CONNECTIVITY
EXPERTS FROM CATERPILLAR, JOHN DEERE AND VOLVO DISCUSS THE DRIVE
TOWARDS BESPOKE, PREDICTIVE TELEMATICS WHERE CONNECTIVITY AND
INTELLIGENCE INTERSECT AND FORESEE A DAY OF TOTAL CONNECTION TO
OMNISCIENT, CLOUDBASED OVERSIGHT
“AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES NEED
REALTIME DIAGNOSTICS TO REPLACE
OPERATOR AWARENESS”
Catrin Nilsson, connected solutions platform manager, Volvo CE
iVTInternational.com February 2020 31
We’ve never been more
connected. State-of-the-art
CareTrack telematics are
standard- t across Volvo
machines. “ e system collects
machine data which customers
can monitor through an online
portal, including error codes and
fuel-e ciency data,” says Volvo
CE’s connected solutions platform
manager, Catrin Nilsson. “We use
on-board weighing systems to
calculate tonnes handled per litre.”
Customers can buy into
CareTrack-based services like
ActiveCare and Insight Reports,
and let Volvo analyse the data
for them, via uptime centres in
Eskilstuna, Sweden and
Shippensburg, North America,
where data analysts monitor
machines and report to customers.
Volvo is intent on predictive
maintenance, which they call
advanced prognostics.
“We can capture patterns over
a month and identify any
divergence from normal
operations,” Nilsson continues.
“Advanced prognostics requires
frequent data-collection and some
use-cases pinpoint a need for realtime
connectivity.” For Volvo,
connectivity encompasses much
more than sending telematics data.
Its Pilot for Industrial Mobile
communication in Mining, or
PIMM (see Underworld
Connections overleaf) involves
remotely controlling an
underground wheel loader via a
dedicated mobile network. At its
Electric Site near Gothenburg,
Volvo demonstrated an entirely
emissions-free machine ecosystem
featuring driverless dumpers.
“Autonomous vehicles running a
speci c path need real-time
diagnostics to replace operator
awareness and alert you to a at
tyre, for example,” says Nilsson.
Eventually, 5G may prove the
best medium for industrial
connectivity, but the future
remains unevenly distributed. “We
have a 5G test-track in Eskilstuna,”
says Nilsson. “But if there’s no
mobile coverage in the jungle – so
we communicate using satellites. If
you’re a global solution requiring
connectivity regardless of location,
/iVTInternational.com