Technology has significantly spread the wings across sectors and Auto Industry is one of such industries which has embraced technology for best customer experience. The transformation of the Auto industry is surprizing as we have witnessed the amalgamation of many innovative and interesting features in vehicles that are taking overall experience to a very new level. With the use of technology, the market players are redefining the industry growth. In this context, Rajeev Ranjan, Editor, Digital Terminal recently talked to Dr. Rishi Bhatnagar, President, Aeris Communications. He shared very important insights about the industry. Read below the excerpts:
Rajeev: How Technology is Transforming the Auto Industry? What is major challenge for this market in India?
Dr. Rishi: The automotive industry is transitioning from manufacturers to mobility service providers because of the quick breakthroughs in technologies like autonomous driving, cloud computing, machine learning, blockchain, and networking. The industry is moving quickly towards a new future, propelled by technological advancements, shifting consumer behaviour, and global pandemic upheavals. Technological advancements have opened various opportunities for the automobile industry to attract customers with the rising number of electric vehicles on the roads, virtual showrooms, lucrative financing options and several other advanced features.
Due to the change in the customer behaviour pattern, automotive industry operators are integrating technology into all operational aspects from product design, production, sales and marketing, and post-marketing services. It is now imperative for them to develop new business models to adapt to the shifting market conditions while, on the one hand, digitalizing their core business operations to remain competitive.
Rajeev: What is the key reason for adoption of EV among Indian customers, especially in last two years?
Dr. Rishi: The resurgence of electric vehicles on the market is a result of multiple factors like the improved battery infrastructure and government regulations to uphold standards for vehicle efficiency and air quality. Also, consumers have become more conscious about the planet and with increasingly good options being available in the EV automobile sector, they are also willing to spend on alternatives to fossil fuels in the mobility space. Key trends witnessed are:
Rajeev: How might efficiency and safety be increased by Internet-connected functions?
Dr. Rishi: Infrastructure and vehicles are the core of the real-time information ecosystem on modern superhighways. With the advent of the connected vehicle (CV) paradigm, cars have improved their inventiveness through communication with other nearby vehicles, networked infrastructure, and the environment. In a matter of seconds, connected vehicles are constantly sending and receiving data from servers and are linked not only to the internet but also to other moving vehicles. The CV system uses information from peer-to-peer exchanges and short-range communication broadcasts to "sense" what other vehicles and pedestrians are doing and find potential threats.
Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) communications link moving objects to their immediate surroundings and help with traffic control by warning drivers of impending road conditions. This not only helps to prevent accidents but also makes it easier to choose the most efficient path to the destination. To increase their overall profitability, drivers can now receive training to hone their driving abilities as well as real-time tips and comparisons with other drivers.
Another crucial area where the Internet of Things is a game changer is in the ability to track every movement of the vehicle ensuring safety and security measures for the passengers, goods and even the driver. Real-time vehicle tracking with position information, remote immobilization to prevent theft, geo-fencing to track vehicle movement, and other methods can help keep vehicles secure from abuse and theft.
Rajeev: The Internet of Vehicles (IoV) and what it means for the electric vehicle industry's future.
Dr. Rishi: According to experts, there will be 41 billion linked gadgets worldwide by 2027. The Internet of Vehicles is made up of smart automobiles, which make up a sizable share of the IoT market, as well as other intelligent transportation systems including smart lights and sensors. The IoV market is expected to be valued $208,107 million by 2024, according to Allied Market Research. Smart cities and updated transportation systems will increase the accessibility of smart vehicles. This modernization will be driven by IoV, enabling completely autonomous vehicles to exist much sooner than previously thought. Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, which includes vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P), vehicle-to-network (V2N), vehicle-to-grid (V2G), and vehicle-to-cloud (V2C) communication, enables interaction between vehicles and all vehicle-related entities.
Climate change has compelled both individuals and government to adopt green technologies that make use of clean and sustainable energy sources. This is driving a sizable part of the IoVs to be electric vehicles. Since EVs need a strong charging infrastructure, they can put added strain on power grids, so cities in India need to carefully budget and plan for this. Additionally, in order to ensure effective charge scheduling in a dynamic environment, the municipal administration would need to implement IoV systems to make sure that there is a continuous and comprehensive interchange of information between EVs and the charging stations about energy availability, demand, and cost.
Rajeev: Can you explain to our readers how the EV revolution in India is being fuelled by Aeris' IoT solutions?
Dr. Rishi: In the automotive sector, demand for smart and environmentally friendly mobility is growing at an accelerated rate. The future of a carbon-free world is electric vehicles. Large investments are being made in the production of e-Rickshaws, scooters, vehicles, transit buses, trucks of all sizes, and even big-rig tractor-trailers that are entirely or primarily driven by electricity by both established and new OEMs. Electric vehicles require telemetry solutions that can also track battery usage and general health, even if the fundamental GPS tracking capabilities are the same in both electric and fossil fuel vehicles. Real-time vehicle tracking as well as information on battery usage and health are supplied for electric vehicles by Aeris AerTrak and Battery Management Solution.
Our solutions are cost-effective and aid with managing the battery life cycle, tracking, and tracing vehicles and batteries remotely, and even providing a map view of batteries with charging, temperature, and other battery-related status on a dashboard. Information obtained from this data analysis can be used to lengthen battery life. Additionally, it enables the monitoring of crucial variables like the voltage, current, and temperature, warns on battery discharge to prevent battery failure, and even can sends notifications on battery removal to alert for potential theft.
We are also invested in the development of appropriately scaled connected technologies and battery management systems for EVs in order to assist our country in realising the promise of Net Zero 2070 and clean and green 2030. We are continuously striving to improve the Indian EV ecosystem. Even though we still have a long way to go, our ongoing efforts have allowed us to log 120 million miles of environmentally friendly driving and save 9100 metric tonnes of CO2. This is equivalent to about 6 lakh trees. With cutting edge IoT solutions and services that are Made in India and used globally in the mobility, energy, BFSI, manufacturing, healthcare, and agriculture sectors, our firm is committed to making India a carbon-free, clean, and green nation.
