Bosch brings traffic applications into the Cloud
Cities are threated to be choked by car traffic. According to studies, during the rush hours parking search traffic accounts to one third of all vehicle movements. A system that guides drivers to the next free parking gap would significantly reduce this traffic. Bosch is currently gathering experience with such a system in the Stuttgart metropolitan area, with 2,7 million inhabitants one of Germany’s most congested agglomerations.
For a trial, the company is equipping 15 parking lots in along the S2 and S3 suburban train lines with sensors that determine if a parking space is occupied or free. The data are transmitted into the company’s cloud where they are processed, generating an occupancy map with minute-to-minute accuracy. Users can access this map and the related occupancy data through a smartphone app and the website of Stuttgart’s urban transportation system.
Car users benefit from the system because they are saving time. Earlier studies have shown that car drivers are more willing to change to public transportation if they know in advance if they would find a free parking spot in their next park-and-ride parking lot. In this pilot project the smallest parking lot has 49 pitches, the largest one 520. The installation of the sensors will be completed in June, 2018.
In another IoT pilot project, Bosch helps truckers and haulages to book parking spaces for the night. Along the highways in Germany, truck parking lots are hopelessly overcrowded, in particular during night time; theft and robbery has become a problem. With its pilot project, Bosch offers a Secure Truck Parking service. Truckers seeking a parking space transmit their position and a parking space request to the system which in turn finds a such an unoccupied space. The coordinates are automatically transmitted to the truck’s navigation system; booking and accounting are done automatically by the system.
With a third IoT application suggestion, Bosch addresses safety-conscious drivers: An aftermarket Connectivity Control Unit (CCU) is installed in the vehicle that and connected to the on-board diagnosis socket. It accesses data such as longitundinal and lateral acceleration, speed, and time of the day. Through a built-in SIM card, the CCU sends these data in encrypted form to the insurance company. The insurer can use these data to create a risk profile; for drivers who are driving proactively they can offer a discount.
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