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An Inside View on the Vantage Power Graduate Scheme

7 Jan 2019

Joe started as a Vantage Power Graduate Engineer in September 2018. He tells us what he thinks of his first ...
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One year on for Industrial Strategy

7 Dec 2018

The Department for BEIS celebrates with map of cutting-edge companies To celebrate one year from its launch, The Department for ...
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Vantage Power at London Duathlon

18 Sep 2018

The Vantage Power team put their stamina to the test at the London Duathlon 2018. On Sunday 16th September 2018, ...
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Work Experience at Vantage Power

5 Sep 2018

Jonah joined the Vantage Power team for two weeks of work experience. He tells us what he learnt during his ...
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BCI Enterprise 2HD shown off at Stockwell

16 Aug 2018

BCI Enterprise 2HD shown off at Stockwell TfL was eager to show off its new tri-axle BCI Enterprise 2HD demonstrator ...
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Meet our team – Mireia Sentis

9 Aug 2018

Mireia was one of the first members to join the Vantage Power team and is responsible for our supply chain ...
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VPVision FAQs

What is VPVision?

VPVision is a browser based website that provides an exciting array of new features and capabilities targeted at vehicle OEMs and Operators, but it doesn’t end there! By utilising the VPVision architecture you enable access to an array of other features, including data analysis tools, interactions with a wider environment and access to one of the most exciting technology roadmaps today! We also offer hardware and integration services providing a full end to end solution.

How much will it cost?

Cost is dependent on things like:

• the amount of data channels,
• the streaming rate,
• the amount of cloud-based computation,
• and the number of users.

Our architecture has been built to minimise cost and maximise scalability. With no expensive legacy hardware to support, we will be able to estimate the cost when we know what you need.

Because VPVision is completely cloud based, the upfront cost of creating the back-end hardware to support VPVision = £0, and the cost of scaling up the hardware to support more vehicles = £0.

How flexible is the cost?

We have a simple mission: VPVision is designed to save an OEM, tier 1 or vehicle operator more money than it costs.

The cost of connecting different systems or vehicles to VPVision is completely flexible and depends on the customers’ requirements. The main options to manage costs are:

• The data transmission rate - A slower rate means a cheaper SIM plan and reduced back-end costs. This is all customised to your requirements.
• Data channels are also completely customisable - only transmit data that you need.
• VPVision uses multiple ways to transmit data – use the streaming low latency bi-directional method for your “live” data, and use the heavily compressed super cheap upload function for your log data.
• Feature control means we’ll only give you access to the features you want, customised for different users, lowering unnecessary processing and data storage costs.
• We don’t have the cost burden of standing up and maintaining our own servers and the staff to support them. Our cloud based architecture is paid for based on usage only.
- — Upfront cost in creating the back-end hardware = £0
- — Costs associated in scaling up back-end hardware for more vehicles = £0
• We use a comprehensive cost analysis tool to understand what the cost drivers are and, if required, how to reduce costs.

With so much data, how can I ensure I don’t get overwhelmed?

We can approach this in 3 ways.

Firstly, we can help you define your requirements. We’ve been supporting hybrid buses in London and China for several years using VPVision, so we know what data is important and how to present it.

Secondly, functionality to manage the data is already built in. Take fault codes for example. Fault codes can have rules applied to them that prevent them from being displayed to users unless absolutely necessary, so not to burden users with information overload.

Finally, we can help ensure the right data gets to the right people. With different user account types access to different data and features can be customised by your own administrators. This ensures users will be targeted at the information that matters to them most.

What special software do I need to install to run VPVision?

None.

VPVision is based on an html interface – basically a website. It is optimised for Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge – and Android and Safari mobile web browsers.

How many servers will I need to support my fleet?

None – perfect!

VPVision operates on a cloud computing platform called Amazon Web Services (AWS). This means that no servers or back-office hardware is required to run VPVision. All data storage and processing requirements are provided by AWS, so the number of servers you need for your fleet is 0.

What on vehicle hardware can you provide me?

