Connectivity, communications and emerging technologies in transportation Presented by:
Table of Contents About LILEE Systems
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The importance of a consolidated communications platform
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By Jessica Sweeney
Emerging technologies enable driver and passenger safety
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By Paola Realpozo
Onboard operational data transmission – made easy and efficient
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By Paola Realpozo
Achieve great results and cost savings with an integrated bus connectivity solution
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By Paola Realpozo
Smart connectivity platforms – the future of transportation
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By Paola Realpozo
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LILEE Systems, named to the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing private companies, provides advanced mobile connectivity and cloudbased network solutions. In a radically connected world, we help businesses harness the potential of big data to run leaner, faster and safer; we help consumerfacing organizations offer new and exciting revenue generating services. LILEE delivers integrated, open, and reliable industrial IoT wireless and wired connectivity solutions incorporating hardware, software, and services. We are improving operating efficiency and reducing costs in a wide range of industries. LILEE is headquartered in Silicon Valley, with offices in Taipei and Amsterdam.
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THE CONNECTED BUS
The importance of a consolidated communications platform By Jessica Sweeney
Looking at the transit market across the board, we see a vast and growing array of onboard systems. There are new and innovative technologies every day that are designed to help operators provide better, more reliable service, inform passengers, or to gather and analyze important data that can help optimize their operations. The challenge is that each of these technologies often operate as independent systems – as separate functions unto themselves. Great examples are automatic passenger counting, ticketless fare collections systems, and passenger Wi-Fi systems. Each of these capabilities requires a communications infrastructure – and traditionally, what providers do is to bundle the communications infrastructure into the purchase price. The result? When you buy passenger counting, it comes with its LTE system. When you purchase a CAD / AVL system, it has its own communications system. When you add in the passenger Wi-Fi service, guess what? It comes with its own communications system. One bus operator lamented, “My bus is like a hedgehog. I can’t install another system on my bus – simply because I can’t put another hole in the roof for the antenna!” LILEE Systems had its start in rail and recently expanded to bus and motorcoach, finding only subtle differences between the two modes of transportation. Large Class 1 rail operators have sizeable, dedicated teams to address their communications issues. The comparatively smaller size of many bus operations that may not have the personnel to focus on this technology clearly affects the type of systems each operator can afford and manage. When we look at this environment, we believe it is important to stop treating communications infrastructures like micro-systems within each of the solutions. Instead, we must provide a single, robust platform that can provide the communications backhaul for many different onboard systems simultaneously. Many transit operators have neither the necessary staff nor the time to manage a variety of disparate systems. Beyond making it easy to use, LILEE has gone even further for the bus market and offered a fully managed solution, called Connectivity-as-a-Service, which is a monthly subscription service. This is a smart model for operators who can’t take really big bites. There are some transit operators who will receive a capital expense grant to buy everything up front. Many transit operators need to fit their connectivity platform into an operating budget. If they can do that on a monthly basis, then we can take care of the total solution for them as a managed service. LILEE bundles its transit use cases into four core “buckets”: Passengers: This can include passenger information, advertising, onboard communications, and even passenger services like ticketing and passenger counting. There are lots of opportunities to better know riders, and technology can have a huge impact here. 4
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Technology provides agencies many opportunities to better know their riders.
Safety: Driver monitoring is key in this area, but we’re also think a lot about emergency alert situations. Companies like LILEE have given agencies the ability to, with the press of a button, instantly stream surveillance footage to their home offices. We’re even thinking about how will that work in the future with driverless vehicles. There are many angles to tackle in this bucket, especially in the years to come. Reliable service: What people want most is that the bus shows up. When the bus is in the garage, it’s not on the road grabbing passengers. Maximizing time in service by using the operational data for predictive maintenance and tying into their existing systems in the garage is crucial for transit agencies. Analytics: This includes all operation applications, guest services, and everything that feeds information to the back office through the cloud. Analytics allow for a holistic view of an agency’s operations. Operators are best equipped for the future when all of these core areas are addressed in a consolidated, easy-to-manage system. Jessica Sweeney is senior director of market and product strategy at LILEE Systems. LILEE provides solutions for passenger connectivity and a range of other broadband solutions, including on-board entertainment and advertising, surveillance and security, fleet management and positive train control. Visit www.lileesystems.com for more information.
