Tag: Danlaw

2018 Connected Car Buyers Guide
Globarstar Automotive

Globalstar has launched an automotive division to support connectivity solutions for the next generation of connected and autonomous vehicles and intelligent transport. With Globalstar’s two-way global and broadcast-capable network, automakers will be able to comply with the newest safety regulations, deliver over-the-air (OTA) software updates, increase location accuracy, and improve the reliability for autonomous vehicle operation.

Globalstar’s next-generation global, hybrid network service is designed to leverage both satellite and terrestrial technologies to connect cars. The highly scalable broadcast/multi-cast network delivers common content to multiple users with virtually unlimited scalability.

The network has enhanced GNSS accuracy and integrity with protection levels to increase the safety and reliability of autonomous driving systems.

It is an efficient and secure broadcast service for critical security patches and OTA updates to software and firmware in Telematics Control Units (TCUs), Electronics Control Units (ECUs), and Head Units (HUs), as well as map tile and map layer data. It also provides datacasting of traffic, weather, hazards, and other alerts.

Global connectivity provides optimized routing of content and services.
- Telematics. Increased coverage and reliability for ACN/eCall, roadside assistance, vehicle tracking and telemetry. Data can be pulled from vehicles for remote diagnostics, condition-based maintenance, and preventative analytics.
- Managed Security. Secure link for global certifcate and key management, audits and compliance monitoring, that aslo enables service to patch vulnerabilities, and update firewalls and intrusion detection systems (IDS).
www.globalstar.com
phone: 877-452-5782

Cohda Wireless

The vehicle-based system V2X-Locate can identify vehicle position to sub-meter accuracy in environments that degrade GPS accuracy, such as tunnels and underground carparks, and between high-rise buildings.

As well as enhancing current connected vehicles, V2X-Locate delivers a critical component for connected autonomous vehicles (CAV), which will require uninterrupted positioning data to safely navigate on roads. V2X-Locate enables equipped vehicles to identify their location using existing Smart City V2X (vehicle-to-everything) roadside infrastructure from any standards-based manufacturer.

V2X-Locate positions the vehicle with sub-meter accuracy by using existing communications signals produced by V2X Smart City infrastructure deployments. The result is that V2X-Locate can eliminate positioning black spots in city centers.

www.cohdawireless.com

Telenav

The In-Car Advertising Platform enables automotive OEMs to generate revenue by delivering ads to cars in a safe, user-friendly and contextually relevant way. The end-to-end offering for OEM partners is powered by Telenav’s In-Car Ads SDK (software development kit) and cloud-based intelligent targeting platform.

To ensure driver safety, ads only appear when the vehicle is stopped, such as at car startup, traffic lights and upon arrival. The ads automatically disappear whenever the car is in motion or when users interact with other in-dash functions such as music or phone calls.

Relevant ads such as coupons and recommendations are delivered to customers based on information from the vehicle, including frequently traveled routes, destinations and time of the day. For instance, when the vehicle is low on gas, the platform points out nearby stations along the driver’s route, potentially with discount offers.

www.telenav.com

Danlaw

The Through Glass Integrated V2X Antenna is designed for vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications. The design incorporates an integrated GNSS antenna on the interior coupler. The antenna pairs with dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) devices.

The dual-radio, glass-mounted antenna eliminates the risk of damaging the vehicle by using a coupling pair to pass DSRC signals between the vehicle’s interior and exterior, eliminating the need to pass RF cables through the roof or window opening. It antenna can be mounted on the rear, front or side windows using automotive-grade glass adhesive. Flexible installation allows the shortest cable route to the V2X device, reducing signal losses due to cable length.

www.danlawinc.com
May 8, 2018
Azuga expands sales operations for connected fleets

Photo: Azuga

Azuga, a provider of connected vehicle technology, expanded its sales operations to serve more than 100 fleets in 10 countries across Latin America, Europe, India and parts of the Middle East, the company announced in a news release.

“Our next-generation, easy-to-use connected vehicle solutions are now disrupting the fleet telematics market internationally with driver-friendly fleet telematics, dramatically lower costs and country-specific customizations,” says Ananth Rani, co-founder and president of Azuga. “Azuga’s expanded presence was made possible in partnership with Danlaw, a global provider of OBD II hardware with vehicle compatibility that’s unmatched in the industry. Millions of miles of road testing across the globe have given Azuga the platform for this international expansion. ”

[RELATED: Learn more about the company’s inception and its co-founder, from the 2015 CTIA Super Mobility show: Azuga Founder Rani Brings Gamification to Fleet Management]

In six months, Azuga has successfully helped Whirlpool Mexico’s home service technician division improve customer service and increase overall productivity. The company’s easy-to-install technology allowed for a very quick implementation into the fleet’s 100 vehicles, the company says. The fleet has saved Whirlpool 500,000 pesos per year in maintenance, fuel and operational costs.

