The Benefits
Audesse Fleet Vehicle Optimizer (FVO)
Smart Anti-Idling
Anti-Idling is when the FVO automatically shuts down and restarts the vehicles’ engine when conditions are optimal. Equipment manufacturers typically recommend limiting idling to 30 seconds for class 1 to 4 vehicles and 5 minutes for class 5 and above [1]. This means that OEM recommendations are typically not being followed by operators.
How It Works
The FVO connects to the driver controls and works in parallel with the driver to automatically shut down and restart the vehicle when necessary. Many safety and convenience conditions are continuously monitored to ensure the system is seamless.
[1] https://doi.org/10.2172/1257900
Eliminate up to 3 hours of idling per day per vehicle.
Many public transit agencies have idle policies that attempt to limit idling to less than 10 minutes. This is difficult to manually manage due to vehicle complexities, logistical challenges, and a highly stop-and-go use case.
The FVO automatically and seamlessly shuts down and restarts the engine when it is most optimal to do so. We ensure the vehicle is always ready to drive away. On the some vehicles this process is so fast the driver can simply shift into gear to auto-restart the engine.
The FVO can reduce unnecessary idling between 50-95%, dependant primarily on ambient conditions. For vehicles that operate for many hours at a time this can eliminate between 3-5 hours of idling per day per vehicle.
Extend engine life by up to 20%.
Idling causes significant wear and can degrade engine life due to engine over cooling causing cylinder wall, piston ring, injector, and valve wear.
Reducing engine run time will reduce common idling wear items like cylinder wall wear. Cummins studies suggest that engine life can be extended by up to 20% through reducing wear caused by high idle vehicles.
Increase the interval between oil changes up to 10%.
Idling degrades oil life when the engine is running. With the smart anti-idle system functioning, the oil life is improved.
Reducing engine run time will maintain a higher quality of oil for the vehicle, reducing engine wear. This translates to a vehicle that will remain more reliable for longer.
Less maintenance on the aftertreatment system.
Idling causes significant stress to the aftertreatment systems of modern diesel vehicles.
- Idling creates inefficient combustion, increasing the soot in the aftertreatment system. More soot load means more regenerations are necessary, using even more fuel.
- In typical drive cycles the vehicles don’t get hot enough for on road regeneration, meaning mechanics must do manual regenerations more often.
- The stress on the aftertreatment decreases the life of the aftertreatment system.
After treatment systems will require less maintenance and replacement.
Fleet Optimization & Telematics
The FVO is connected to 5G networks, delivering a number of over-the-air real-time benefits.
Fleet staff can be notified of issues by email or SMS instantly. When required, work orders can be automatically generated.
Extend intervals between common maintenance by over 100%
Timing on oil changes, fuel filter replacements, and coolant changes for heavy duty diesel vehicles is a multifactor process, resulting in many agencies doing maintenance on a fixed time basis that is guaranteed to meet OEM requirements.
Audesse tracks engine hours, mileage, time, and OEM heath metrics to determine exactly when an oil change is necessary according to the OEM recommendations. The next service date can be extrapolated weeks in advance and automatically scheduled.
Extend common maintenance procedures by over 100% by intelligently and dynamically scheduling maintenance based on real OEM recommendations.
Replace batteries before they cause problems
Electric system issues can cause equipment downtime, on road failures, and sometimes be difficult to diagnose.
Audesse constantly monitors electrical system performance to identify poorly performing batteries, alternators, and starters. We can identify
- A weakening or near dead battery, measuring depth of discharge and state of charge
- A weakening or near dead alternator
By actively monitoring electrical system health, issues can be flagged before they cause unexpected downtime or on road breakdown.
Get real-time and historical vehicle location
Not knowing where vehicles are can cause delays in efficient use of fleet vehicles.
Using GPS, both real-time and historical vehicle location can be accessed by dispatchers and fleet staff at any time.
Poorly performing EGRs can cause engine damage as well as increase the amount of emissions coming from an engine due to poor performance.
The FVO monitors engine gas temperatures, idling stability, instantaneous fuel consumption, and diagnostic lights/trouble codes to diagnosed stuck or clogged EGR valves.