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THE CONNECTED BUS
Emerging technologies enable driver and passenger safety By Paola Realpozo
As emerging, cloud-based technologies continue to enable higher levels of safety for bus drivers and passengers, it’s time for transit and coach operators to step up with “always-on” mobile broadband service to further enhance the connected bus. Here are several safety-related reasons to choose a connected bus. Today’s technology helps provide real-time remote condition monitoring of a bus engine and its components. Typically, a light on the dashboard activates an alert of a component requiring maintenance. Connected to the cloud, this information transmits immediately to the operator or dispatch for a centralized decision. In this way, the decision-making process is not left in the hands of the driver alone, or until the end of the trip or work shift. Having real-time information about a faulty condition of a critical component onboard the bus helps bus operators proactively make informed decisions that may directly impact safety and security. Operators can send a replacement bus to maintain customer satisfaction and avoid an emergency, and then reroute the empty bus to the nearest maintenance facility. Another safety application onboard the connected bus is the emergency alert. Drivers have access to an emergency button within their reach. They can immediately trigger an alert in response to a safety threat or a sudden emergency situation, sending a message to a central location or even directly to emergency services. This emergency alert can automatically activate live video streaming using the existing CCTV system to aid emergency services in real time. For instance, as a fire truck is actively responding to the bus emergency, the first responders can log in to a web-based portal to view video and prepare in advance for the specific nature of their critical response. Remote condition monitoring of assets, coupled with location services and video surveillance, can also help determine unusual behavior. For example, when the bus is delayed or must deviate from its route, onboard systems can pinpoint the current location. The technology can further detect detailed nuances such as if the doors are being opened or closed at a location other than a regular bus stop. Dispatch can observe these abnormal events that may suggest an emergency and respond accordingly. Single fog computing gateway and cloud networking platform lowers operational costs and increases efficiency Deploying Wi-Fi onboard buses enables internet access and solutions that inform and entertain passengers, and otherwise provide a more enjoyable rider experience. Connectivity also enables the transmission of relevant operational data to the dispatch office. In case of component failure, early real-time alerts to dispatch may help to inform them of the issue before it occurs, allowing them to respond quickly enough to avoid delays for the passengers, ensure their safety and security, and maintain efficient operations. A connected bus collects data from different sources such as the transmission and braking systems, fuel and oil levels, doors, climate control, and, many others. Other devices including digital displays, security cameras, and emergency buttons are also deployed onboard. By integrating the entire array of sensors and devices, and their
A “connected bus” allows for passengers to receive real-time updates about delays, or even emergency situations. corresponding applications, into the same communications gateway, the number of devices that have to be installed, wired and maintained is dramatically reduced. As data is collected from different sources, the onboard communications gateway must be intelligent enough to determine what to do with the data, whether to store it for future off-loading at the depot, send it to the cloud for processing and delivery, or process it locally and discard what’s not useful. Sending all the data to the cloud as it is gathered would be cost prohibitive if using a cellular network. Implementing a fog computing gateway and a cloud-networking platform helps operators more efficiently manage platform resources, such as local memory space, and conserve bandwidth, thereby lowering the overall operational cost of cellular connectivity. Even more cost savings can be achieved when cellular connectivity is not only conserved in an intelligent way, but optimized. If the platform can also perform carrier aggregation, then the bus operator can create network policies that take into consideration the cost of data from different carriers, as well as other parameters that help operators maximize overall efficiencies and ultimately achieve their business goals and objectives. A cloud-networking platform, with robust operations management capabilities, helps operators save time and conserve limited resources. Operations management enables the remote monitoring, tracking, provisioning, troubleshooting, and software updating of the communications gateway and onboard applications, effectively eliminating the need to deploy employees to perform these tasks locally. The ability to leverage a fully integrated communications platform becomes even more important when large fleets are fully equipped with communications gateways, as tremendous economies of scale result, and the once overwhelming complexity of large fleet management is now leveraged to greatly benefit the overall streamlining of operational efficiencies that positively impact the bottom line. Paola Realpozo is director of rail strategy at LILEE Systems. LILEE Systems provides solutions for passenger connectivity, and a range of other broadband solutions, including on-board entertainment and advertising, surveillance and security, fleet management, and positive train control. Visit www.lileesystems. com for more information.
