Smart Driving Laboratory: Urban Public Transport Connection Concept

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• Vehicle-to-Everybody (V2X) 5G in Car Evolution
• What is the Internet of Things (IoT)

2021: Introducing the Connected Car Concept

On October 21, 2021, the Smart Driving Laboratory introduced the concept of "connecting" urban public transport. It can be implemented on the basis of developments that are being tested in the fleet of the administration of the Volkhov district of the Leningrad region. The introduction of Connected Car technologies will increase the comfort and safety of transportation, simplify maintenance and turn each vehicle into a mobile laboratory that monitors the quality of the road surface.

The Laboratory solution involves equipping buses and fixed-route taxis with a telematics module with a set of sensor equipment and connection through a cellular network to a cloud platform. From each vehicle, real-time data on movement, speed, sharp maneuvers and technical condition will be received. The module architecture assumes the ability to implement additional data collection channels through software updates and sensor reinstallation.

The collected information can be used for objective assessment of driver performance, rapid response and analysis in case of an accident, maintenance planning and monitoring of operating conditions. Aggregation and analysis of these data in the long term will create a powerful information base for the management of urban transport infrastructure.

We have extensive experience working with large private customers - automakers, dealers, leasing companies and corporate fleets. With public transport and departmental fleets, the tasks are generally similar, although there is a specific need for a number of additional functions. We are already working on them as part of a pilot project in the Leningrad Region - this is a kind of "prototype," on the basis of which a large-scale implementation of the system will be possible, said Dmitry Snitserev, deputy general director of the Smart Driving Laboratory for Commerce.

As the experience of the Laboratory shows, the very fact of installing control devices disciplines fleet employees. In the first months, there is a marked decrease in the number of disorders, which are then stabilized at a low level. In addition, the number of fines, accidents, downtime, fuel consumption is reduced and unregulated use of vehicles is excluded.

Many companies are developing a driver incentive system based on telematics data. This is due to the fact that smoother and safer driving significantly reduces the wear of tires, brakes and saves fuel. On the scale of large fleets, this greatly optimizes operating costs.

When getting into an accident or breakdown, the dispatcher will instantly receive data on what happened and will be able to preliminary assess the causes and possible consequences. The system works by analogy with the black box of the aircraft, recording data on the technical condition and movement parameters.

One of the specific tasks that "connected" urban transport will be able to solve will be road control. Readings of sensors are analyzed using special algorithms that highlight vibrations characteristic of different defects of the roadway. These data are important not only for road workers - their analysis will, for example, determine the degree of influence of pavement quality on vehicle suspension wear.

Public transport can also be equipped with alcohol locks connected to the telematics module, remotely controlling the sobriety of drivers: before starting the engine, the driver passes the breathalyzer, the result is immediately transmitted to the dispatcher. If the ethanol vapour concentration rate is exceeded, the engine may be blocked.