“Drive it like a rental” is a term we’ve all heard. Unfortunately, some people do not recognize the worth of things they own and instead borrow or rent. These folks will sometimes purposefully damage a rental car, leaving it unclean or smoking inside, causing complications for the vehicle owner. Bosch is a global leader in the development of sensors and electronic systems for cars and other platforms. Bosch Ridecare is a new system that the company has unveiled.
Ridecare is a single sensor box that may detect vehicle damage or interior smoke. This technology aims to keep shared vehicles safe on the road and clean so they don’t smell like smoke. Unfortunately, few things irritate nonsmokers more than a car that smells like cigarettes. However, this issue will not be a concern in future fleets thanks to new Ridecare solutions for fleet operators and service providers.
Bosch’s initial Ridecare feature is a sensor box installed in the vehicle that can detect smoke and damage. The sensor box is linked to artificial intelligence-powered cloud-based data analytics. If a vehicle is damaged or smoked in, the technology may notify fleet owners in real-time. In addition, it allows the fleet owner to contact the vehicle user in real-time to try to persuade them to stop or maybe impose fines by alerting the fleet owner in real-time.
It also allows the vehicle to be taken from the fleet for repairs or cleaning by alerting the fleet owner in real-time. Bosch is now developing pilot solutions with leading sharing providers in Asia, North America, and Germany to deploy its smoking and damage detection system in those regions. In addition, the corporation has stated that TUV Sud has approved the system, indicating that the fleet services are reliable.
Owners of carsharing fleets usually don’t find out about vehicle damage or whether they’ve been smoked in until the next client gets in and finds the issues. The problem for fleet owners is that they operate in highly competitive markets where customers may rate services, and unfavorable evaluations can cost them money. Another issue for fleet owners is that determining whose user of the vehicle caused the damage can be difficult, so they are often forced to shoulder the cost of repairs or cleaning.
With a real-time notification system, fleet owners will identify and link damage to a specific user in real-time. According to Bosch, detecting damage and smoke in a car with a single sensor is the first industry. Prior solutions could detect only one of the two, but not both. Bosch also claims that the sensors in their system are sensitive enough to identify accidents, including damage while the car is parked and not in use.
The Bosch system can figure out which part of the car has been harmed. Fleet owners can use the damage location and photos of the damage to acquire an estimate for repair costs. Bosch’s technology also allows the manager to pinpoint the specific location and time of the accident. Carsharing is predicted to rise dramatically in the future, with a market worth of $127 billion in Europe in a few years and $549 billion by 2035.
Source: bosch-presse