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THE CONNECTED BUS
Onboard operational data transmission – made easy and efficient By Paola Realpozo
Until recently, transmitting operational data from vehicles to a central database was a matter of timing and necessity – buses leave for the day, collect data through various onboard sensors and applications, then offload the data to a back-office server upon returning to the garage via the local Wi-Fi network, when available. In many cases, mechanics or transportation personnel retrieve the data manually from each bus. Reliable, always-on connectivity onboard buses can enable onboard applications to deliver business value by delivering data just in time to back office business applications in cloud. With the advent of true connectivity, not only for onboard passengers but across an entire transportation enterprise, operators and agencies can now leverage technology, and transmit data from vehicle to server in a much more cost- and time-efficient manner. Data which is time sensitive, and necessary for the day’s operations, can be handled in real time, while less timely data can be stored and uploaded at day’s end. All of this is possible without needing to wait for a bus to return to its depot, or having a technician go to the bus to retrieve and process data. Generating business value through Actionable Data Operational data is only useful when businesses can act upon it or extract real value from it - when it is actionable. Depending on the nature and purpose of the data, it can be used to take local actions in real time or send to back office to power analytics and/or trigger business behavior. The actionable operational data is not limited to what is collected through OBD-II, but also includes other data such as location from GPS, impact, acceleration/deceleration from accelerometer and gyro, driver on-duty and off-duty log from the electronic logging device (ELD). It’s any data that’s useful to understanding if the vehicle is operating efficiently or how safe driver and passengers are. Actionable data onboard the vehicle – Operational data is collected, stored, and processed locally for a real time action onboard the vehicle. The Fog or edge computing architecture allows hosting applications locally on-board to process data and act without having to send the data to the back office (or cloud). Actionable data at the back office – Operational data is collected, sent to the cloud, and processed by the back-office server for an action outside the vehicle. Data can be transmitted to the cloud or back office in real time for immediate action, or offloaded to the cloud when a Wi-Fi network is available, for future use. Different types of data are generated at different frequencies, with varying levels of urgency for it to be processed. Not all data that is generated is needed for certain applications– for example, it’s not very useful to have a gyroscope recording data every millisecond if the driving behavior chances every 5 seconds, for example. The same can be said for video surveillance systems – live streaming data to a central location every few seconds or minute doesn’t translate to an efficient use of time or bandwidth that is available via a cellular connection, for instance. 6
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Alternatively, depending on the application, real-time or near real-time analysis may be required, either locally at the edge of the network, or at the cloud. Examples of applications onboard buses include video surveillance systems and engine diagnostics. Onboard video surveillance system: Though the data isn’t always uploading, it is always available in the future for investigation. Always store massive amount of data in the hard drive, aboard the vehicle. Depending on the circumstances, operators can configure the system to send snippets of data back to the cloud or push live stream. Some buses may take days to go back to the depot, and offloading footage can take a long time. In that instance, a driver can trigger some action so that the system adds a bookmark to the footage for future review, or real-time streaming for an emergency. It’s not an all-or-nothing prospect – transmit data based on need and situation. Onboard engine diagnostics: If we do remote condition monitoring, the diagnostics system can send notifications or alerts to the cloud when certain conditions are met. With the data available in the cloud, a maintenance technician can review the engine’s status and travel to the location with the right tools and parts for the job. If the repair will take a long time, a new bus can be sent to take care of the riders. In some cases, the action can be proactive, and not wait until bus breaks down. For the operator, this system infrastructure translates to operational gains made by having data for real-time or near realtime decision-making; and time and cost savings derived from not having to wait days or waste manpower to retrieve data. All the gains and savings are eventually transferred to customers through better service and safer rides. At LILEE Systems, we are unique in how we provide connectivity, security, segmentation (isolation) and end-to-end quality of service to on-board devices. There’s no need to “touch” the on-board network every time a new device or service is deployed. Our remote device is powerful enough to handle throughput needs of revenue-generating passenger services and essential operational services – even when they are combined on to same gateway – reducing operational expenses. We deploy operational applications such as onboard diagnostics to monitor engine performance; GPS and gyroscopes for driver behavior; ELD for compliance; and employee badge readers for security; along with passenger Wi-Fi and NVR applications The fog computing platform is flexible with integrated computing and storage to deploy intelligent on-board applications. Applications can transmit critical operational data in real-time from the bus to the back-office server (cloud or company data center) while storing massive amounts of data to be upload when the depot Wi-Fi is available, saving on LTE costs. It’s not an all-or-nothing prospect – transmit data based on need and situation. With LILEE’s open platform and end to end solution bus operators can provide superior customer experience and achieve efficiency through optimization and predictive maintenance by connecting and remotely monitoring bus sensors and applications. Paola Realpozo is director of rail strategy at LILEE Systems. LILEE Systems provides solutions for passenger connectivity, and a range of other broadband solutions, including on-board entertainment and advertising, surveillance and security, fleet management, and positive train control. Visit www.lileesystems.com for more information.