Identify poorly performing vehicles requiring a tune up, track fuel usage on a per vehicle basis and watch for fuel theft.
Not tracking fuel consumption is missing an opportunity to identify poorly performing vehicles and watch for fuel theft.
By tracking fuel tank levels and instantaneous fuel usage, engine efficiency issues and unusual fuel levels can be quickly detected and used to inform relevant staff.
Increase fuel economy by up to 3%
Underinflated tires can cause unnecessary wear, poor vehicle traction, and fuel economy losses.
Audesse can determine when tire pressures are low without the need for additional sensors through indirect tire pressure monitoring. This works by looking at individual wheel speeds and sensor fusion to know when a wheel is underinflated.
Notify relevant staff when a tire requires inflation rather than relying on preventative maintenance. Ensuring tires are properly inflated can improve fuel economy by up to 3%.
The FVO monitors coolant system health and can alert fleet staff if there is ever a critical failure in the cooling system that will overheat and damage the engine. It does this though the continuous monitoring of engine and coolant temperature to verify the coolant system is working correctly.
The FVO can also watch the coolant line pressure for spikes in the pressure to predict coolant line failures before they happen and cause unnecessary downtime.
Measure soot levels and get notified when aftertreatment systems require maintenance.
Modern aftertreatment systems can require constant maintenance and cause decreased engine performance.
- Idling creates inefficient combustion, increasing the soot in the aftertreatment system.
- More soot load means more regenerations are necessary.
- More soot also demands more maintenance from mechanical staff.
Direct measurement of soot and ash levels mean that the severity of the aftertreatment maintenance scenario can be closely monitored.
When necessary, fleet staff can be notified about performing aftertreatment maintenance without relying on preventative maintenance.
Get notified of J1939 or OBD II diagnostic trouble codes (DTC) instantly. Remotely diagnose and clear tell-tales.
Tell-tale lights, such as the check engine light, can indicate both minor and major vehicle problems. While hooking up a diagnostic tool in the depot is a fairly simple matter, it relies on driver reporting. Furthermore, delays between tell-tale arrival and mechanic evaluation can cause significant damage if managed incorrectly.
The FVO reads tell-tales as they come up, quickly informing relevant staff of the code, description, and cause. Mechanics can choose to clear the code or call the vehicle in for maintenance if required.
Instant notification and action on DTCs allows mechanics to quickly diagnose issues, clear non-critical problems for later maintenance, or halt on road vehicles from further damage.
Monitor historical vehicle trends with ease.
Repeatedly problematic vehicle issues can be difficult to diagnose. These issues can be easier to solve when a complete history of the vehicle is easily accessible.
Quickly lookup vehicle issue history to help diagnose problems. Use the same system to look into previous faults.
Custom analysis as needed.
Have telematics needs not addressed here? We have full access to the OBD II and J1939 diagnostic data, which often includes data from sensors throughout the vehicle. The FVO can be updated to monitor or calculate almost any parameter you are interested in. Simply request a custom feature and we will get the information for you!
Legislation & Compliance
The FVO can serve as a significant legislation de-risk and compliance adherence device.
Show that GHG reduction targets are being met.
Fleets are responsible for a large amount of greenhouse gas emissions every year. It can be challenging to breakdown of emissions by vehicle or vehicle type for environmental compliance purposes.
We can directly track GHG emissions and break that number down by vehicle type and environmental conditions. Further, we can tell you if particular vehicles are emitting higher than usual amounts of emissions.
The data can be used to show that GHG reduction targets are being met as we move to a net-zero future.
Get on demand timestamped incident logs.
Accidents are expensive. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration estimates the cost to be larger than $60 billion [1].
To assist with incident reporting after an accident, a high resolution log containing the following information can be accessed for the timeframe surrounding the accident.
- Vehicle Speed & Engine RPM
- Accelerator & Brake Position
- Forward and lateral acceleration
If desired, a timestamped log can be sent to the relevant internal staff for analysis to assist with their own internal investigation.
