Softing TechDay: Innovations and Solutions for Automotive Over-The-Air and Remote Applications

First up was Dr. Wolfang Trier, Chairman of the Board of Softing AG, with a presentation on the megatrends in the mobility and automotive industry. For him, global climate change, further urbanization and demographic change are among the main drivers of advancing digitalization. In particular, the requirements for greater flexibility, shorter time-to-market and increasing customer integration in business processes can be met through digitalization. The availability of complete, correct and reliable data is the decisive factor here.

Softing DTS.monaco: Maximum Engineering Efficiency with Parallel and Global Remote Access

In today’s automotive and supplier industry, engineering teams now work globally, also from home, on vehicles and their control units and components. Softing Automotive presented the development tester “Softing DTS.monaco” as a solution to ensure the greatest possible engineering efficiency and real-time sharing of results around the clock and around the globe. The solution not only enables remote data exchange at any time, but also ensures the analysis of diagnostic and test data by several engineering teams at the same time, regardless of location, thanks to the combination of parallel and remote access. Bi-directional OTA communication technology even makes remote ECU updates possible.

Product Manager Claudio Amato proved the performance of the development tester “Softing DTS.monaco” in a live demonstration in which he simultaneously conducted remote tests on a test bench and a vehicle. In other words, Softing offers engineers a tool with which, on the one hand, they can access globally distributed vehicles and devices under test at any time and from any location. On the other hand, it makes it possible to perform repetitive tasks more efficiently through parallel access. The possibility of real-time communication and the very high data density result in significant reductions in both engineering time and costs.

Softing TDX: Standing Still is Not an Option Global Service for Working Machinery

Under the slogan “Standing still is not an option”, Product Manager Julian Mayer presented the after-sales diagnostic solution “Softing TDX” for the optimization of global service networks for vehicles and mobile working machinery. The focus is always on one goal: Downtimes or even longer breakdowns have to be avoided as far as possible, thus helping to reduce the total cost of ownership. Fast, targeted maintenance and repair, such as error localization, troubleshooting as well as OTA software updates, are the goal. On the vehicle, Product Manager Julian Mayer and his team demonstrated the possibilities of the individual, remote-capable diagnostic tester Softing TDX.workshop on the basis of various use cases from everyday service work. They also demonstrated the remote support scenario as help from an expert is often required from a distance in the repair shop or during mobile service.

GlobalmatiX “Car-to-Cloud-to-Company-Management” The New Dimension of Digital Fleet Management

With the combination of what is currently the most powerful telematics interface, the GlobalmatiX xTCU, and a comprehensive cloud program, the Softing subsidiary GlobalmatiX presented its “Car-to-Cloud-to-Company-Management” (C3M) concept. Timm Burmeister, Managing Director of GlobalmatiX GmbH, explained the great potential offered by the GlobalmatiX “Over-the-Air” connected car service to large fleet operators, rental car, car sharing and leasing companies. This potential includes the following four core areas in particular:

• “Geofencing” for permanent vehicle localization and, if necessary, delimitation of regional areas of operation,
• “Remote Control” with remote opening and closing of vehicles, enabling contactless and stationless customer management,
• “Predictive Maintenance” with early detection of impending defects as well as automatic compliance with service intervals, and
• “Undetected Damages” with detection, analysis, and AI evaluation of minor damage that every year costs commercial fleet operators millions, depending on the size of the fleet.

Potential Savings in the Millions Detection, Analysis and Evaluation of Minor Damage

At the Softing TechDays, the GlobalmatiX team focused in particular on the detection and evaluation of minor damage. This is because up to 40% of all minor accidents at speeds below 10 km/h are not detected when rental cars are returned due to regenerating bumpers even though these bumpers could well conceal quite considerable damage, as testing organization DEKRA was able to prove in a recent test. With an impressive live crash, the TechDay participants were shown how the GlobalmatiX telematics interface detects this damage, instantly generates a damage report, including cost calculation, in the cloud based on millions of pieces of accident and surveyor data, and makes the report available to fleet management for further analysis in just a few seconds. The damage can thus be attributed to the party responsible and billed accordingly.

GlobalmatiX “C3M” also covers countless other possible uses, such as those required for connectivity and mobility applications. The hidden potential is enormous, particularly for large fleet operators. By providing smart functions and services, the driver’s user experience can be further enhanced. The Over-the-Air applications from GlobalmatiX give fleet operators the chance to work even more efficiently also in terms of costs. The xTCU telematics interface offers a level of data density on the current state of the vehicle that simply was not possible to date. Artificial intelligence can thus be used to enable new forms of contactless car rental / customer management in real time, resulting in significant cost savings.

“I am very satisfied with the response to our TechDay,” says a satisfied Dr. Wolfgang Trier as the event came to a close. “We were able to illustrate to our customers and interested parties the possibilities our current remote and OTA telematics innovations offer in daily use in terms of increasing efficiency on the one hand and reducing costs on the other. Both Softing Automotive and our startup GlobalmatiX are already providing answers to the mobility trends of the future.”

About GlobalmatiX

GlobalmatiX AG, a subsidiary of the listed company Softing AG, Haar near Munich, is a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) headquartered in Vaduz, Liechtenstein, which offers mobile data communication for vehicles and machines of all kinds in Europe and North America, as needed in the areas of (partially) autonomous driving as well as in other “Connected Car Services” of vehicles and machines. The company uses its mobile network license to operate its own telecommunications and telematics platform. Agreements with leading mobile network operators ensure that GlobalmatiX has access to the best networks worldwide. This mobile data communication is enabled with the company’s own eSIM (embedded SIM chip). This is how CANbus-based diagnostic data from mixed-brand vehicles and machines is made available in real time to the vehicle and machine fleet manager over secure cloud systems.

GlobalmatiX supplies vehicle manufacturers and telematics providers worldwide with an innovative 4G/LTE / 5G CAN diagnostic logger and next-generation GPS telematics gateway for GPS positioning, tracking and remote vehicle diagnostics. This is needed for applications in the areas “Connected Car”, (partially) autonomous driving, predictive vehicle diagnostics and the management of fleets of all sizes, makes and models. The smart Car-to-Cloud-to-Company management is safeguarded against unauthorized access with a patented security process by “Security by Design” and certified to the highest OEM requirements.

For further information go to https://www.globalmatix.com/.