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THE CONNECTED BUS
Achieve great results and cost savings with an integrated bus connectivity solution By Paola Realpozo As the demand for onboard applications grows, bandwidth data requirements become higher.
As the interest and demand for more onboard applications is growing, so is the need for higher bandwidth data requirements. There is a significant focus on augmenting the number of applications and services onboard vehicles to provide increased safety, information, and connectivity to passengers, as well as real-time monitoring systems. When bus operators have a reliable connectivity solution with fullymanaged services, they can focus on achieving their business goals knowing that their technology needs are covered in a cost-effective way. An optimal bus connectivity solution is designed to help bus companies improve operations and generate new revenue streams. It begins with intelligent IoT gateways that offer multiple wired and wireless connectivity options for the highest amount of throughput at the lowest possible cost. Centralized management tools enable valuable insights on remote devices, network performance, user statistics, ridership reports, and more. The’ onboard gateway serves as the central communications hub for all operational and passenger services that require high throughput connectivity, computation, and storage. The platform functions as the communications gatekeeper, determining what communication link to connect based on the operational goals and priorities of the bus operator. Communication can be provided by the LTE network or by Wi-Fi networks, when available, at stations or depots.
IoT Platforms: Technology advantages for operational cost-savings Efficient use of the network As more onboard diagnostics, passenger services, and safety applications are deployed, onboard connectivity becomes crucial. An industrial IoT platform allows transit agencies to have more efficient usage of the communication networks by intelligently conserving network bandwidth when computing data on the edge, and also by creating policies that assign priority to more critical applications. In the case of an emergency, the operator-defined network policy can be such that when emergency video streaming is triggered, other noncritical applications are temporarily restricted. More efficiencies can be achieved when cellular connectivity is optimized. If your IoT platform can do multi-carrier or multi-link aggregation, then your bus can stay connected using the least cost routing option. The platform drives traffic to the lowest cost carrier. Different cellular carriers have different rates, and if your network policy has rules around bandwidth quality and carrier costs, operators can save thousands of dollars on their monthly bill. Also, a smart communications gateway will know when a radio or Wi-Fi network is available, reducing the cost of cell communication even further.
Simplified architecture A platform that can integrate multiple applications and sensors, compute and analyze data at the edge of the network and in a public, private or hybrid cloud, will help reduce the number of components that must be deployed, wired, and maintained. This is especially relevant for vehicles with multiple applications that require an antenna installed on the roof of the vehicle, or that require a box installed inside the cabin. A simplified architecture will reduce the total cost of ownership. Saving time and resources Operations management is key to operation efficiency as it also enables the remote monitoring, tracking, provisioning, troubleshooting and firmware/software updates of the communications gateway and onboard applications. No need to deploy employees to perform these tasks locally. This is very relevant when large fleets are equipped with communications gateways and their management becomes complex. Connectivity-as-a-service: fully-managed services When operators need connectivity onboard their fleet, it is important that they find the right technology with the flexibility to scale as needed, and with the option to use their capital or operational budgets. Connectivity-as-a-service provides a fully-managed service for vehicular connectivity, where operators do not have to incur upfront costs or keep IT staff to manage data plans or maintain the onboard infrastructure. LILEE Connected Vehicle solutions for buses are powered with a flexible and future proof technology to provide consistent Internet access to riders. Thanks to LILEE’s open architecture, applications such as CCTV, automatic passenger counting, infotainment, and digital signage can be installed and run from the gateway’s application. Operators can also take advantage of built-in sensors (GPS, gyroscope, and accelerometer) in the LILEE IOT gateway to complement their safety and operations applications. Devices such as IP cameras or digital displays can be directly connected to and powered from the gateway using its multiple USB, HDMI, Serial, PoE ports. LILEE’s onboard WiFi network also enables the delivery of passenger applications to their own personal mobile devices for a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) model. These fully-managed connectivity solutions help bus operators to transform their fleets into Connected Vehicles for a better passenger experience and operational efficiency, with the best and most costeffective communications technology. Paola Realpozo is director of rail strategy at LILEE Systems. LILEE Systems provides solutions for passenger connectivity, and a range of other broadband solutions, including on-board entertainment and advertising, surveillance and security, fleet management, and positive train control. Visit www.lileesystems.com for more information.
