Last month Moscow-based Smart Driving Labs presented its concept of connected vehicle for urban public transport. The solution reportedly “involves the installation of telematics modules with a set of sensor equipment on buses and minibuses and connection via a cellular network to a cloud platform.”
The system will allow public transport companies to collect real-time data on movement, speed, sharp maneuvers and technical conditions of their vehicles. “The information can be used to assess the quality of drivers’ work, prompt response and analysis in case of road accidents, planning maintenance and monitoring operating conditions and, in the future, to manage urban transport infrastructure.”
Since its inception in 2015, Smart Driving Labs has been developing hardware and software connected-car solutions for car owners, carmakers, insurance companies, car dealers and fleets. One of its products, ‘Element,’ is a smart control protection system for cars. The solution features four levels of anti-theft protection, says the company, along with “round-the-clock monitoring and quick response of emergency services.”
Recently, the company created a “fleet of more than 500 connected cars united by a single digital infrastructure,” in partnership with car leasing company AzurDrive. Under plans, “large-scale smart leasing programs” will be developed in Russia based on this experiment. Smart Driving Labs has also developed online renting and test-driving services with MINI and BMW.
The company’s final goal is to build “a platform that combines technologies, data and vehicles into a single ecosystem.”
Blossoming technologies
The activities of this startup are just an illustration of the vibrant Russian high tech mobility scene. Another startup called Hoversurf is going as far as testing flying taxis in Moscow, and wants to make Russia a global leader in air mobility.
Meanwhile Fura, which offers high-tech services to truck drivers, dreams of becoming a unicorn.
Big players are also in the game. Among them, the Russian digital major Yandex and Sber subsidiary Cognitive Technologies, excel in driverless technologies. On its side Rostec, a giant state corporation covering a variety of military and civil technologies, is preparing to launch the production of biometrics systems for transport payment.
Moscow city authorities are very active in these fields. They have just announced their first cameras to record traffic between road stripes employed in the capital. A few months ago, they started monitoring taxi drivers’ activity and record violations.
