Vehicle Diagnostics – Internet of Vehicles

With BSVI (Bharath Stage 6 – BS6), On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) has become popular among the masses. More and more people have started to recognize and understand the role of electronics in automobiles.

Vehicle diagnostics opens up a plethora of applications in automotive engineering and forms the future of Automotive – Internet of Things “IoT” (also called as Internet of Vehicles “IoV”). As the name suggests diagnostics is about finding the faults in the system, but it does not stop there. With diagnostics, we can read not only fault codes but also other data pertaining to the operation of automobiles. We can also instruct the automobile to perform particular actions.

Below are a few applications that are possible with IoV through vehicle diagnostics:

Health of the Vehicle

  • Helpful to OEMs/Service stations in avoiding break downs and accidents by determining the issues of the vehicles in advance and fixing them.
  • Helpful to fleet owners in keeping their fleet of vehicles in good condition, thereby delivering on time and effective transportation services to customers.

    • Study of Driving Patterns

  • Helpful to insurance agencies in determining the value of the vehicle by studying the data from the vehicle.
  • The data helps greatly when reselling the vehicle.
  • Helpful to fleet owners in determining the driving patterns of the drivers.
  • Helpful to OEMs in understanding the driving patterns of their customers and accordingly calibrating the vehicles to deliver the best driving experience.

    • Quick access to Accident Data

  • Helpful to insurance agencies and police in determining the cause of accidents.
  • Video from dashboard camera of the vehicle can also be delivered over the air, which can help in determining the extent of accidents so that appropriate help can be sent to the accident site.
  • Helpful to fleet owners to send alternative vehicles to carry the passengers/goods.

    • Tracking Vehicles

  • Helpful to the police in tracking down vehicles.
  • Helpful to fleet owners in tracking the path the driver takes to reach the destination. This will help in optimizing the routes.

    • Immobilize Vehicles remotely

  • Access can be given to police to immobilize stolen/illegal vehicles remotely and trace the vehicles.
  • In GTA style chasing, the cops can immobilize the cars remotely, thereby protecting people and property.

    • Over the Air Software updates

  • Just like smartphones, software updates and calibration changes can be delivered to vehicles over the air. But care needs to be taken that the updates happen only when the car is not in use!.