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THE CONNECTED BUS
Smart connectivity platforms – the future of transportation
By Paola Realpozo
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echnology in transportation has become more relevant than ever as the new opportunities and benefits that it brings are valued not only by users and operators, but also by everyone involved in the operation, maintenance and regulation of the service and vehicles. This vision for public transportation is becoming clear quickly: a safe, reliable, efficient and environmentally-friendly transportation network across multiple modes that delivers the best and most affordable customer experience at the lowest operational cost possible. The concept of connected buses is becoming a key component in developing smart cities. Bus manufacturers understand that safety is a number one priority, and are developing and deploying automated features onboard vehicles that reduce the number of pedestrian- or cyclist-related incidents. The industry and cities are supporting the concept of automation to increase safety in public transportation. Technology also brings opportunity to innovate outside the bus. Operators are using dispatch and location systems, mobile applications, technology at bus stops, and a close interaction with the riders to change the way transportation is being offered. Technology allows public transportation operators to predict demand for service allowing them to plan according to time of day and density of passengers. They can decide whether to dispatch a smaller or larger bus, arrive 10 minutes later, or to collaborate with other operators (e.g. Uber, Lyft) to provide door-to-door service. Better technology onboard vehicles, smart connectivity and cloudbased platforms enable smarter transportation and increase efficiency and safety. Smart cities are testing autonomous vehicles (AV) to transport people from point A to point B without the need of a human driver. Now cities can provide rides to small groups of passengers using AV in controlled environments (dedicated bus lanes, close loops at universities or commercial areas, terminals), while providing regular bus rides to a greater number of passengers, justifying the driver cost for a normal route around the city. For a smart city to achieve a level of automation onboard vehicles that delivers greater benefits to operators, passengers and the city itself, technology infrastructure must exist on bus stops and waysides, with all back-office systems integrated in the cloud, as part of the city traffic system. Bus manufacturers, government and academia are working together to create the transit system of the future. This system will use the data collected from all onboard sensors – intelligent connectivity platforms that can store and compute data locally at the edge of the onboard network, while connecting to the cloud where back-office systems reside. This vision of public transportation becomes a reality when operators invest in future-proof technology that allows them to enable onboard applications intelligently. These onboard applications add unprecedented value that directly and indirectly impacts the quality of the ride and safety of the passenger. 8
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Driver behavior, fleet management, telemetry and onboard diagnostics, video surveillance, CAD/AVL, ELD, fare collection, automated passenger counting, passenger information systems, infotainment, passenger Wi-Fi and advertising are but a few of the applications that exist today onboard buses. Architectures onboard the vehicles can become very complex and their operation and maintenance unsustainable, especially if each application depends on an independent connectivity gateway. Therefore, more intelligent connectivity platforms are required to: 1.) simplify onboard architectures, 2.) host software applications on board vehicle and on cloud, 3.) store and transmit data between vehicle and cloud, 4.) compute data locally, 5.) aggregate multiple communications links for increased bandwidth, 6.) optimize bandwidth utilization, 7.) deliver connectivity quality of service, and 8.) create isolation between applications and connectivity network. As more automated applications are deployed on a bus, there is an increase in data generated from sensors and devices, meaning more data is received from the back-office systems. This, in turn, requires more storage and more bandwidth to send data to and from the cloud. For instance, sensors like GPS and gyro that assist some safety and driver behavior applications generate one million data points per day per bus, which translates to 4 to 6 GB per month, costing approximately $25 a month, when none of the raw, unprocessed data is required for the application. A smart onboard gateway that determines what data to store, what data to process locally and what data to send to the cloud via cellular connection or Wi-Fi network, becomes crucial to optimize the resources and control data transmission costs. A connectivity platform that achieves low latency, high accuracy, traffic prioritization and security is also key to achieving the vision of a connected bus. The connectivity platform is a key component of the future of smart transportation, as it seamlessly enables all the applications onboard the connected bus and provides actionable data that creates value to operators. It helps operators to increase efficiency, reduce operational cost, perform preventive maintenance and deliver an overall better customer experience. A smart connectivity platform will power the future vision of public transportation for smart cities, as vehicle to cloud communication will be key for cloud-based command and control of AV and wayside/bus stop infrastructure. Operators should invest in a platform that will help them achieve their current, as well as future, connectivity needs. Demand for connectivity onboard buses will only increase over time, so investing in a future-proof platform is a smart choice you can make today. Paola Realpozo is director of rail strategy at LILEE Systems. LILEE Systems provides solutions for passenger connectivity, and a range of other broadband solutions, including on-board entertainment and advertising, surveillance and security, fleet management, and positive train control. Visit www.lileesystems.com for more information.
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