As the lives of consumers become increasingly complex, there is a tendency to rely more and more on technology to simplify, support and remove the tasks that can be more efficiently and effectively accomplished by machines.
From Usage Based Insurance (UBI) through to intelligent emergency calling (eCall) and stolen vehicle tracking, the Internet of Things (IoT) has the ability to deliver throughout the entire technology ecosystem, and make everyone’s lives easier. It even has the potential to open up job roles that never before existed. Automotive World caught up with Richard Cornish in his new role at technology services provider at Xchanging as Head of the Internet of Things, a new position created at the company.
In his role, Cornish is rapidly building upon the strength of the company’s technology capabilities by eliminating the complexity and driving down the costs of implementing an IoT ecosystem, by helping organisations adjust their business processes to exploit the data generated by connected technology.
Business benefits
The IoT is fundamentally changing the way companies are doing business, affecting everything in an organisation from people to data to process, and Cornish explained how it is ultimately enabling businesses to do more than was ever previously possible with real and numerous benefits.
“IoT affects every business,” noted Cornish. “The first thing is to change the way businesses talk, so not about technology, but about their skill in being able to design business processes and apply them to data.” Cornish also noted his primary aim which is to harness Xchanging’s capabilities and be able to transform its customers’ business in terms of supply, operations and end user propositions. “In my role I am currently focusing on building static assets and mobile assets to allow organisations to embed IoT into their end user propositions in the supply chain to ultimately benefit their customers.”
Having worked in the connected technology sector for over 25 years, with previous experience at Vodafone, Cornish explained that while it’s difficult to think of a department that won’t in some form be impacted by IoT, there are perhaps two primary areas where it is having the greatest impact. “Perhaps an organisation will have dispersed datasets which need to be pulled together with a user interface on the top of them, which will create for them a new digitalised business model. It can also enable manufacturers to move to a service-based model, and for service providers to move to a pay-per-use offering, IoT is opening up new markets and lowering barriers to entry.”
Connecting assets
“If you’ve got a high value asset, connect it to make it work efficiently,” explained Cornish, a notion that applies to many areas in the pipeline for Xchanging. A particular area where this is effective is in the areas of Usage Based Insurance (UBI), eCall, and stolen vehicle tracking, which will all use the connected car for future innovation, despite the ability to retrofit these devices now. “eCall will enable cars to be more connected at a later date. I went to my first eCall meeting in 2002, and realise it’s taking its time, but it’s going to happen. With that in mind, we can start building the capabilities now so all an OEM has to do is point their data from retrofit aftermarket device to their line fit device at some point in the future. We may as well start building the capabilities now for future connectivity benefit.”
Autonomous vehicles
Cornish noted that the move to the connected car, and eventually driverless car, is taking the guesswork out of insurance and putting the focus firmly on the individual. “With the incredible amount of data made available through smart cars and the internet of things, shopping for car insurance will be akin to shopping for a new suit, completely bespoke and tailored to the individual driver. You’ll pay only for what you need, and with fewer collisions and better road safety, what you need will be reduced.”
But when commercially available, autonomous vehicles will bring about an even greater change in the automotive insurance industry. Instead of insuring against loss, theft and damage, car owners will need insurance against hackers and viruses. But the question of who will be held reliable for a crash is one that has been circulating in the industry for some time, still remaining somewhat unanswered. However, Cornish explained that while the biggest issue threatening driverless cars is handing over the responsibility, ultimately, “the party responsible for the vehicles decision will be the liable one, this will therefore be the autopilot service provider, which could be the OEM, or it could be Google.”
Cornish also noted the large number of other benefits associated with the driverless car. “20 years ago, the attempt at a driverless car was only sensing the car’s environment, and there was limited information about this environment. Now, environment information is exposed over the devices, the networks, the vehicle. Suddenly, the vehicle knows where the roads are, black spots, complex road junctions, and it is not blind anymore.”
Revolutionising insurance
Until the driverless vehicle is on the road, however, Cornish explained that currently, the fundamental way of identifying responsibility and bad driving habits is through UBI. “Using UBI, we are really able to change the way that risk is calculated in combination with the insurance company to act in real time for claims management. Vehicle insurance is wide open to incredible changes over the next few years.”
Cornish also explained how Xchanging’s work in the connected car market enables customers to gather and disseminate data from and to remote vehicles. “We develop the software, manage the network, analyse the data and present the results via easy to use interfaces on various client devices,” he noted. With increasing government regulation of the automotive industry around Usage Based Insurance (UBI), intelligent emergency calling (eCall) and stolen vehicle tracking, Cornish also noted how innovation from Xchanging will further increase.
A big area of concentration for Xchanging is the insurance market, and Cornish explained that car insurance rates and premiums have always been based on “the group” – age group, gender group, city group, vehicle type group, and so on. “For years, insurance companies have been grouping drivers based on statistical and demographic data in an attempt to estimate the likelihood of any one driver getting into an accident. However, there is now an increasing use case for Usage-Based Insurance.”
Involving the consumer to become more of an active part of the connected car solution is also a benefit of the UBI device, and Cornish cited a past experience that made him appreciate the value-added service of having a connected device fitted into his car. “I had a device in my car when it was stolen and within a few seconds I had located the car and went straight on the application as I was calling the police. I was then able to liaise with the police and show them where the vehicle was. Then they were able to go to a high resolution speed camera and get a high res picture of the criminal’s face, find his home address and his previous convictions. When he dumped the car, we were able to identify him, arrest him and within six hours he was charged.”
Whether for business benefits, connecting assets, insurance, or driverless innovation, Cornish outlined how IoT, through companies such as Xchanging, will continue to develop to its full potential.
Critically, concluded Cornish, “IoT is evolving quickly and will eventually change processes for businesses, consumers, and the automotive industry for good.”
Rachel Boagey
