Sensata INSIGHTS
Connecting the IoT Dots for Smarter Fleet Management

IoT devices play a pivotal role in helping companies optimize their fleet operations. Telematics data can predict when vehicle maintenance might be required, enabling proactive intervention that helps fleets avoid unplanned downtime. Video telematics cameras equipped with artificial intelligence can help prevent accidents by alerting drivers to risky situations such as an impending forward collision. Battery-operated and solar-powered devices can track the location of non-powered assets such as pallets and shipping containers. And much more.

Yet, the flood of data generated by today’s growing ecosystem of IoT devices is typically siloed, making it difficult for fleet managers to merge disparate data streams and convert the results into actionable information. Sensata INSIGHTS addresses that challenge by providing a modular end-to-end IoT solutions portfolio that spans the entire supply chain from telematics and logistics to asset management and control, cargo and trailer management, and worksite monitoring.

A division of Sensata Technologies (NYSE: ST), a global technology company with a 100-year legacy of engineering innovative industrial sensing solutions, Sensata INSIGHTS combines Sensata’s deep sensing application heritage with proprietary hardware and software platforms from three companies acquired specifically to collect, aggregate and interpret the massive amount of IoT data available to fleet operators and their service providers: Xirgo Technologies (IoT asset tracking), SmartWitness (video telematics), and Elastic M2M (data analytics and machine learning).

By routing sensor data from all company IoT devices used by a given customer to its communications gateway for post-processing, Sensata INSIGHTS goes beyond simply providing raw data and instead gives channel partners and their fleet customers the ability to see what that data means.

“We don’t just send data on tire pressure, for example. We let operators know how that tire pressure is impacting their fuel consumption so they can see the bigger picture,” says Matt Volinsky, general manager of Sensata INSIGHTS.

“We also manufacture the sensors where the data actually comes from, and we have nearly 20 million vehicle telematics, cameras, gateways, and other devices in the field,” says Volinsky.

“I am not aware of a single competitor that has all the tools that we have in order to provide our customers with the most in-depth insights and data.”

Other advantages include one-stop sourcing for an exceptionally broad suite of best-in-class products that simplifies acquisition and implementation processes, consolidated reporting from a single interface that saves time and adds clarity by eliminating the need to piece together information from multiple sources, and advanced solutions designed to meet specific customer needs.

In one case, a large logistics company expressed a need to be sure that its trailers are fully loaded before shipping in order to maximize revenues. The Sensata INSIGHTS team developed a volumetrics solution utilizing a stereo vision camera equipped with artificial intelligence. Once a trailer door is closed, the system accurately estimates the unused cargo capacity and informs the fleet manager, who then has the opportunity to generate incremental revenue by filling that space with other cargo owners’ goods.

We don’t just provide raw IoT data to fleet operators and the Telematics Service Providers who work with them. We help them see what that data means, and that makes a big difference in their ability to optimize their business

In addition, images captured by the camera can provide visual evidence of events that may have (or have not) damaged the cargo in transport, helping exonerate drivers of liability in situations where they are not at fault.

With these and other capabilities, Sensata INSIGHTS is enabling faster, smarter fleet management that can help reduce operating expenses, improve fleet utilization, mitigate risk, and lower liability and insurance costs.

For customers ranging from small local services fleets and large transportation/logistics companies to those that need to manage equipment in fields such as construction, rail yards, airports, and mining, these are vital benefits that can have a direct impact on the bottom line.