[1] https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/docs/safety/data-and-statistics/81121/2017-pocket-guide-large-truck-and-bus-statistics-final-508c-0001.pdfReduce risk, lower cost, and better plan for the transition to electric vehicles with an optimized fleet and infrastructure
Transitioning to a fully electric fleet can be difficult. There are still a number of questions around capital cost, charge time, infrastructure needs, range, battery lifetime, and cold weather performance.
We can analyze existing fleet operation, using real-world data to simulate various electric vehicles and charging infrastructure.
Reduce risk, lower cost, and better plan for the transition to electric vehicles with an optimized fleet and infrastructure. Get a fleet operation proposal for defined routes, requirements around charging/supply infrastructure, and CO2 benefits analysis.
**Note: This feature is delivered through one of Audesse’s industrial partnerships. Please contact us for details.
Monitor the road health of your infrastructure.
The FVO can be used to create a road health map for the streets that the vehicle traverses during its regular operation. Infrastructure issues like potholes can be automatically identified and flagged for future repair by utilizing the onboard accelerometer and GPS location tracking on the FVO.
Lower your insurance premiums.
Benefit from lower vehicle insurance rates by implementing safety features that will lower premiums.
Take advantage of an onboard blackbox that will record time stamped, high-resolution vehicle speed, engine speed, throttle position, brake pedal position, and acceleration for post accident analysis.
Verify safe driver behaviour by ensuring that the driver is wearing their seatbelt and that there are no harsh acceleration, braking, or turning manoeuvres.
Optionally include a camera to record the road or driver images and watch for drowsiness.
Custom analysis as needed.
Have automotive questions not addressed here that you need answered for compliance reasons? The FVO can be updated to monitor or calculate almost any parameter you are interested in. Simply request a custom analysis and we will get the information for you!
Integrations
Don’t clog up your vehicle with modules. We can integrate all features into a single platform. Have a preferred 3rd party solution that you want to work in parallel with the FVO? We can simply integrate with almost any other platform.
Listed below are features that can be included upon requested or build into FVO.
Digitize and enforce your vehicle inspections.
Use the FVO as a mobile hotspot and connect a phone or tablet over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to allow for pre and post post vehicle inspections that are automatically digitized and uploaded.
If desired, inspections can be enforced by locking the vehicle in park until the inspection is completed.
Leverage big data to predict vehicle issues.
Enhance vehicle health by leveraging robust and anonymized databases to predict failures and issues before they happen. Take advantage of the onboard compute on the FVO and compare long term vehicle operation parameters to known markers of degrading vehicle health.
Want to use your own cellular provider?
The FVO connect to the internet using a standard, global micro-SIM and modem and connects to our own managed servers. If you have a preferred carrier or want to host the system yourself, the FVO can be reconfigured.
FAQ
We were founded by a team of driven automotive engineers seeking to make transportation more green and cost-effective with technology. Our products are data driven, results oriented, and pragmatic.
Heavy Duty
We support diesel/CNG heavy duty vehicles like trucks, buses, and tractors that use the J1939 protocol.
Passenger
We support diesel and gasoline cars, trucks, and small buses.
The FVO works with all known 3rd party onboard systems.
It is a non-invasive after-market device. We use a non-permanent installation so your vehicle can be set back to OEM operation quickly if desired.
Return On Investment
We are data driven, results oriented, and highly pragmatic when it comes to delivering value for fleets. We aim to deliver a typical ROI of less than 6 months and will continue to deliver for the rest of the vehicles’ lifetime.
The Cummins idle-shutdown system does not account for intermittent idle requirements and only has the ability to shut the vehicle down, not fully control the engine.
Our system takes idle requirements into account and will actively manage the engine to maintain electrical and cabin temperature requirements.
We make safety critical control and telematics easy though the installation of our electronic control unit (ECU) into each vehicle. Our ECU is connected to the OBD II or J1939 port and other equipment throughout the vehicle to intelligently control the vehicle.
Yes! Our system ensures that your vehicles actively comply with policies set out by OEMs, such as Cummins. As a result your vehicles will run better and last longer.
All Audesse products are built for automotive application requirements.
Our team has over 40 years of automotive industrial experience and we build the latest ISO and SAE transportation standards into our products.
