Picture: Verizon Connect
There is no better time to be in the world of artificial intelligence, especially within the mobility industry. AI is poised to restructure the fundamentals of safety and technology throughout the world and as time goes on, we are seeing more intelligent technology shape how we handle data and manage fleets.
We had the pleasure of catching up with Verizon connect about their new AI dash cam technology. The company are guiding a connected world on the go by automating, optimising and revolutionising the way people, vehicles and things move through the world.
Q: How does your new AI Dashcam benefit fleets?
A: Verizon Connect’s AI Dashcam can help to provide peace of mind to fleet managers by giving them a greater range of insight into dangerous events and in-cab coaching to alert drivers in real time of high-risk driving behaviors, while helping to keep drivers safe. The new AI Dashcam includes advanced features that are designed to boost safety and provide greater insight for fleet managers. The new technology provides a significant step to help Verizon Connect customers future-proof their fleets.
Using fleet management technology and in-cab dashcams, managers have access to near-real time data on driver behavior, and near real-time alerts when harsh driving events like hard braking, hard cornering or rapid acceleration take place. Visual clarity for distracted driving and harsh driving events benefits businesses not only to manage drivers, but tailor their coaching to reward and encourage.
Dashcam footage can also be used to help defend drivers’ behavior and mitigate risk. Proof of no wrongdoing can help to lower insurance costs.
Q: How does the AI technology work?
A: The new Verizon Connect Dashcam utilizes advanced AI to enable real-time detection of potentially dangerous driving events and boost driver safety. Verizon Connect’s AI Dashcam uses Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) to help monitor tailgating, pedestrians and cyclists, while the Driver-Monitoring System (DMS) detects distracted driving, phone usage, fatigue and more. Verizon Connect AI Dashcam comes in a single and dual-camera model hardware with multiple features including:
Verizon Connect’s AI Dashcam provides audible alerts to drivers when it detects unsafe driving, including signs of tiredness, distraction and phone usage and then tells drivers to take corrective action. This audible alert does not come from the fleet manager themselves, but rather from the AI dashcam technology. Cloud-based AI distills data into useful insights and video footage is automatically analyzed for severity and tagged with context so that managers know what is important and actionable to improve driver safety.Video footage for incidents is automatically uploaded to the platform so that it can be reviewed by the appropriate people and managers. In the case of a driver recklessly driving, the manager can use the footage to coach and discuss safety habits.
Q: As you have developed such technology, does Verizon Connect see further potential in technology in something other than driver safety?
A: Verizon Connect’s technology helps businesses prioritize driver safety, efficiency and productivity through the management of its vehicles, people and work.
We recently partnered with premier fleet electrification analytics firm Sawatch Labs. SawatchLabs helps fleets with more than 10 vehicles plan their EV strategies. Sawatch integrates vehicle data from Reveal to perform a range of EV analytics, including feasibility and infrastructure planning. Based on duty-cycle analytics that clearly identify how an EV can meet your drivers’ needs and provide customizable suggestions to help ensure that customers have the right size fleet to make accurate procurement and assignment decisions.
Reveal, another solution offered by Verizon Connect, utilizes GPS technology to help fleet managers manage their fleet vehicles, people, and jobs in a variety of ways beyond just locating equipment. Reveal tracks odometer readings, fuel usage, idle time, driver behavior and more, delivering rich analytics key information to help manage a fleet of vehicles and assets.
Fleet managers can also use Verizon Connect for compliance services. Verizon Connect offers integrated all-in-one ELD solution where fleet managers and dispatchers can access daily and weekly hours logged, time remaining, hours of service (HOS) status, violation alerts and Driver Vehicle Inspection Reports (DVIR). Verizon Connect helps make compliance less of a burden for commercial drivers with fleet management system integration and 24/7 mobile app support.
Lastly, Verizon Connect Reveal allows fleet managers to set up geofences. By setting up virtual boundaries on the Reveal platform fleet managers can see when their assets or vehicles enter or leave a certain geographical region, helping them keep time traveling between jobs to a minimum and ensure the safety and security of their vehicles.
Q: How impactful do you believe AI technology to be within the transport industry? Should other companies be implementing similar technologies?
A: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a hugely impactful technology in the transport industry given its ability to help keep drivers safe. With AI, business owners and fleet managers have insight into driver behavior, driver safety, location data and more in a near real time capacity.
Verizon Connect serves customers in a multitude of industries including landscaping, HVAC, supply chain, automotive and more. A recent Verizon Connect release showed that customers have seen significant improvements through cost reductions, a focus on driver safety and reduction of vehicle idling. Customers experienced significant reductions including up to 87% in harsh driving events, up to 86% in speeding and up to 81% in engine/vehicle idling. We expect these improvements to continue for customers. It would be beneficial for any company, inside or outside of transport, to implement these technologies to see benefits in cost reduction, driver safety, vehicle idling, workforce management and more.
Q: What else can we expect to see from Verizon Connect in the next 12-18 months?
A: Verizon Connect dashcam sales year over year have increased by almost a third, demonstrating that business owners and fleet managers are continuing to prioritize investments in technology to improve driver safety. The solutions will evolve, as they always have, to meet the needs of our customers.
If you had to choose one, what was the single most influential factor driving development in the world of connectivity within the mobility industry?
Fleet managers have a number of responsibilities – their company’s vehicles, the services or goods they provide, but above all, their top priority is getting their team of drivers home safely after their shift concludes. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), driver assistance technologies hold the potential to reduce traffic crashes and save thousands of lives each year. Safety is the single most influential factor driving development in the world of connectivity within the mobility industry and that’s why Verizon Connect launched the AI Dashcam to provide fleet managers with a greater range of insight into dangerous events and in-cab coaching to alert drivers in real time of high risk driving behaviors.
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