Data Items

Using telematics devices, cars can distribute data for many purposes for an end-user. Car data is created by electrical sensors linked to the ECU or Electronic Control Unit. An ECU is linked to an onboard telematics device which transmits live data. A user in a central location receives this data over the air, with an end interface that can be configured in a way that works for their business.Many attributes of a car can be transmitted live or at set intervals using GPS and mobile data networks.

Using car data, fleet management companies analyse their vehicles to help reduce costs, prevent maintenance issues and schedule service appointments in advance. Governments and councils can use car technical data to better manage traffic. Insurance companies can have real-world use cases for their customers and the introduction of smart cities with connected cars results in more efficient infrastructure. Most importantly, emergency services receive live vehicle data to accurately locate an accident, with automatic triggers to call ambulances if the vehicle senses it is in a severe accident.

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Our connected car data catalogue grows with every new manufacturer. Explore the variety of data items available via our Auto API.

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Our data catalog on Airtable contains technical information specific to each data category, including its properties and their production availability.

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What Is Engine Data?

Using a multitude of sensor information, engine data is used for pre-conditioning. This helps the engine function in cold starts, lowers the idling level and saves fuel. Engine data is fed to control modules and telematics devices that transmit the vehicle's status to central servers. From here, fleet management can see if the engine is pre-conditioned, meaning it is ready to begin driving.

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Use Cases

When driving in cold weather, diesel engines have particulate filters that need pre-conditioning. Otherwise, too cold a start will produce high emissions and reduce fuel consumption as the particulate filter is not functioning correctly. Resulting in a sooner failure of the component, or much worse side effects down the line.

Drivers need to understand how long the pre-conditioning takes, engine data can be fed to the user by displaying it on the dash, or on their smartphone remotely. Indicating when they will be able to start driving.

Oil level and coolant level in the engine are some of the key requirements for keeping the engine healthy and robust. Engine Data can help to notify the fleet manager or the driver that the level of the engine oil or coolant is too low indicating that there needs to be immediate action taken to make sure that the engine and its components do not get damaged.

Start-stop systems help reduce pollution and fuel consumption in urban areas. Otherwise, low-speed city traffic uses excess fuel and emits harmful pollutants to pedestrians. Engine data reads the start-stop system status and informs the operator or fleet manager that the feature is functioning, or informs them if there is a start-stop system failure.