We can provide on-vehicle hardware that supports a VPVision implementation where required. The heavy-duty vehicle industry uses J1939 CAN bus protocol which VPVision integrates with. A top level specification of the hardware is listed below:

• Ability to read CAN messages via contactless sensor to keep the vehicle CAN read-only and isolated.
• Multiple CAN channels (up to 4x)
• Multiple Digital Inputs and Outputs (up to 10x)
• Multiple analogue Inputs (up to 4x)
• GPS
• On-board datalogging with 32GB of storage
• Optional features:
- - Li-ion battery backup module
- - Accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer
- - Bluetooth
- - WiFi
- - Internal antennas

But it doesn’t stop there! While a CAN bus integration is the most common, we can integrate with other communication systems. For example, if you have a lithium ion battery, super capacitors, an exhaust gas after treatment system, IC engine or almost any data producing system on your vehicle, we pull data from it and start providing useful insights on VPVision.

Can I use my own on vehicle hardware?

Yes.

We need to look in to this on a case by case basis. Guidelines on how existing on-vehicle hardware needs to communicate with VPVision can be provided to ensure your vehicle data gets to where its required.

Can you integrate the hardware for me?

Yes.

If we’re providing the hardware for your vehicles or systems we can also integrate it on to the J1939 CAN bus for you.

If you want VPVision to present data that’s not on the CAN line we can also integrate with equipment and sub-systems.

If the on-vehicle hardware is not provided by us, then we need to look at the integration on a case by case basis. If required, we can provide guidelines that will allow your engineers to integrate the hardware and open communication to VPVision.

What data gets streamed from the vehicle?

VPVision comes with a standard interface detailing what data should be streamed from the vehicle, how frequently and in what format. However, every vehicle is different and every customer is different, so this interface can be modified to meet a new requirement. We’re flexible!

Aside from the streaming "live" data, there is another type of vehicle data that doesn't need to be streamed but is still useful to keep. This data type can be buffered on the vehicle hardware and uploaded less frequently as a compressed log file. By having two mechanisms to transmit data allows for an optimised combination of performance, security and cost.

Can any data analysis or calculations be run on the on-vehicle hardware and only the results streamed to the cloud?

Running scripts on the vehicle and only streaming the results is an option – but not always the best one. Before taking decisions on this subject consider how useful having the raw data would be, whether the script or calculation is ever likely to change and what actual benefits are derived from only transmitting the result.

Where this kind of on-vehicle processing power comes in handy is when a decision making capability is introduced - and this is where the industry is heading. Sending raw data to the cloud, making an automated decision and feeding the answer back to the vehicle can be time consuming, and if the data connection is intermittent it could disrupt things. Thankfully, VPVision can access AWS Greengrass.

AWS Greengrass takes the complex computing, machine learning and decision making that’s run in the cloud and places it on the vehicle hardware so that it can be run locally. Running locally can dramatically reduce latency and data transmission and it allows vehicles to operate independent of connection status. The cloud operates in more of a management role ensuring local devices operate correctly. This capability provides the best of both worlds, with the massive data storage, analytics and learning provided by the cloud, coupled with the low latency and connection independence of software run on the vehicle. This technology provides a route to some very exciting capabilities over the coming years!

I like the VPVision web interface, but I would like to see some changes. Can it be customised to my requirements?

Yes.

VPVision supports different systems and as you’d expect, different systems produce different data. We provide a standard interface to vehicles to simplify integration, but this interface can’t always be complied with. For example, an electric bus cannot report an engine RPM when it doesn’t have an engine fitted.

So, the first step to a VPVision implementation is to understand your requirements and what modifications, if any, are required to get you the functionality you require.

Developing good requirements isn’t always an easy thing to do. We’ve designed and manufactured our own hybrid drivelines including lithium ion batteries, so we can provide extra insight and analysis of your requirements from the beginning.

Can I change the styling and logo on the website?

Yes.

The website is customisable. Should you want your own look and style, something unique to you, we can work with your branding guidelines to update logos, fonts, icons and colours.

Is there a risk my data might get lost, how long is it stored for?

You're well covered.

Our cloud based data storage facility offers 99.999999999% durability (yes it is that many 9’s), data is stored in the world’s largest global cloud infrastructure. As standard, your data will be stored across a minimum of 3 physical facilities which are in geographically separated locations. Your data’s safe!

Data storage time is customisable by you. When data is ingested in to the cloud we associate metadata to it that governs how the data is handled. We attach an expiry date to data which is used to ensure it is automatically disposed of when specific criteria is met.

