[Example of application development for telematics] TOYOTA’s management system ‘Fleet Telematics Service’ for fleet companies, which utilizes the know-how of Yazaki, has started in Thailand!

THAI YAZAKI NETWORK SERVICE provides telematics and tachographs (operation management devices) cultivated in Japan, and IoT-based management systems in Thailand. Among the connected services launched for new vehicles Hilux Revo, Fortuner of TOYOTA released in June 2020, we will introduce an example of the application development of optional service, Fleet Telematics Service (hereinafter FTS), provided for fleet companies.

▲Accessible from WEB browsers such as PCs and smartphones
TOYOTA "Fleet Telematics Services" login screen

FTS is a system that contributes business performance from effective time management, cost reduction (better fuel efficiency ＆ decreasing of accident), cargo and service quality improvement by installing a management system linked to GPS on a vehicle behavior and location information, and exchanging information with servers on the cloud.

So far, Yazaki has developed operation management equipment called iQsan. This is an operation management equipment that integrates telematics that communicates in real time with a digital tachograph function that records information such as speed, driving time and distance when a vehicle is being driven. Our achievements and know-how were evaluated, and have been granted an opportunity to be involved in the FTS development of TOYOTA .

▲Dash Board : One screen for the vehicle status/driving evaluation (safety/eco)

▲Driving evaluation : Evaluation by driver/vehicle

▲Mobile version FTS screen : The status and history of the vehicle can be easily checked on a smartphone

The difficulty of putting together a large-scale project. What are the thoughts behind FTS development?

This new model vehicle Hilux Revo equipped with FTS is a stylish 4WD model that is popular in the Thai pickup truck market. It is said that about one third of the sales of pickup trucks are used as commercial vehicles in Thailand.

▲ From TOYOTA MOTOR Thailand's website (as of September 2020)

Since 2016, the Thai government (Land Transport Bureau) has mandated that some commercial vehicles (trucks/buses) should be equipped with GPS, which has a communication function, in response to a significant increase in the number of fatalities in traffic accidents.

Since then, the environment surrounding Thailand's transportation industry has continued to change, and now we are looking forward to the vehicle operation management system to improve the safety, energy saving, and efficiency of drivers using the Internet of Things (IoT) for vehicles that are not subject to laws and regulations. The FTS allows the user to instantly grasp the status of the vehicle remotely, and can check and analyze various data such as driving distance, driving condition, and presence of dangerous driving on the PC monitor.

The use of this data will lead to improving the driving skills of each driver in Thailand and raise awareness about safe driving. It is also expected that people will become aware of fuel economy and drive more eco-friendly.

We have been participating in the development of FTS since the summer of 2019. The project involved the professional staff of various companies from Thailand and from Japan, who were divided into parts such as systems, servers, and applications, so at the beginning we had a hard time trying to communicate with everyone. If within the same company, a decision can be made by a simple meeting with other departments, but among multiple companies to establish the overall system, it is necessary to reach a consensus.

In addition, there were various happenings, such as a meeting that was held face-to-face was changed to an online meeting due to the influence of COVID-19. In Thailand, applications that require complex operations like in Japan are avoided, so we aimed to create a system easy to operate from the user's perspective that allows users to easily understand the main information on a single screen.

The FTS has been completed by applying Yazaki's technical capabilities, but we plan to continue to evolve it further in collaboration with TOYOTA.

Yazaki has the capability, know-how, and system to support the development of applications such as FTS, as well as providing operation management devices to OEM companies. We would like to utilize the know-how we have cultivated in Japan for the operation management systems of Thailand and ASEAN countries to contribute to the creation of a safe and secure environment for drivers.