In this Brave New World, the relationship between drivers and the tools they use, as well as with their fleets, is rapidly changing. As with any evolving technology, some may resist the changes this progress represents, but they would be wise to embrace it.

Motive’s AI-powered dashcam is revolutionizing fleet management and compliance for both drivers and fleets. Making this innovation possible, in collaboration with Ambarella, is the nexus in which high-quality imagery and high-quality data intersect to provide a more complete and accurate picture of driver behavior and performance.

On a recent Fleet Equipment Magazine podcast, Motive’s director of product management, Abhishek Gupta, and Ambarella’s senior director of marketing, Senya Pertsel, sat down to discuss how their combined efforts have resulted in the next generation of cutting-edge dashcams. Here are some of the key takeaways:

Forget 20/20 – hindsight now comes in 1440p resolution

It’s all about camera reliability and image quality. Motive’s AI Dashcam leads the market in both respects with long-lasting battery backup and crisp, 1440p resolution footage that drivers can access when they need it most.

Drivers have to travel through a constantly-changing landscape in which clear visibility isn’t always guaranteed. High-dynamic range situations (such as direct sunlight or going through a dark tunnel) can create challenges even for the most experienced drivers. The Motive AI Dashcam employs an image-processing engine capable of creating consistent quality images across all of these shifting variables to provide the most detailed record of their travels.

The more mileage drivers clock, the more hours of footage they capture. Powerful video compression is instrumental in order to stream and store this overwhelming amount of data. Motive’s AI Dashcam utilizes Ambarella’s robust processors to achieve incredibly efficient compression while maintaining the sharpest high-definition image quality, so every second of every mile is captured with stunning clarity.

Preventing accidents before they happen

Accidents happen. On average, there are approximately 18,510 car crashes per day in the U.S. alone. In fact, according to The National Safety Council, auto fatalities are on the rise despite less mileage being clocked by drivers. With entire businesses on the line, it’s vital that fleets apply technology to help prevent these accidents in the first place, as well as exonerate their drivers when they’re clearly not at fault.

Of course, hazardous conditions can just as easily occur within the cab as on the road, which is why these dashcams are equipped with advanced AI detection. These algorithms not only alert drivers to potentially dangerous traffic events, but also their own distracted behavior. After all, taking eyes off the road for even a split second can result in both harm to the driver and financial loss. Some sobering statistics to keep in mind:

  • The average cost of a large truck crash involving a fatality is $3.6 million
  • A crash with injuries costs almost $200,000
  • The average cost of all large truck crashes is about $91,000 per crash

It’s simple: When fleets implement the latest camera technology, they invest in their drivers, their business, and everyone else on the road.

Removing subjectivity from the equation

Any driver will tell you no two harsh-braking events are alike. Which is precisely why there always needs to be a dependable record of exactly what happens and why. By leveraging the immense amount of data collected hourly from vehicles on the road, Motive is able to create a detailed, contextual map that allows fleets to understand everything from road conditions and traffic patterns to geography and weather.

This aggregated data is used to analyze every event and enables management to determine how common, or rare, an event is for that specific time and place. For example, a harsh-braking event in a congested city tunnel is more likely to occur than a wide-open rural road in the afternoon. The quality of these events is measured alongside the quantity, which is crucial when it comes to generating a Safety Score that accurately reflects the context of any driver’s performance.

Motive has an in-house safety team that analyzes all of this footage to ensure their customers can use it to coach their drivers and improve, or reward, their behavior accordingly. Many fleets don’t have the staff to deal with all this data, so this expert review team helps them process it and apply it as needed. Context is a vital commodity when it comes to deliberating cause and effect on the road.

It’s about improving human relationships

For all this talk about advanced this and cutting-edge that, it’s easy to lose sight of this technology’s most important feature: helping drivers perform at their very best (and safest). The AI-powered dashcams are in no way designed or intended to invade the privacy of drivers, but rather assist them when they need it and reward them for jobs well done.

Supporting this mission is the aforementioned Safety Score. These proprietary scores evaluate driver performance over time, accurately measuring driver risk across more than 15 unsafe and positive driving behaviors. The objective is to build a holistic understanding of your drivers’ performance, help you put risks into context, improve fleet risk management, and focus on the most pressing issues such as reducing accidents and ultimately lowering insurance costs. In fact, these Safety Scores are five times more predictive of future accidents than the industry’s leading safety score.

Additionally, drivers and their managers have the ability to communicate directly through the app with 24/7 live-streaming capabilities, as inclement weather and mechanical issues rarely adhere to standard business hours. Any questions or concerns can be addressed immediately whenever they arise. And when drivers don’t have to worry about all the what-ifs of the road, they can focus on doing what they do best: keeping our economy moving forward.

A dashcam for everyone

This cost-effective, out-of-the-box solution is designed to assist a wide range of industries, not just trucking companies. Fleets of all shapes and sizes can benefit from utilizing this user-friendly technology, regardless of how far they drive or how many vehicles they have on the road. And because of this platform’s flexibility, it enables Motive and Ambarella to build a lot of future functionality quickly as new needs must inevitably be met.