Is the data connection and the website secure?

Yes. The VPVision website utilises a SHA-2 2048-bit encryption, the strongest encryption on the market.

The IoT communication between the bus and the cloud authenticates all connections before sending or receiving data. This ensures data is never exchanged between devices without a proven identity. When a connection is established and data is transmitted, the data is encrypted end-to-end.

AWS’s secure IoT protocol is also utilised to establish the connection for large log file uploads. This secondary method benefits from the security of IoT but offers a much more economical method to transmitting data, providing a combination of security and value.

Can I access the data directly without going through the html website?

Yes.

If you’re interested in more complex analysis or data crunching, there are already specialist tools on the market that can provide some amazing insights. The problem we have seen many companies experience is amalgamating the data into one place, making sure its good quality data and having enough processing power to run through big data sets – with our AWS back-end, that’s all sorted.

We can set you up with a data analysis tool that will enable you to access your cloud based data, run queries and visualise this data yourself – we’ll even provide some training….or we can run analyses for you and give you the results!

Alternatively, if you have an existing toolset you wish to continue using we can look in to enabling this toolset to work with your cloud based data. Not every data analysis tool lends itself to operating big datasets stored in the cloud, so we’d have to review existing tools on a case by case basis.

Can VPVision anticipate faults before they happen?

Yes.

Also known as prognostics, this is an incredibly useful feature within VPVision. Not only can VPVision reach deeper in to your vehicle systems and extract more useful data it can also analyse it to identify emerging issues.

There are 5 ways VPVision can assist with prognostics, starting with the most basic:

1. Access to up-to-date vehicle data: VPVision is a single source for live odometer, engine on timemileage readings and much more, and can be customised to provide other data important to you. This kind of data is critical to ensure maintenance, repairs, service bulletins are timed correctly.

2. Fault Code Management: All fault codes from a vehicle are captured and stored in one place allowing for easy access. It’s common for less severe fault codes to precede major fault events – if these can be captured and reviewed, major faults can be prevented. A mechanism for faults to be categorised is provided, these categories act as a knowledge base where details of known causes and resolutions are provided.

3. Data visualisation and comparison: Reviewing how a vehicle performs in specific areas compared to similar vehicles can provide useful analysis. If for example we see an air compressor working twice as hard or getting hotter than the others in the fleet, we know there’s an air leak to investigate.

4. Analysis of data: Failures can often be anticipated by trends or step changes in vehicle sensor data. VPVision has the ability to automatically look for these clues and notify users within seconds. Data can be analysed live as it’s received or it can conduct analyses over large spans of time covering weeks, months or years to identify trends.

5. Machine learning: The most complex of the prognostic options but an emerging trend across multiple industries, machine learning on AWS provides access to a framework of machine learning services that are already integrated with other AWS features. Machine learning is an emerging technology to watch out for, not only in areas such as prognostics but also in areas such as vehicle optimisation.

To implement prognostics we follow a process shown below. This provides focus on the main problem areas that are either causing the most downtime or incurring the highest costs. Significant gains can be made through automating techniques that are already applied by your engineers before more complex methods are introduced. VPVision can support you through the whole journey from basic prognostics to an industry leading, live, machine learning based prognostic capability.

Can access to the website be customised for different organisations?

Yes.

When a new vehicle or system is created within VPVision it gets assigned a home location (ie the garage or facility it operates from) – this can be updated if things change. If a user is assigned to the same location, that user will have visibility of that vehicle.

VPVision currently has 3 organisation types in place which are fully customisable:

1. Administrator organisation
2. Transport authority
3. Operator level

Level 1, Admin level: Users will see all vehicles, all locations and can have access to all features as well as editing and curating content.

Level 2, Transport authority: Users will have read only access to all vehicles and limited access to features.

Level 3, Operator level: Users are assigned to a location, or multiple locations, and will have visibility of vehicles allocated to these locations. If a user is operating at a national level they can be provided access to all locations and vehicles, alternatively if a user is operating in a single garage or depot they can be provided access to this location only.

How do you know the website can support 1,000’s of connections?

It’s all about the architecture!

Traditional vehicle telemetry companies, and many of the current market leaders, have dedicated servers running bespoke software that supports the services they provide. As they scale their services, adding new features or adding more connections, the hardware and software needs to scale with it. This adds a huge degree of complexity and cost on top of the services they provide and also inhibits their ability to innovate.

