Bosch has announced the launch of a pilot project with car-sharing service providers in Europe, America and Asia to install Bosch Ridecare sensors in rental cars. These devices are capable of simultaneously monitoring the smoke in the passenger compartment and detecting vehicle damage in an accident. This is the latest news with the company.
To do this, Bosch has combined a set of sensors in one device, as well as the ability to connect to a cloud-based data analysis service using AI. The new solution allows car-sharing service providers to receive in real time important information about the condition of the car in an easy-to-understand form. After that, the operator can quickly decide on the repair or dry cleaning of the car, if necessary.
Most users take pictures of visible damage to the car, but car-sharing service providers often face the fact that the cost of repairing such seemingly small damage can be high. Another big reason for customer dissatisfaction is renting a car in the cabin of which the previous driver smoked secretly. Thanks to the Ridecare system, Bosch can provide providers with accurate information on both issues: a set of sensors installed in the car monitors cigarette smoke, as well as damage to the car during an accident.
The sensors of the new system are so accurate that they can detect damage not only during an accident, but also when hitting an obstacle, for example, while parking. In particular, the Ridecare system can detect damage at the moment when other drivers collide with cars that are parked and inactive at the time of the accident.
The Bosch solution is a small sensor box built into the inside of the windshield and intelligent software that analyzes data in the cloud. When the information from the sensors is sent to the cloud, Bosch AI analyzes it to assess the extent of damage to the car and classify it for further transmission of the data to the car-sharing service operator.
Intelligent algorithms compare a variety of data, from vehicle speed and trajectory to weather conditions. As a result, the car-sharing service provider can find out exactly what type of damage is purely cosmetic or it still affects the characteristics of the vehicle and requires immediate intervention and repair. AI analysis also allows you to pinpoint exactly which area of the vehicle has been damaged. For example, did the rear bumper hit an obstacle or damage to the underside of the car when hitting a curb. If you subsequently compare this data with photographs of damage, the operators of car-sharing services will also be able to quickly determine the cost of repairs.
Despite the decline in demand during the coronavirus pandemic, experts predict the rapid growth of the car sharing market. At the moment, the market for mobility services that allows you to abandon personal transport is estimated at $ 127 billion in Europe alone. Consulting agency Strategy & believes that by 2035 this figure could grow to $ 549 billion.
A source: Bosch
