Prior to 2007 when iPhone hit the market, if users wanted a better phone experience, they had to throw their phone out and go buy an entirely new one. Now, with iPhone and Android, users can simply update their software and keep their device.
That’s what telematics Platform Science is doing for the trucking industry with its Virtual Vehicle platform, and Navistar, owner of one of the top truck brands in the U.S., is hitching its wagon to the company to bring that experience to its International trucks.
Navistar is integrating Platform Science’s Virtual Vehicle, the first open OEM platform that enables fleets to access telematics, software solutions, real-time vehicle data and third-party applications directly from their vehicles. The collaboration provides International Truck customers with access to a customizable platform that delivers an unlimited canvas to fleets, allowing them to use, manage and deploy digital applications.
Darrin Demchuk, vice president of solutions at Platform Science, said Navistar already has hardware in its vehicles, and Platform Science is adapting its platform to that hardware.
“All these (trucking) companies are staring down a barrel of multi-million-dollar decisions to rip out a bunch of stuff to get what they want,” Demchuk told CCJ at the annual TCA Truckload convention in Las Vegas last week. “Hopefully it’s the last time they have to rip out hardware to get the software they want. Just get their box and pick out the solutions they need.”
Navistar will begin deploying the Virtual Vehicle platform in 2023.
Platform Science, in collaboration with Daimler Trucks North America, developed the Virtual Vehicle platform to enable enterprise fleets, telematics service providers, third-party developers and partners to access real-time data directly from connected vehicles with built-in telematics hardware installed on the production line.