With its roots in Detroit, the Silicon Valley-based telematics company couples automotive industry experience with leading technology and innovation in order to provide a suite of game-changing fleet solutions, according to the news release. The solution combines traditional GPS fleet tracking with driver visibility, gamification, employer-funded rewards, social sharing and Azuga-funded awards. Those additional social telematics driver-centric features have enabled fleet managers to experience significant and positive shifts in company morale, as well as an increase in overall ROI, the company says.

“We selected Azuga for its painless and quick installation and implementation as well as its geofencing and driver safety features,” said Tim Whittaker director of Leamoco, one of the UK’s leading car part specialists. “We are really excited that we had an option in the UK that allowed us to easily access rich engine and driver behavior data as well as gamification of the driver experience. This ensures we can improve and exceed customer expectations on delivery times, and continue to improve efficiency and safety across the fleet. Having had time to use this system properly, and seeing the positive impact it has had on the business, I can state that it has delivered all that we hoped for. We now wouldn’t be without it.”

Azuga’s connected vehicle solution for fleets is available internationally from select partners and resellers.

May 23, 2016
Azuga Founder Rani Brings Gamification to Fleet Management

Azuga’s Fleet Driver Rewards App Wins CTIA E-Tech Award

Ananth Rani founded Azuga in 2013.

When Ananth Rani began work in 2012 on the Fleet Driver Rewards app that has made connected vehicle provider Azuga a CTIA up-and-comer, he wasn’t sure he was making the right decision.

“Frankly, it was a bit of an experience to see if there was still room in the market for another vendor,” he said recently as he took time to sit-down at a coffee shop in Las Vegas’ Sands Expo Center amid CTIA Super Mobility 2015. “I thought, ‘What the hell am I getting myself into?’”

The gamble paid off for the Azuga and its dedicated co-founder. Azuga’s app took home second place in the Mobile Cloud division at the CTIA E-Tech Awards Thursday. The honors go to what CTIA describes as “the most innovative emerging mobile services, solutions and technology from areas such as the cloud, network equipment, M2M and the Internet of Things.”

What makes Azuga’s app innovative says Rani, is that it appeals to a unique user: The fleet driver.

Not just managers. Not just owners. The drivers themselves.

“Azuga is all about social telematics,” he says. “It comes from the heart. I tell fleet managers, ‘Do you want to be remembered as a gotcha guy or an attaboy?’”

A Silicon Valley veteran, Rani utilized a principal more likely to be seen in apps marketed to consumers: gamification. Fleet drivers earn points based on things like hard-braking, acceleration, sustained high speeds and driving in adverse weather conditions, among other metrics determined by a Ph.D. in statistics that Azuga has on staff.

“The expectation was that a driver will naturally move toward a safer fleet by competing with the rest of the drivers, and that as the risk goes down the miles per gallon goes up,” Rani said, “and that’s your ROI.”

The reward for winning is no simple badge: Drivers’ profiles are pulled from LinkedIn and their rankings are visible among the “Azuga Awesome Drivers” group on the social network. Rani says Azuga is “not J.D. Power” but aspires to have the same reputation for determining safe drivers.

Azuga Fleet Driver Rewards can gift a reward as a donation to groups like World of Children.

There’s also cash on the line. The company gives out quarterly prizes to the Top 10 drivers and Top 10 fleet managers of the 50,000 nationwide users, and the 1,000+ corporate customers can then also choose to award their drivers based on their own goals through an electronic gift card program that is tied to 14 national brands, including Amazon, Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Burger King. The driver sees the amount awarded and then has the choice of gift cards. Azuga has also recently added three charities to which the drivers can pass the reward as a donation.

Safety and savings aside, employee retention is an additional

“This is a blue collar world where the employee takes the truck home at night. Feeling engaged is the key to employee retention in a world where they may never see the boss and where they only see their manager for a meeting every few weeks.”

Azuga’s OBD-II connector is manufactured by parent company Danlaw Inc.

Azuga pairs with hardware manufactured by its parent company, Michigan-based Danlaw Inc. Rani sees the relationship as one that benefits Azuga with the “automotive grade DNA” and calls it “Silicon Valley meets Detroit.”

Azuga Fleet costs 69 cents per day per vehicle, and customers are companies of varying sizes with Aaron’s, the rental furniture and home appliances chain, using it for 3,000 trucks and 6,000 drivers on the large end and single-driver landscape companies at the small end.

Growth plans for the app including functions to help drivers find parking, locate a parked truck and easily message clients that they are on their way. The app is also being reviewed by state governments as a tool to determine whose cars need to be emissions-tested and to track hours required for state graduated driver licensing.

It’s currently being tested by the Oregon Department of Transportation as a way to assign a road usage charge that funds highway repairs. The topic is politically divisive, with opponents saying replacing the gas tax with a per-mile fee is inequitable and subsidizes gas-guzzlers and advocates saying it will lead to safer roads and is an easier, faster alternative to tolls. The din doesn’t concern Rani. He says the intent is the same that inspired the fleet management app.

“It’s all about,” he says, “benefiting drivers.”

September 14, 2015