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.

Full Data Catalog

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 Trip Data?

Trip data is used to understand how a vehicle is driven. As some drivers may be more frugal with their fuel consumption or accelerate harshly which could cause component wear. Taking many aspects of a trip, trip data utilises vehicle sensors to determine fuel consumption, distance, odometer readings before and after a trip, start times and more. The type of trip, address and even the type of road can all be captured as part of trip data.

During the trip, data such as harsh braking, acceleration, sharp turns, exceeding the speed limits and how much the car over-revs can all be relayed to central fleet management.

Use Cases

The start and end addresses can determine a driver's permitted journey. Trip data captures whether a driver has strayed outside this journey and which type of road they drove on. This could impact some components on the vehicle, causing them to wear out quicker, leading to more frequent maintenance.

Trip data can identify the type of driver someone is. If harsh acceleration and braking occur then more fuel is used and the less economical driver is. The use of eco modes and careful driving rewards drivers with better fuel use and can be used as a point of reference to educate other drivers when out in the field.