One of the core principles of our selected architecture is scale, instantly scaling up or down as demand fluctuates. Our device register can accommodate over 1 billion unique vehicle connections and the data processing and data storage capacity is unparalleled – in fact it’s the largest in the world.

Can the VPVision software control the vehicle in any way?

Bi-directional communication to and from a vehicle is an exciting area and offers huge scope to apply new technologies and capabilities to your vehicles.

The hybrid vehicles we’ve designed and put in to service exploit this new technology by providing a predefined level of authority over the vehicle. This can be used to do things like, provide over the air software updates, implement new geo-fenced zones, reset latched faults and even start or disable the vehicle.

To fully exploit this opportunity the on-vehicle control software needs to be compatible with the remote access that’s required. At VP we can provide a lot of help in this area providing guidelines and reviewing proposals on how to construct vehicle software.

As with all AWS IoT communications, security is a top priority and robust processes are required when conducting any over the air updates. But even if you don't desire remote access or authority over your vehicles today, this capability comes as standard with VPVision and can be accessed in the future if required.

Can you transmit data from OEM systems that are not on the CAN line?

Yes.

With the ability to have multiple CAN bus channels, you will be able to read data if it’s on a different CAN bus than the primary vehicle CAN.

The hardware has multiple on-board digital inputs and analogue input channels, you would also be able to read the most common sensors and switches if required.

If additional channels or different types of input are required, we have available various external hardware units that will read and process the signals then communicate this with the primary hardware. These external modules can be anything from additional digital inputs, analogue inputs, thermocouple signals, thermistor temperature sensors, and similar low complexity devices.

How live is the data on VPVision?

This is dependent on factors like the vehicle signal strength and the speed of your internet connection. Like many features of VPVision, the speed data is presented can be tailored to your requirements. Our standard implementation of VPVision presents streaming data that is between 1 and 7 seconds old, that’s based on the vehicle being located in the UK and the website being viewed in the UK.

We recently fitted one of our systems to a bus in China and connected it to VPVision. From the UK computer, the streaming data being presented to us from China was 20 to 30 seconds old. There are options available to us to reduce this latency but for our purposes this was sufficient.

How is data transmitted from the vehicle?

2 ways.

Firstly in streaming data. This is an encrypted, persistent and bi-directional data stream that opens a connection between the vehicle and the cloud and maintains the connection. This method would typically communicate the “live” data. The number of data channels in this stream can be customised to your requirements and the frequency data is sent can also be customised, which enables cost control.

Secondly in log data. Log data is uploaded by establishing a temporary secure connection that allow the vehicle to upload a large dataset quickly and cheaply. This second method can be utilised to upload compressed log files from the vehicle, these files can contain vast quantities of data if required. The data channels and frequency these log files are uploaded is customisable to your requirements, or they can be triggered when a Wi-Fi connection is established rather than using mobile data, allowing for further cost control.

What makes VPVision better than typical telemetry systems?

5 main reasons:

• The back-end architecture is cutting edge which enables new capabilities others cannot replicate.

• We don’t have the burden of the back-end management that non-cloud based organisations have, which means our focus is on delivering capabilities, not on managing servers.

• We know drivelines, batteries and vehicle control software better than anyone in the market, because we’ve designed and put in to service our own heavy-duty vehicles.

• We use VPVision to support our own vehicles and our own customers. This gives us first hand insight and a real-world testing capability.

• Our focus is not just on data reporting like normal telemetry systems, it’s a whole lot more interactive and provides a technology path that will not only support, but lead the way on emerging trends within the industry.

What technology does VPVision open me up to?

VPVision is built on new market-leading AWS cloud based architecture, the architecture is so powerful it enables capabilities and services not previously possible. Today’s implementation of VPVision does not yet exploit all the opportunities this architecture enables, that journey has just begun and we have a very exciting technology roadmap that will introduce some cutting-edge features!

It’s worth mentioning, the AWS architecture also continues to develop its technology roadmap. New services being developed here are industry firsts in fields such as machine learning and artificial intelligence and access to these incredible capabilities is granted since we already operate within the AWS environment. This provides a second tier of technology development which you are getting access to by utilising the VPVision platform.