually become a daily habit.”

Notwithstanding the growing amount of data that is collected and our steady journey towards a sensor-laden networked world, IBM reports that ca. 90% of the information generated by the Internet of Things is never collected or analysed, and 60% of it loses value within seconds, but it will not be long at all before an increasing amount of data becomes instantly available.

Indeed, enterprises will soon be able to gather and analyse data from a variety of locations in real-time to truly garner a pattern recognition capability that will save lives, time and money, whilst increasing both safety and comfort. It is what IBM Chairman, President and CEO Ginni Rometty describes as “journey to become a cognitive bank, to become a cognitive retailer, to build a cognitive supply chain.” And as a global pioneer and leader in insurance telematics, Octo is ready to unleash the full potential of the “Era of Cognitive Business.”

For further information:

• Report: Leading in the Era of Cognitive Business, IBM
• Octo Telematics – What We Do

Insurance telematics devices tend to increase driver awareness

According to a recent report by the Insurance Research Council, an independent US-based non-profit research organization, telematics insurance devices appear to be successfully changing driver habits.The IRC Auto Insurance Telematics – Consumer Attitudes and Opinions Report, which reviewed 1135 drivers during the month of June 2015, reveals that 56% of the drivers participating in the survey reported that they had changed their driving style after installing a telematics device on their vehicle. In particular, 36% reported having made small changes to how they drive, while 18% acknowledged that they had made significant changes and only 38% declared that they had made no changes at all to their driving habits.

Moreover, of the 82% of respondents who declared that they received information on their driving behaviour from their insurance company, 81% said they reviewed the information and 88% found the information helpful.Elizabeth Sprinkel, IRC Senior VP, declared that the findings “suggest that having telematics devices installed in vehicles can play a beneficial role in promoting safe driving and reducing the frequency of auto accidents and their associated costs … While we can’t say with certainty that the changes drivers make are always for the better, or whether beneficial changes that are made become permanent, we can confidently say that the introduction and use of telematics technology is a move in the right direction.”Indeed, telematics insurance is not just about reducing the cost of insurance policies and providing emergency services.

It increases road safety by pro-actively alerting drivers to imminent dangers or unsafe driving (speeding, hard braking, etc.) and it also is an invaluable educational tool that can be used to show users how to improve their driving styles and habits.During the course of 2015, Octo Telematics introduced two new products that, amongst other advantages, also increase driver awareness on driving styles and habits.Octo U, which is a free app available for both iPhone and Android smartphones, automatically collects, analyses and stores telematics data on driving behaviour. It serves as an invaluable learning tool to show drivers how to improve driving, alert them to recurrent dangers (speeding, hard braking, etc.), how to improve petrol consumption and improve road safety in general.Rider 2V, another recently presented Octo product, which allows motorcyclists and scooter riders to automatically record data and video on their journeys, not only provides them with clear and unequivocal evidence in case of accidents, but also allows them to view the filmed video and review their driving style.

For further information: 

• Octo Telematics Launches “Octo Rider 2V”
•  Octo Presents “Octo U” App
• Octo – What We Do